Art with a capital “A” is not expected to have a purpose outside of existing, but purposefulness has a power all it’s own, and now that I have spent over a year transforming crochet remnants that had been doing nothing but causing me angst )should I frog them and use the yarn, should I join them into one of those random willy nilly pieces that are fun to look at in book but aren’t something I would want in my house, or should I just stuff them somewhere cold and hope they work as insulation?), I have discovered that there is an intrinsic power to purposefulness.
When I began, the remnants I worked with were, for the most part, fully formed squares that simply weren’t five or six inches in size, so the rehabs often involved a little frogging and reworking before the square was on its way. Here is an assortment of those early square earmarked for rehab:

As the year wore on and I worked my way through the larger remnants, the pieces I worked with got smaller or more complicated in some fashion, so the transformations have not been as quick. They require more piecing or more crochet and are, on the whole, a bit more fussy, but after all is said and done, I find that they are worth the fuss:

However, all of this crochet rehabbing leaves me with a number of yarn scraps which — because I want them to have purpose — I dutifully turn into “magic yarn balls”. As of this morning, I had three of these scrap yarn balls:

but with just a bit of effort I had them all tied together and rolled into one big “magic yarn ball”:

and when the time is right, I will dig up my scrap yarn ripple afghan:

and work to give the yarn scraps the same intrinsic power of purposefulness that I gave the remnants they come from, and I will do it the only way possible: one stitch at a time.
I absolutely LOVE you and your wonderful blog! I appreciate your *intrinsic power of purposefulness* essay. Everything about it speaks to me. Ty for sharing the *Magic Ball* YouTube video, it was fun to watch how she tied her bits of leftover yarn, just cannot throw them out, gorgeous colourful and precious yarn. I believe many other craft artists cannot bear to toss the ‘scraps’, either.
I noted how a creative lady on Ravelry used her yarn scraps to set outside for birds to find to use in nest building. This appealed, so last Spring, I left out a small jar-sized amount of scraps in different locations. Most have disappeared by now, a very few remain. Perhaps the yarn helped warm a new or old nest for the little ones. Or the wind and the weather blew the scraps away!
Sorry, I’m babbling. Again. I’m working on it, lol. I love your idea of crocheting a Ripple Afghan using your new pretty Magic Ball! It will look cosy and rustic and sure speaks a lot of your intention. I’m very much looking forward to seeing your completed FO. What started this convo? Right. I was admiring your new little scrap yarn kitties that you made for a dental hygienist’s daughter. I know she was thrilled to see them. Great gift ?. My two daughters are both dental assistants or RDA, just needed to tell you that ?
Enjoy our day!