So, there is a thing about my stash that you should know… it is bigger than some yarn stores I have been in. Seriously, there is a lot of yarn in there.
The big mess built up this fall as I knitted like crazy from multiple projects organized into separate bins; the leftovers of the projects and new purchases of yarn just began to pile up in bins on the floor of the stash closet. Yarn stored on the shelves became mixed up and some bins were only half full.
I’m not going to be too defensive here, but it is hard to sort this much yarn into meaningful groupings. I like to sort the yarn by weight, and then into some system based on color or other attribute. MacKenzie and I spent a couple of hours getting the bins sorted again and labeled, and then back onto the shelves they went.
This is a lot of yarn, but I have to be honest here: four of the bins are filled with the leftovers of previous projects. You know, yarn scraps. The yarn for scrappy blankets, socks, and multicolored works. I want to make arm warmers that match some of my larger (faded) shawl projects. I’m thinking a big Stephen West marled sweater project is in the future. I just can’t let any of those scraps go… What if I need to repair a project from 10 years ago or knit a new finger onto a pair of loved, but damaged, gloves (true story!)? I’m pretty sure I could weave some nice, funky fabric for pillows…
The rest is new yarn. Bins of yarn. What is in the bins, you ask? Well… here are some of the titles:
- All the Greys
- Blacks and Brights
- Yarns that are Loved Beyond All Reason
- Autumn Yarns
- Western Sky Knits
- Chasing Rabbits
- Blue/Green Yarns
- Zauberballs and Gradients
- Lace Yarn (Lots of Mohair)
Then there are the bins that are just known as “Worsted” or “Fingering” or “Mitts”. Three of the bins are holding the yarn for single sweater projects. Two bins have yarn for Christmas projects. I need all of this yarn. Really, I do.
Which brings me to reflection and resolutions. I love all of this yarn, but it is time to think about reducing the size of the stash. Some of it has been given away, and some of it has already been organized into new projects that I will knit this coming year. I thought of limiting myself to only stash knitting, but that is beyond hope; sometimes you just need that additional perfect skein to make a sweater work. Endless socks will be arriving as I knit my way through all of the Chasing Rabbits bin. Charity knitting is in my future. Still, how to measure progress?
Last year I completed 39 projects. Some of them were little (mitts and gnomes), and others were large like the What the Fade?! shawl and the sweaters. I guess I could just decide to complete a number of projects like I did last year, but the problem is the stash; I should focus on the stash!
I have decided to try to knit at least 50 skeins of yarn out of the stash this year. I have been going crazy working out the rules for this… do I measure skeins or grams of yarn. Do I make adjustments for different weights of yarn? Ugh. This is where I am:
- A skein is a skein. I won’t consider the weight of the yarn.
- If I buy new yarn that is added to the stash, I need to deduct that number of skeins from my total.
- Yarn that is bought for a project using stash yarn is neutral as it was consumed in that project. I will just deduct the yarn removed from the stash, not the new yarn.
- If only half of the skein is used, it counts as only one half! More than half is counted as a skein.
- I’m going to make a spreadsheet to track the yarn. I can do this!
Last night I cast on a sweater using worsted weight yarn that was lurking in the stash. Hey. It will go fast. I’ll use up a bunch of skeins. I won’t have to buy any more yarn. It’s a plan.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Yarn, Books & Roses 
In my Year of Projects group on Ravelry, there’s a member called Becki and she aimed to use 100 skeins from her stash last year and almost made it. She made some very nice scarfs holding two contrasting yarns at the same time. This is her latest blog post, but you if you scroll back you can see some of the ideas she had to use her stash https://fieldlilies.blogspot.com/2019/01/new-beginnings.html
Thanks! I’m heading right over there to see what she did!
It sounds like you’ve got a doable plan! Good luck:)
Thanks. I just started the spreadsheet!
Good luck! I think it’s a great plan, and while mine isn’t as detailed as yours, my goal is to knit a lot more from stash than from new yarn this year.
Makes perfect sense to me.😀
Yay. Glad it makes sense to someone else too!
I had hopes, but unfortunately my stash seems big! I am aiming to do at least 63 skeins from the stash this year and I count any ball of yarn as a skein, in the interest of ease. Good luck on your goal!
I decided to just call them all skeins, too. Otherwise it will get crazy. 63 skeins! How did you arrive at that number?
That puts me into a new number category🤣
And I was thinking my three shelves was excessive. Lol
I’m seriously down the yarn stash rabbit hole! This year I will (hopefully) digging my way out!
I’m trying not to buy any yarn until I use what I have. If I were to be perfectly honest, I gave away a huge box to a friend and was left with three shelves worth. Lol Good luck on digging your way out! 😊
Hehe. I like that WSK and CR have their own bins and names.
I may have a problem…