I did my homework from part 1 and took everything out. The shock and overwhelm took over for a few hours. Then I started sorting.

I assigned one cubbyhole to all my precious sweater yarn. This is the yarn that I want to use soon. Then assigned another space to all the pretty yarn destined for hats, shawls, socks or accessories of some kind. Both of those are full to burst. Everything else got stuck in a bigger bin in a closet and some of it is marked for de-stash soon. I also selected some of the yarn to be cast on next, meaning the yarn that is most tempting for me right now, and put it in a pretty basket that I’ve been moving around the house as a nice way to enjoy them without being on the needles.

My other task was to make a list of projects for the rest of the year. My initial list had a lot of items and was not realistic. A quick look on ravelry told me that I actually average 4 sweaters a year, with a bunch of hats (about 6) and 1 or 2 pairs of socks. This year I have started and finished 2 hats, 1 pair of socks, 1 shawl and 1 sweater. I also finished 2 other sweaters that were cast on at the end of last year. If the statistics are correct I might still cast on and finish 1 more sweater this year after finishing my current cardigan, and then is hat knitting season for the holidays. Which means that the actual list of things to knit this year is a lot shorter than what I dreamed.

Here is the list of things still to be knit this year:

• One more sweater for me (it will be hard to pick just one), with yarn from stash.
• Test knit for Becky with brand new yarn (So excited!).
• Gift hat for Tamara (the girl that will allow me to stay with her in Berlin for the Berlin Knits festival), with yarn from stash.
• Gift hats in general with yarn from stash. I haven’t assigned yet who will get a hat this year for Christmas.
• Mittens for me, from stash.

Also I will really like to finish all my WIP’s soon, because during December I usually go crazy casting on new things and that is much more enjoyable if the number of existing WIP’s is limited. Right now I have 3 WIP’s on the needles (still keeping my rule) but I have a couple of hibernating projects that I would like to finish.

It looks like next year will be the year to really work from my stash. If I do it right I might be able reduce it to a manageable size in a year. I still would like to allow myself an occasional small yarn purchase, but otherwise I think it can be done.