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.

 

 

 

When I was a new knitter and had no measure on yarn yet, I collected a bad stash. A bad stash is one of those full of odd balls, crazy colors and textures, a couple of good ones but in unhelpful quantities, and in summary…  an unusable stash. When I finally realized this about 2 years ago I took action and gave it all away, some to friends, some to charity. I promised to myself I would never built an unusable stash again!

2 years forward and I find myself with a stash problem yet again. This time is not that it is unusable, but that it is too much.

I have a beautiful Ikea Kallax unit of 4 cube spaces and I bought it with the intention of storing all my crafty stuff in there. That was thought to include my yarn, fabric, tools and works in progress, one in each cube division. It is now completely full of yarn. And my fabric, which is also getting a bit out of control, is taking an entire shelf in a closet.

The desperation that ensued after realizing just how much yarn and fabric I have was overwhelming. It all started with me not finding a particular skein of yarn, one that I thought could be my next project. So I had to take cube after cube out to find it and came face to face with the reality that I probably have enough yarn to knit for the next three years.

The shock is wearing out and I started planning ways to improve. The starting point of my plan of action was to read all of the Stash-less posts by Felicia at The Craft Sessions blog. I have now a rough idea of what to do. Here is my initial game plan list:

1. Inventory. A realistic, all yarn out in the open inventory.
2. Re-organize yarn, tools, books and fabric.
3. Write all the projects I still would like to do this year including gifts.
4. Match as many yarns from stash as I can to that list of projects
5. Stick to the 3-WIP rule and start knitting

The problem not addressed yet is how to control the part of me that buys the pretty yarn. That one requires more thought, but for now the shock has been enough to keep me away from yarn updates.

Virginia