Why I have no business buying yarn for a while
Okay…that photo of Sadie really was just a photo of Sadie, not a sneaky way to show off the stash! I had already planned to show off the stash in a post for another day…and that day has come. Today all shall be revealed. (Oooh! Cue somewhat creepy burlesque music.)
My stash isn’t all that big compared to many of you out there. Emma and Mare both have me beat by miles and miles of yardage, I know. Thing is, as I was finally unpacking it the other day I realized I truly have as much yarn as I need right now. No, more yarn than I need. (Gasp! Did I just say that out loud? Is it possible to not need more yarn, even for a short period of time?)
The stash was packed away in garbage bags and boxes for so long that I kind of forgot how much I had. It would take me years to knit it all up. And don’t even get me started on the spinning fiber. I have a Cotswald fleece on its way to me at the moment and that will be the last of the spinning stuff for some time.
So here are the yarn shots. (That is, the yarn that’s kept close at hand in the fiber corner of my studio. What won’t be shown is all the spinning fiber, which is tucked away in a steamer trunk in the dining room along with a bag or two of oddballs and partial skeins. Boring photos, those would be. I’ll trust you to fill those gaps in with your imagination.)
The main stash containment area:
The top two shelves are undesignated yarn, up for grabs when the right project comes along:
The next two shelves hold kits (I went on a kit kick recently–blame Debbie Bliss and that Patons pattern book with Must Have and that great cabled hoodie.) and the yarn that’s already got a pattern assigned to it:
The bottom shelf will hold the knitting books and magazines, most of which are still in storage. (We’re going to get the last of our stuff this weekend. Finally!)
On the other side of the knitting/reading chair sits a basket full of WIPs, each tucked into its own project bag:
And finally, this basket. It’s got some Manos, that one skein of Big Kureyon you see, and a bunch of skeins of Brown Sheep Naturespun that’s destined to become felted bags.
The projects in the WIP basket alone would keep me busy until the end of the year, or longer. So no…I really shouldn’t be buying any more yarn for a while, especially with all the house expenses. I really like Carolyn’s plan to buy yarn for a new project only after she’s knit three projects from her existing stash. I think I need to be a bit more drastic, though, considering money’s also an issue right now. Maybe I can buy more yarn after I complete what’s in the WIP basket now? Can I really hold out that long? We’ll see. I can be remarkably stubborn…I do have that in my favor.
lovely. even if you never get to it- the yarn looks so lovely on the shelves/baskets. it must make you smile everytime you look over from your desk
Posted by: rebecca
I adore how organized it is! And I adore how I’m going to be able to touch it all for myself. Yow!
Posted by: Rachael
Ok, I’ve counted 4 items that we have in common: same yarn, same color. Yarn addicts think alike?
Posted by: Iris
*pant, pant… DROOL!*
Nice stash! That sounds naughty, but you know what I mean! A lot of my yarn is in big plastic bins… I really like the way yours is “on display.” Good luck with the stash reduction goals!
Posted by: Jen L
It’s like a little yarn store in your own home! What a lovely display. Makes me realize I can hardly call my two little plastic bins a “stash” — but just wait until I settle back in my homeland! Heh heh…
Now I’m going to try to read all the spines of the books on your shelf. 🙂
Posted by: alison
What a beautiful stash 🙂
Mine is mostly still in ‘ready to spin’ form.. I initially said I would limit my future projects to one old steamer trunk but somehow it has all multiplied.. sigh.. I have NO idea how that happened.. 😉 Being good now, whever I feel the urge to buy more I fondle what I do have and realize there is plenty there that excites me.. But then a Fiber event comes along and I am weak… like this past weekend, sigh…
I guess there are worse addictions though right??
Posted by: amy
Your stash is lovely and you’re all set for some post-apocalyptic world where everything is destroyed and all you have is knitting. And Billy, of course. And the dogs. Your house = just fine. I’ll stop now.
Posted by: Em
I spied some beautiful manos in there! Yummy. I think you are at the “stash-appropriate” stage. My stash is quite “inappropriate”–mainly because I never finish anything. 2004 must be the year of finishing things. Okay, maybe a couple… OKAY, maybe ONE.
Posted by: teresa
My goal is to have a stash as neat and tidy as yours. Sometime before I die….
Posted by: elka
where did you get all the plastic zipper bags? from sheet/comforter sets?
i think my mom and i threw all those out just a few years ago and i am kicking myself now!
beautiful stash – you should be proud!
Posted by: k8et
lovely. even if you never get to it- the yarn looks so lovely on the shelves/baskets. it must make you smile everytime you look over from your desk
Posted by: rebecca
I adore how organized it is! And I adore how I’m going to be able to touch it all for myself. Yow!
Posted by: Rachael
Ok, I’ve counted 4 items that we have in common: same yarn, same color. Yarn addicts think alike?
Posted by: Iris
*pant, pant… DROOL!*
Nice stash! That sounds naughty, but you know what I mean! A lot of my yarn is in big plastic bins… I really like the way yours is “on display.” Good luck with the stash reduction goals!
Posted by: Jen L
It’s like a little yarn store in your own home! What a lovely display. Makes me realize I can hardly call my two little plastic bins a “stash” — but just wait until I settle back in my homeland! Heh heh…
Now I’m going to try to read all the spines of the books on your shelf. 🙂
Posted by: alison
What a beautiful stash 🙂
Mine is mostly still in ‘ready to spin’ form.. I initially said I would limit my future projects to one old steamer trunk but somehow it has all multiplied.. sigh.. I have NO idea how that happened.. 😉 Being good now, whever I feel the urge to buy more I fondle what I do have and realize there is plenty there that excites me.. But then a Fiber event comes along and I am weak… like this past weekend, sigh…
I guess there are worse addictions though right??
Posted by: amy
Your stash is lovely and you’re all set for some post-apocalyptic world where everything is destroyed and all you have is knitting. And Billy, of course. And the dogs. Your house = just fine. I’ll stop now.
Posted by: Em
I spied some beautiful manos in there! Yummy. I think you are at the “stash-appropriate” stage. My stash is quite “inappropriate”–mainly because I never finish anything. 2004 must be the year of finishing things. Okay, maybe a couple… OKAY, maybe ONE.
Posted by: teresa
My goal is to have a stash as neat and tidy as yours. Sometime before I die….
Posted by: elka
where did you get all the plastic zipper bags? from sheet/comforter sets?
i think my mom and i threw all those out just a few years ago and i am kicking myself now!
beautiful stash – you should be proud!
Posted by: k8et