| Author |
 Topic  |
|
kathawkinsbb@yahoo.com
Posts |
 Posted - 07/13/2005 : 3:12:43 PM
|
I have recently reorganized my yarn stash into 10 very large plastic drawer containers. I figure I have over 430 to about 450 skeins of yarn, some of which are double for 2 socks, which I counted as one. Most of my yarn has been purchased within the last 6-8 years, but a bit is 10 years old, and two or three batches that I hate to part with and haven't found a pattern for, are a little older than that. I love yarn and the process of knitting more than the finished product. I've been knitting since 1959 when I was 12 years old and when it was not cool to knit.
Kathy |
 |
|
|
DietchGirl
Sustaining Member
USA
517 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2005 : 4:44:21 PM
|
I've lost count. There's yarn stashed around my apartment, and some stashed in boxes at work. At this rate, I'll probably die with a good sized stash to leave in my will to someone.
Felicia in NYC
"This is mohair." "Mohair", he said and placed the furry ball on his head. "Mohair for me?" - from a very funny moment with my boyfriend in a LYS. |
|
|
|
jcraig@marc.org
Posts |
Posted - 07/27/2005 : 2:44:09 PM
|
I feel like a piker, maybe even a complete failure. I've been knitting since last November, and have completed about eight projects, but I only have about six skeins on hand. I had seven until Monday night when I started a cute little accessory scarf which I finished the next night. Even my knitting group makes fun of me, because I only buy yarn for specific projects and I only work on one project at a time. Since I work full time, this approach keeps me from feeling too overwhelmed by knitting. So I'll probably stick with the 'no extra yarn' approach to save my sanity.
Jody |
|
|
|
Gelsomina
Chatty Knitter
250 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2005 : 1:58:56 PM
|
Oh Jody!!!
I totally wish I was you! It weighs very heavily mentally on me that I've got such a huge stash. It feels like a sickness, I buy stuff and then don't use it. I actually went out last week to buy another huge wicker container to put more of my yarn in... it had been sitting in 3 cardboard boxes pushed into the corner.
I live in a loft, which I thought was going to be VERY cool and exciting, but there's only one closet for the entire place. That means clutter everywhere. I try to deal with it by buying decorative storage so my psyche/feng shui is happy/calm. Problem is that furniture is all Chinese antiques, so finding coordinating storage can be frustrating and expensive. I get totally freaked/bummed out to store things in plastic bins where I can see them. I wish I had an separate room in my loft for creative stuff, but it's not that big of a loft.
I also have much more HUGE stash of fabrics for apparel design, and an embarrassing stash of thousands of $$$ of semi-precious stones for jewelry making. I'm serious, it really does weigh heavy on my mind.
I think you are soooo much better off than stashers like me. Look at it this way... the entire world of possible yarn purchases is your stash. At this point, I'm tied to my own personal stash, it makes me feel a little trapped. [crazy]
I know, I probably have some sort of sickness.  I can kid about it, but seriously, I think there is probably something not right in my head; maybe something like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
|
|
|
|
CJknits2much
Chatty Knitter
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 08/01/2005 : 07:43:08 AM
|
You all make me feel so much better. I have 470 skeins, and thought I must be the only one in the world...
I, too, keep it on an Excel spreadsheet. Tells me how much I have of each yarn, what the color and dyelot is, and which bin or drawer it's stashed in, so I don't have to hunt around.
Most of my stash is almost every color made of Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, which has been discontinued. (But I'm still looking for a single skein of Lemongrass...see posting in yarn wanted topic!)
CJ
|
|
|
|
trekcelt
Seriously Hooked
USA
849 Posts |
Posted - 08/02/2005 : 7:12:37 PM
|
I have one skein plus a bit of pink from a blanket I crocheted for my niece. It is slotted for the accent color on the vest I am knitting. The black for the main part of the vest is from about 18 years ago and was lost in my mother's house until this past weekend. It was supposed to be a sweater - which never got finished - long story - so now the black yarn will become my new sweater vest. So, there won't be any pink or black when the vest is done.
I also have 3oz of a thick acrylic leftover from a hooded sweater I just did for my daughter. It will become a scarf.
My *actual stash* consists of a mere 6 skeins of Wool-ease Sportweight that I bought yesterday on sale at AC Moore for $1.00 each. Since this yarn normally sells for $6 each, I couldn't pass it up. I mean, really, I saved $30 by buying it.  Oh, and I have one ball of cotton for experimentation.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
"As for me and my house..."
|
|
|
|
knotty
Chatty Knitter
228 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2005 : 11:02:43 AM
|
What a reassuring thread (skein?)!! I tried to count my skeins, but got overwhelmed. Let's just say, one 6'X15' walk in closet, one spare bed (ahem) room, and lots of big rubber bins. I have been de-stashing, selling and giving away yarn for projects that I know will not fit me any more and others I have lost interest in making. Very liberating. Nice to know I am not alone.
Kendra |
|
|
|
blr2449
Permanent Resident
USA
1378 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2005 : 12:08:21 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by CJknits2much
I, too, keep it on an Excel spreadsheet. Tells me how much I have of each yarn, what the color and dyelot is, and which bin or drawer it's stashed in, so I don't have to hunt around.
See, for me it's the thrill of the hunt[:00]. I have yarn everywhere in this 2-story house and in addition have a LOT of coned weaving yarn pushed here and there. I never know where anything is and thus when I want to knit/weave something the whole house gets turned upside down.
The satisfaction I get when I finally find the yarn just can't be beat. 
Barb [KrazyKzooKnitter]
"You can't get a hit unless you're swinging."
http://www.livejournal.com/users/graniterose/ |
|
|
|
trekcelt
Seriously Hooked
USA
849 Posts |
Posted - 08/04/2005 : 10:15:15 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by trekcelt
So, there won't be any pink or black when the vest is done.
ACK!!! the pink stripes on the vest are done and I still have pink yarn leftover!!!!
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
"As for me and my house..."
|
|
|
|
brannonobrien
New Pal
USA
30 Posts |
Posted - 08/07/2005 : 08:17:21 AM
|
I have enough for 2 shawls, 2 pairs of socks, 3 sweaters (adult), 2 sweaters (child/infant), a shrug, a toy, and a waist scarf.
I don't feel in excess though, because a spinner/knitter friend of mine recently told me on a trip to NY she spent amost $2,000.
Sure puts my stash in perspective, LOL!
Chelle |
|
|
|
beh2g
Chatty Knitter
USA
244 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2005 : 5:00:29 PM
|
I coudl easily spend $2,000 on yarn in one trip. If I had it, that is  |
|
|
|
Knit and Purl Grrl
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
414 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2005 : 9:41:37 PM
|
Hmmm... Putting dyelots on the spreadsheet... I never thought of that (though I thought I was the only one anal enough to start a spreadsheet in the first place...)
Lain
Knit & Purl Grrl
visit me at http://knitandpurlgrrl.blogs.com/my_weblog/ |
|
|
|
draymer
Permanent Resident
USA
1481 Posts |
Posted - 08/26/2005 : 08:16:10 AM
|
Too large! I can't count up that high!
Debra (D also stands for denial) |
|
|
|
Elaine in NJ
Gabber Extraordinaire
584 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 05:54:10 AM
|
I recently made an inventory of my stash, because I was about to go on vacation in New England, and I knew I'd be buying yarn. (And last spring while on a quick trip to the Boston area I bought yarn that was too similar to some I already had--I've since sold the duplicate to a friend who adored it). Now that we're back from vacation, I have yarn for approximately 12 women's sweaters, 4 women's vests, 2 scarves, one shawl, 3 pairs of socks; 8 men's sweaters, and 5 men's vests. Oh, and 1 felt totebag. These could all be made into other things, but that's what I planned them for when purchasing. I always have a project in mind. If I can't see what I'd make out of a yarn, I don't buy it. One men's sweater, one women's sweater, one scarf, and one shawl are in progress.
I don't see how you can have too much yarn, except if you're bankrupt or about to die of cancer or forced to sleep in the garage for lack of space! And if something is one-of-a-kind, or you see something really nice on sale, you should buy it. I bought an incredible amount of yarn from a spinner in the Hebrides over 20 years ago. I've used it from time to time and will use it again in future, and I'm extremely happy to have it (I wish I had daughters to bequeathe it to). Yarn doesn't spoil. |
|
|
|
Knit and Purl Grrl
Gabber Extraordinaire
USA
414 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 10:49:08 AM
|
Elaine,
How do you keep track of the projects you've planned for the yarn? I buy yarn with projects in mind, but then seem to forget...
Lain
Knit & Purl Grrl
visit me at http://knitandpurlgrrl.blogs.com/my_weblog/ |
|
|
|
Elaine in NJ
Gabber Extraordinaire
584 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2005 : 06:05:47 AM
|
I see it in my mind. In other words, I don't see a bin full of DK weight burgundy Shetland yarn--I see a lace cardigan sweater. (I tend to see sweaters because my mother knit only sweaters when I was growing up, and until recently I never knit anything else--almost 50 years of knitting, and I only recently made my first scarf. Notice the stash is mostly planned as sweaters.) I almost always buy yarn because I have that kind of connection to it--I see what it will become (not just that it's gorgeous yarn). The times I buy it just because it's gorgeous, it sits in the stash for years because I don't know what to do with it. A lot of the yarn I don't know what to do with just doesn't suit the way I knit--I tend to do very complicated cables or lace or Fair Isles, and I have some yarn that's too textured or too variegated in color to be suitable to those kinds of projects, so it sits. It's gorgeous, but it sits there. I try not to buy things like that anymore. Sometimes the image changes (for instance, these days I seem to be making only cardigans for myself, while a lot of the yarn I have was bought for pullovers), but not by much.
Practicality of course enters into this--if I see a yarn I really love, and the store doesn't have enough for a sweater, I decide to make a vest. Or if it's super expensive, I decide to make a scarf or vest. (I seem to carry rough quantities in my head for different weights of yarn.) And sometimes, of course, I just want a navy cardigan for me or a dark-green cabled sweater for my husband, so I buy Lamb's Pride worsted or Plymouth Galway. And occasional I buy yarn to make something in a magazine--I just bought Lamb's Pride bulky to make the totebag in the fall issue of Vogue knitting, and I'm thinking of buying Louet Opal (is that right?) to make the black-and-white cardigan (I'll adapt both patterns somewhat).
I'm a book editor, and the same thing happens with manuscripts--when I look at a manuscript, I see the book it will become (of course we don't have paper manuscripts any more, but I still see the book as I consider the electronic files). And if I'm buying a dress or suit, or decorating a room, I tend to see exactly what I want in my mind, and shopping consists of finding it. This tendency of mine is somewhat limiting, I guess, so I try to be open to change--the light-blue Manos in the stash may become a sweater for my husband instead of for me, if I can be assured that Manos wears well, and my stash of different fiber yarns all hand-dyed in coordinating shades may become a throw instead of a sweater if I find a pattern for the entrelac (sp?) technique.
|
|
|
|
KathyDoughty
New Pal
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2005 : 1:12:38 PM
|
O.K., confession time...a while back I decided to catalog my stash so that when I saw an interesting project I'd know if I had enough of the right yarn to make it. I put all the information in an Excel file (O.K., I'm a nerd) and then made the mistake of adding up the columns. As of today, I have 85,700 yards of yarn. At my current knitting rate (yes, I plotted it. Did I mention that I'm a nerd  ?) I'm scheduled to finish my stash early in the year 2029. Of course, that assumes that I STOP BUYING YARN!!! Yeah. Right.
It's all right, though, I've started a new hobby that should cut back on my yarn purchases. I've taken up spinning  ...
Don't ask. Just don't ask.
Kathy in Santa Barbara |
|
|
|
Boondoggled
Chatty Knitter
USA
305 Posts |
Posted - 09/15/2005 : 07:25:54 AM
|
Being honest, there probably are no more than 200 skeins in my stash counting everything. The problem is that about a third of this is empty yarn calories (read: crap yarn) which will take serious discipline for me to ever work off.
However, if the yarn is hard to find, on sale or just plain unique, then there's no guilt in buying and stashing. Come on, SWF yarns are high art.
And I, too, have been convinced by some fine members of this board to take up spinning. Consequently, I'm getting books, a drop spindle and roving for my anniversary.
Starting small, but things could get ugly. Quick.
Take care,
Tanya
The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together. - W. Shakespeare |
|
|
|
scrapart
Chatty Knitter
106 Posts |
Posted - 09/15/2005 : 6:25:16 PM
|
Hmmm - I think I am a light weight compared to some of you ladies - I have 10 skeins right now.
Genia in MD
Joining the blog craze!
http://scrapartscorner.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
|
minh
Permanent Resident and Destasher Extraordinnaire
USA
3416 Posts |
Posted - 09/15/2005 : 7:00:46 PM
|
Like many of you, I have an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of my stash. (By the way, isn't it interesting to see that many of us love to organizing our yarn in nice boxes, and then in nice computer files?)
I currently have:
- 76 skeins that are dedicated to 24 projects
- 10 skeins of leftovers
But I already know what my downfall is going to be... sock yarn! One skein here, one skein there. Before you know, I'll have enough sock yarn to have a pair of socks for each day of the year!!
--Minh |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
| Knitter's Review Forums |
© 2001-2013 Knitter's Review |
|
|
|
|
Topic Locked
