Over the last decade, my yarn stash has grown to gargantuan proportions. I could run a store out of my craft room, except that my craft room is a horrible mess. Was a horrible mess.
It was kind of sad because being in my craft room normally makes me happy. But over the past year it turned into a catch all junk room, and walking into it just made me depressed.
About a week ago, I bit the bullet, rolled up my metaphorical sleeves – because long sleeves are entirely optional in Texas – and started cleaning. I cleaned the storage space off the laundry and moved Kid 1’s soap and candle making supplies there. I boxed my sewing supplies and moved them to the storage too.
I threw away the blanket and other things, like the cardboard sewing mat, which had been ruined by Batty, our semi-feral cat, during her brief stay in the room while her nose healed. It was the only place we could’ve sequestered her from the other cats and she kept escaping.
I sorted my art supplies and bought a tall plastic dresser into which I would stuff my paint and knitting needles once it arrived.
I spread plastic on our new garage floor, and dumped all of my yarn in a massive pile onto it. I emptied the shelves, the bins, everything.
I swept and mopped the awful concrete floor. The next day my husband kind of quietly disappeared in the morning. After about 45 minutes, I went looking for him and found him in the craft room. He had spare rubber floor tiles left over from when we made our home gym and he laid a new floor in the craft room for me. He didn’t say anything about it. I just walked in and there was a new floor. It’s soft. ๐
Once everything was out, it was time to deal with the yarn pile. I sorted through it for three days. The weather was nice and the garage faces a well-walked street. Some masked neighbors stopped by because the site of me crawling around in the garage around a mountain of yarn was very amusing. I gave away two 25 gallon plastic containers worth of yarn. One of our neighbors knits blankets for feral cats, which is all kinds of neat.
Also a Texas millionaire stopped by to welcome us to the neighborhood. He lives in a house down the street. He was riding his fancy motorcycle down the street, pulled a U turn, and drove into our driveway, mostly to talk to Gordon who had come outside in solidarity and was sitting in the sun, reading his Kindle.
They talked about the bike a bit, and about the previous owners, and how we have lived here for three years now and he is both shocked that much time had passed and sorry that he hasn’t come by sooner. At some point, he told us that some neighbors were moving to a 20 acre ranch and scoffed a bit, “That’s a play ranch. A ranch is about 500-600 acres. I had one. Best years of my life.” You get these a lot in Texas. They don’t wear expensive clothes, but you can usually tell there is money there by what they drive.
It became clear that the amount of yarn I have greatly exceeds our storage. I blame my therapist. No, seriously. A few years ago, I had the mother of all burnouts and I went to therapy. I had an absolutely amazing therapist, who tried very hard to figure out what I actually liked to do for fun. And it was determined that I like buying yarn, but I also felt guilty, because most of the yarn I bought hasn’t been used. She said, “Does the yarn make you happy?” I said that yes, it did. She said, “Buy the yarn and stop worrying about it.” See? I’m blameless.
Okay, I sounded like Ascanio there. But still, blameless.
The right answer to the overabundance of yarn is, of course, to buy less yarn. When I told that to Gordon, he gave me this man look reserved for when wives say something that husbands believe to be absurd, and told me that the answer to this crisis is more storage.
I bought a really neat plastic cube set and built another storage unit out of it. My plan is to sort the yarn even further. Right now I have it separated by weight and somewhat by fiber. (That means I set cotton aside, if you’re wondering.) I could probably separate it by color, too, since I have a lot of sock yarn.
While sorting through all of the yarn, I found some half-finished projects. So here is my hall of shame. Behold all the things I worked on and didn’t complete.
2/3 Of a Sweater
A sweater and a sleeve. Worsted wool. Probably made for one of the children. I don’t remember anything about it. I don’t know how many stitches there were for the other sleeve or how to join the sleeves to the body. I don’t know what pattern this is. I do have the yarn, however. It’s rolled into a ball. Without a label. Mystery yarn.
Probability of finishing: Maybe. 50%. I mean, it is 2/3 of a sweater, so that was a lot of work. I just don’t know how I would finish it since there is nothing in my pattern library that remotely resembles this. Did I free-hand it?
1/8 of a Shawlette
I do know what this is. This is Hitchhiker by by Martina Behm. Knitted in Silver Shiny from Destination Yarn. The pictures don’t show it well, but it’s very shiny. I remember why I stopped this. While the yarn is gorgeous, the pattern is very… well, it’s just miles of garter stitch.
Probability of finishing it: Meh. 30%?
1/3 of Crochet Shawl
This is Blue Heron Rayon Metallic yarn. It’s very sparkly, which you can’t see in the pictures, and the colors are gorgeous, but there is zero elasticity. It’s like cotton. This can be put to a really good use when mixed with wool.
This is a shawl I knitted in 2017. I blocked it once to open the wool lace sections, and I haven’t had to block it since, because the garter sections of Blue Heron are holding it open.
I am not sure what is happening with the partial green-brown shawl above. It’s crocheted lace at the appropriate gauge for the yarn weight but the lace holes are huge. This is not a functional garment. This is more of a decorative garment and I am not sure if it is pretty enough to justify that label. I clearly meant it as a summer shawl, which I will wear in Texas never, because it’s 50 degrees, 50 degrees, and then 102. There is no in between.
Probability of finishing: Meh. 30%.
1/4 of a Shawl
This is The Joker and The Thief by Melanie Berg. And this was a gift from Laura, who decided that she would never make it herself and sent it to me with one request, “Make it and wear it.” I am the worst person. The worst.
This pattern had ends. And ends. And ends. The grey sections were painfully awkward and weaving in ends drove me nuts. I must’ve been having a hard time when I tried to knit this, because I remember thinking, “This is too hard and I just can’t do it.” Looking at it now, what’s so hard about it? It’s garter stitch, mostly.
Probability of finishing: Probably. 75%. Guilt factor is high.
3/4 of a Blue Shawl
Okay, so you can’t tell from the pictures, but this thing is massive. It has over 1,000 yards of sock weight yarn in it. Looks like 2 full skeins and I have about 2/3 of a skein left. Judging by the speckle on the final yarn, probably Hedgehog Fibers.
I remember this one. It was during the phase when everyone on Ravelry was doing these enormous fade shawls. I decided to free-hand one because I wanted something mindless to knit. I am going to pat myself on the back and say that the quality of fade on this one is quite good. It is quite pretty and will be prettier once I block all the weird stitches into uniform fabric. This was stress knitting and it shows in a couple of places.
Probability of finishing: Probably. 75%.
Once I am done with the craft room, I will take pictures. Or maybe not. Depending on how guilty I feel about the size of my stash. But the craft room is now 95% done and it makes me very happy. And while I didn’t finish some of these things, at least I now know they exist and where they can be found. ๐ And knowing is half of the battle.
At least that’s what I tell myself.
I love that the answer is not less yard but more storage. More storage is always the answer.
+1 ????
You know… by providing links to the yarn, you are now enabling the stashes of us fellow yarn heads? I might need a bigger craft room. With more storage ????
Kudos! Hubby and I were just talking about getting organized… and then promptly started “productive procrastination” on a different project ๐
I understand the yarn supply. I make a scarves (Texas weather you can get by with just a scarve). Mindless knitting, I bring my knitting to my classes when giving a test, my students kind of freak out. I donate them; family shelters, coat drives, etc.
Pictures please!!!! I’m so envious of your yarn stash! And of your neighbors who got some of it.
Ok so first off, I LOVE GORDON. His answer to your first thought of not buying more yarn was to say, no, you need more storage? I need someone like him in my life. He rocks. Love him.
Second, the blue partial sweater sure looks a lot like Malabrigo Rios in Azul or maybe Paris night? Its one of their blues I think. Its beautiful. I’d frog it and repurpose that yarn b/c GORGEOUS. You knit beautifully and I say go on with your knitting/crocheting self. Do what makes you happy!
And I too have a yarn stash that could totally create a yarn store. I feel you….
+1 for the Mega supportive partner. We all need someone like Gordon.
Do what makes you happy, guilt-free. If you were a movie lover and sees a movie every week, it would still be money well spent. Your hobby of buying yarns should be no different….just leaves evidence.
I honor you for your commitment. I reached that level of fed upness two winters ago. Unfortunately, all the purging and organizing seems to have sapped my creativity.
Please do show pictures. I am struggling with my yarn collection. However my craft room is also my office and TV room and has limited wall space. But the reach in closet is wide (13′) so I am thinking storage cubes in the closet will help.
I love this post, and it inspires me to do something about my messy bags (and bags!) of knitting supplies.
Way to go Gordon!!! ????
More yarn I say also…
plus storage of course
Iโm so thankful to find out that Iโm not alone in unfinished projects! Thank you, thank you. I too find great pleasure in looking at and buying wool, for future projects or whatever. Tubs in my bedroom closest! Time for a sort out, I guess ????
Now I just want to come play with your stash… ๐ I recently went through my stash and to my utter horror found moths in there!
But some ladies from my book club and I recently started a Zoom stitch ‘n bitch where we meet online, knit/crochet, and talk about books. It’s a ton of fun!
If it makes you happy, that is all it matters.
I bought a quilt kit with fabric included, opened up the package and decided not right now. I still buy more fabric, it makes me happy.
My therapy is fabric instead of yarn. We will not discuss how much I have but if made into quilts, we all would be warm at all times. I have decided I don’t care what anyone thinks about how much I have. My collection makes me happy! If Gordon is ok with it ( like my husband is) and it makes you happy, tell everyone else to go pound sand!!
I used to work in a fabric store and had a huge stash! I did a lot of buying even after I stopped sewing. Eventually I sold it all on ebay. But I wasn’t as bad as a customer I knew of. Her husband had said enough is enough so after that, she hid her purchases in the trunk of her car.
Her habit was such that the shocks on her car soon blew out.
I have a friend who crochets. Her Aunt Diane passed away. Let about 20 knitting projects unfinished and two bedrooms full of yarn. Two years ago. My friend has finished 5 of the knitting projects and given them away. She is halfway sorted through the yarn. She crochets or knits โdepending on her handsโ for the day. Long story short, lymphnodes removed from the armpits can have an effect on her hands. I have faith you can accomplish all you want, and donโt want, with your craft room and yarn. ????
Arghhhh, why did you do this? My study has become the catch all for my abandoned craft projects, acrylic paint, water colors, weird crepe paper I used for a decoration project for a elderly group, ribbons, strings, temp tattoo paper etc, thick paper for cards, itโs sitting in my study. I even went as far as to buy plastic bins to try to pack some of it up.
And during this year of being stuck at home, what do I do? Reread KD, reread Innkeeper, stalk the blog, did I say stalk, I meant read.
Well, I did photograph and put together a cookbook for my Womenโs Club. So thereโs that. Other than that, Iโm now lounging here reading the blog. Ok, back to reading, I have to prep, Blood Heir is coming out. Itโs important.
I work at a senior center with a Craft Group that knits to sell items for the Senior Fund, and every know and then someone comes in with a semi-finished item donation that they are happy to finish to sell. And they make good use of donated yarn as well.
But being a cat foster I think knitting blankets for feral cats is way cooler.
Right now my slight OCD is kicking in getting really excited about seeing that cube set with all the yarn in it and all the pretty colors O.O
Oh, and good job Gordon! Happy wife and all that jazz.
+1
Oh that Blue Heron is divine. Keep doing what makes you happy. I limit my fabric hoard because of space but if I must have it then I must have it.
Next sticker to put on your car. โThe one who dies with the most yarn winsโ. Find it at the stitches conferences.
And for those of us who arenโt knitters/quilters but love reading and collecting books we can have a sticker that says: โ The one who dies with the most books wins.โ
+1, we have 75 bookcases of books. Most of them double stacked.
OMG. I would never ever move. At least yarn is lighter.
A decent sized used bookstore moved a few years ago due to being unable to renew their lease. I still can’t wrap my head around how much work that was. OTOH, I see corporate office moving trucks, too, with entire multi story office buildings. So perhaps they hired business grade movers and “just” had to take care of re-shelving.
ROFL!
Hi, my name is Nicole and I have a WIP problem. Work In Progress for the non-knitters. Not counting the bags where I stored yarn with the pattern so I could remember why I bought the yarn, I still have more than 20 projects that I still intend to finish…????????โโ๏ธ
I also just cleaned my craft room, which felt really good. I blame the size of my yarn stash on the fact that I worked at a yarn store part time and the discount was amazing. I did donate a fair amount of yarn (mostly the nearly complete balls resulting from needing 50 yards or less to finish the dern project.) I can still probably knit until I die with what’s in there.
Currently busting stash with some crochet Cthulhu dice bags for my D&D group.
The answer is always more storage!
I have a 1 bin of unfinished projects and 5 bins of yarn. I would like to think that this is remarkable restraint for someone who also used to work in a yarn shop. It is helped by a lack of storage. I also don’t have more storage space for size-able sewing or other crafts supplies. Plus sewing requires even more finishing and prep than knitting which I don’t usually enjoy.
To the customers – yes, your LYS knows who has the largest stash(es). Sometimes even we are amazed at how much yarn can be fit into space bags.
There are totally worse ways of coping with stress.
I found a huge moving box full of yarn left over from my mom and from left over projects. So I went through it and found that I had enough for a scrap afghan. The problem was trying to figure out the color scheme since I had both variegated and solid color yarns.
It’s all acrylic which I like for blankets since the fiber washes and dries beautifully. Plus it will last forever.
I figured out the color scheme and started the afghan. I will keep working on it until all the yarn is made up. ????
By the way, I use a half double crochet. It’s a lot easier on my wrist. Plus I like the weight of the finished afghan.
6? That’s it? 6 UFOs?
{Snerk}
Amateur.
I sorted 20 bins of fiber and gave away 3 full bins this time last year. Found something like 25 UFOs. Some I knew what they were, some not. I froged all but those that only needed ends woven in and that damned Estonian lace shawl which goes in and out of time out on a regular basis.
Then Covid. And I hit a really good yarn sale (going out of business…nearly bought the entire store…I should have). And uh… Now I have 25 bins and uh… Probably 10 UFOs…ok, 15 because I haven’t been able to concentrate… including that damned Estonian Wedding Shawl. Which is in time out again.
But it’s cleaning time again… And I’m working on it.
And no. We don’t talk about the sewing stash. Ever. Or the art supplies.
All of this is 100% normal. I work at a yarn store – so I have the data.
No guilt. You donโt need to finish any of these if you donโt want to. Frog โem, reclaim the yarn, donate any yarn you donโt want – or not.
Itโs a hobby. Let it bring you pleasure.
…and if you want to feel better, Iโll flash my stash. Itโs an entire room. A large room.
The purple shawl is gorgeous.
We have lived in this house for 23 years as of the end of this month. I started in the basement and still have a craft closet down there, plus stuff in the built-in. Then we did the addition and I took over what used to be the nursery. The oldest kid moved out two years ago and his room became my sewing room, but the former nursery is still half quilt stuff. Retirement is looming, so Iโd better start sorting. I admitted some time ago that my hobby wasnโt quilting, but buying quilt stuff. Most yarn sits until the bugs get it, but I did finish a shawl in time to gift it to my oldest kidโs bride the night before the wedding.
With or without knowing it you also gave your oldest a very real grown up moment. That time you come back to visit your parents and find your childhood room has been repurposed as craft room or gym or home office. It’s a good thing, it means you know they’re a grown up and don’t expect them back.
Congrats on the craft room reorg and major brownie points to Gordon for his response to the obviously inaccurate remark about buying less yarn.
I do have to confess that my craft room stash (beads, adult coloring books, stickers, scrapbooking supplies, fabric, etc. etc. etc.) cannot be laid at the door of an oh-so-helpful therapist. My only excuse in my defense is that I was left unsupervised. LOL
Gordon did not say buy less yarn. He suggested more storage.
I have a scarf I started in at least 2007, though maybe as early as 2004 and a crossstich kit of a wizard fighting a dragon that I started around the same time. I’m not sure I’ll finish the scarf but I do want to get back to the crossstich but there are just so many other, faster projects that I keep shuffling it to the back burner.
If buying the yarn makes you happy, find places that need yarn and donate what you decide you don’t really want to use. Maybe there is a group local church ladies knitting premi blankets who could use your yarn, shelters that offer life skills classes might offer knitting classes and could use yarn, or your neighbor knitting for the feral cats will run out eventually and you can give her more. This way you can still buy the yarn and the yarn goes to a good cause, if you think more storage is ever not the answer. (though with an answer like that, it sounds like Gordon agrees with your therapist. :D)
I have that wizard fighting the dragon cross stitch kit. The black fabric made it hard to work on in inadequate lighting, but I started it in 2004 or 2005 (I remember working on it during that pregnancy) and finished in a couple years. My current cross-stitch is 5 years and counting because it’s on even weave, not aida, fabric and counting the stitches is even worse than the black fabric was. But the wizard has been displayed on my mantle for a decade or more. We like it. But I’m never choosing a black fabric kit again in my life!
I have also worked with black aida and use a light box as well as my standing light. I HATE stitching on black!
I love this post. It’s happy, hopeful, honest and meandering in the best way. Thank you for sharing!
I donโt know if it would hurt the yarn but could you use those vacuum and seal bags to store it?
Love when I sort and organize my crafting supplies. Donโt like looking at all my projects that are left half done but I tell myself someday I will get back to them ????.
Thank you for this. It’s nice to be remined that I’m not the only one with SABLE (stash acquisition beyond life expectancy) and a storage issue that’s turned into a room I don’t enter.
I almost feel inspired to brave the mess.
Love the acronym!!!!
I to think I have a STABLE…I just didn’t know it until your reply, and I love this post re the yarn stash….I think I’m always thinking of the possibilities of what I can make… and sometimes the wait is worth it. Love the works in progress to. And the lovely gifts to your neighbours who will make the cat blankets.
FINALLY, an actual diagnosis for a condition I didnโt know I have….
AC Moore sold off their inventory when they closed. I think I bought out my local store’s art supplies. All these pretty bottles and shiny new brushes! How much did I paint or draw last year? Zilch. I’m determined to make this year more positive, even if I have to drag it kicking and screaming to 2022. Stories like this inspire me (for about 20 minute but still…)
I need to agree with the amateur comment. We’re getting Windows replaced so I’m going thru my painting supplies, sewing fabric, quilting fabric, papermaking supplies (I never told my husband why the blender stopped working from that craft, I just bought him a new one) and jewelry making that outgrew my bedroom and garage to the living room and family room. It’s temporarily moving to storage, but I’m not sure where what I’m keeping is going to fit when it comes back…
Guilt. Thatโs what I read:: Some days I live and breathe guilt for everything I havenโt finished or done wrong. Which has amounted to many things over the years. You make so many people happy with your writing. You do you. And thank you.
I am inspired by You. Thanks for sharing.
Heart Hugs
You at least need to take a photo of the craft room floor since Gordon went through all the trouble!!
Beautiful projects but I SO get it !! Kind of like peeking at the end of a questionable book, finding you donโt like it, and never finishing . . .
Recently organized my craft section, hoping to fit all the yarn into 1 drawer. A fool’s hope, really. I’ve got two drawers and 2 grocery bags overflowing. I also found several uncompleted projects. Half a scarf with a really intricate cable pattern that clearly exhausted me, a hat with a Totoro color work portion, maybe the start of a raglan sweater (maybe?), a piece of what is going to be a ski bonnet if I ever get off my butt and do it that desperately needs to be blocked, and another beanie.
I have finished the two hats, and torn out and rewinded the raglan (I wasn’t far enough along to feel bad about it and I can’t remember the pattern or plan anyway). The scarf and ski bonnet remain sitting out in the hopes that my guilt will compel me to finish them.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is those are my new home decor pieces.
Having an organized space (organized is in the eye of the beholder) is essential to creativity. You canโt hear when thereโs too much noise (stuff). Kudos! We want pictures. ????
Gordon is such a good hubby!!! Go you! My garage and basement both need an overhaul, yeah, hasn’t happened yet. The purple shawl is beautiful, and I like the partial blue/green fade one as well….. unfortunately I’m allergic to sheep’s wool, so wool yarn/sweaters/etc are right out (although alpaca is ok)…. I wear a lot of cotton.
I love the look of the purple shawl. I used to knit a lot when my kids were young. Usually with cotton or acrylic because I get eczema from wool. Then I discovered filatura de crosa yarn and made a bunch of Aran style sweaters for the whole family. Then one day, I stopped knitting. Made quilts instead. Thatโs my stash. Fabric. I gave away a ton to someone making masks. But I still have maybe 3 quilts to do.
Meanwhile – I have trigger finger and Iโm too chicken to have my hand cut open. Oh well. Maybe some day
I had surgery on trigger finger maybe 15 years ago. We had done shots for a while, but they stopped relieving the pain, so surgery was the only option, It wasnโt bad, and the recovery time wasnโt bad either. Not having the locking and pain is great. I really havenโt had a problem with it since the surgery, if that helps any.
From earlier blogs I’ve read, knitting really makes you happy and relaxes you (when it doesn’t frustrate the heck out of you instead). If knitting a particular project doesn’t make you happy, there’s no shame in scrapping it. And collecting yarn? Just looking at the shades of blue and purple made me happy. Some yarn is beautiful and worth having whether you ever use it or not. Also, Gordon is wonderful! He put the rubber squares down so the floor would not only look better and stay clean but would also be softer for you to stand on. And he didn’t make a big deal out of it and ask for praise. Then to say “more storage” instead of saying, “you’re right, you need to stop buying yarn”? I repeat, wonderful! A definite keeper.
Aw, that was sweet. Not a bad husband at all.
Enjoy your yarnโmaybe you could try taking pictures with flash to show off the shiny, and then pictures w/o flash to show the colors? I personally have oodles of sheet music lying around, it makes me content just to know it’s there.
You could always sell them on Facebook as pre-started knitting projects…
Maybe your craft room is what your creativity needs to flourish to be able to balance all the structure and discipline you have to practice to write on deadlines. Kind of like having a natual garden vs a formal one. I would imagine just walking in and touching the yarn, from time to time, is a bit like doodling while your mind is busy sorting a problem backstage. Like the covid bread bakers this year, you even got to share your bounty with others.
I have bins of unfinished embroidery projects. Samplers, gifts, large scale patterns, you name it. And somehow, I keep buying and finding patterns, buying floss, and starting new projects. And I canโt convince myself to throw any of it away. ????????
I have a coffee table that Iโm doing a tile mosaic of a lily on….completion level is about 40%. Length of time it has been 40%…..about 4 years. Probability of completion? ….Iโll get back to you about that.
Iโve always said youโre not a real knitter (insert other craft as applicable) unless you have unfinished projects hanging around!
Beautiful yarns. Definitely more storage if yarn makes you happy. Books make me happy, so every time Iโve moved my family helped, and griped the whole time that I was the only person who had to move an entire library.
I don’t have as much yarn as you do. Just too much for shortage. Been thinking of taking up weaving. But I need the right loom. Also taking up rag rug weaving, because I have too many torn sheets…. sigh. I am in the process of purging…things, not yarn. My “craft room” is a joke
I am like this with art supplies. I buy a lot of watercolor pan sets in traveling size with intentions to do some plein air painting, or urban watercolor sketches while walking around… I don’t have a craft room yet, but I may turn one of the rooms that is now my office into a craft room. It overlooks the backyard and I get to see nature and have good lighting most of the day.
Suggestion for the partial projects – you can “Frankenstein” the shawls together, and make it a custom piece – ugly beautiful.
I resolved to not buy anymore art supplies but it makes me happy and I have a Michael’s Art store just down the road, and of course, there’s online. I tell myself its less expensive than therapy and I have 180 days to return (which I seldom do). I tend to give the extra art supplies as gifts or use them to create handmade cards, as well for self-care when I feel the need to create something beautiful to lift my spirits.
My takeaway is that Gordon is amazing. New floor PLUS the perfect solution to the problem.
+1000
And thanks for making me feel better about my unfinished knitting projects. Which is every project I have ever started.
Despite taking classes and lessons I never got the hang of fixing mistakes.
I live on the east coast in Maryland but my favorite yarn shop is in the U.K. – Colourmart:
https://colourmart.com/yarns/view/in_stock.*.rank.*.show_all
They sell remnants from idustial/designer production, including a TON of cashmere. A lot of the yarns are from Italian mills. They sell in 150 gram cones (really good prices) and all yarns can be wound on larger cones up to about 1KG. If you buy 6 cones of anything, you get a discount! All prices include the cost of shipping to your door.
They have cashmere, cotton, silk, wool, linen and and all sorts of blends. You can get lace weight strands spun together.
I understand the delight and the guilt of too much yarn. I crochet, have too many unfinished projects, too much unused, beautiful yarn…but it makes me happy!
Cheers,
Lesley Dorsey
Gee thanks, more affordable yarn! It’s bad enough I was turned on to Holst Garn by Skeindeerโฆ
(I live in the EU, and with luck will have forgotten your comment by the time the Tories figure out Brexit documentation. Current situation: FUBAR. >_<)
At the start of Covid I worked from home for several weeks, which forced me to clean out the sewing/craft room/office. As soon as I got it cleaned up, I realized that what I wanted to do was knit blankets. So I started a garter strip blanket, and a mitred square blanket… I finished a baby sweater for a coworker, the mitred square baby blanket, the mitred square couch sized blanket (sport weight) and another scrappy blanket out of bulky scrap yarn, and started another mitred square blanket. Because apparently miles of garter stitch is how I cope. But the craft room was only tidy for about 10 minutes.
I love the unfinished blue sweater! How about leaving the sleeves and instead attaching a wide hood like some cool game-world-garment?
Congrats to finishing your sorting your stock. Thats totally satisfying!
And your husband and your therapist are right: what counts is that it makes you happy!
Greets from Switzerland!
Inga
The day after Christmas my mother and I purged and organized all the linens. She has 3 large partially completed embroidery projects last worked on before 1975. Two of them went back into storage. The pink pom pom bath mat did not make the cut.
So a few years ago in a quilt store I saw a book of the most beautiful patterns for knitted lace shawls. I couldnโt resist and bought it. I showed it to a friend and she laughed! I guess this is the equivalent of making a Lone Star quilt (very difficult) and I had ZERO experience knitting. So I decided to learn. 15 months later I finished my first (and last) scarf, which was too short to actually be very useful. I went back to quilting. ???? And I feel better about myself because Iโm actually successful at that. Maybe Iโll learn to knit when I retire!
I’m not much of a knitter – though I have some wool, knitting needles, crochet hooks, etc because it’s one of those things I “might” want to do more of – but I do love me some craft equipment ๐
I’ll be looking online or watching something and I’ll see a segment about. oohm say, pyrography. I’m terrified of fire and burning, it took me ages to brave the glue gun (I love my glue guns!) but I’ll look into it and buy a pyrography starter kit. Because you never know and it looks cool.
Or there are some pretty beads and they’re on sale so. . . I might want to make something with them. Maybe. And they’re such a bargain!
Or I’ll get some beautiful looking mica powder because all evidence to the contrary, my brothers might suddenly decide that when I make their beard oil it would be great if it was pink with purple glitter.
I think it’s human nature, especially female nature, to get a bit hoarderish. And magpie covetous. And armageddon preparatory.
That’s how I explain my collection of beautiful shoes that have never been worn outside and my scary pyrography pen lying unopened in it’s box while I admire my stacks of jewellery findings waiting to be assembled and my big collection of silicon soap molds in totally awesome shapes that I rarely get to use because everyone is so damn boring in my family and only want plain colours and bars.
Sigh.
So really, wool sounds quite reasonable if you think about it. It’s soft and fluffy and rolls up. If it falls on you, you probably won’t be too badly injured ‘cos it’s wool.
And if the end of the world does come and it gets crazy cold in the apocalypse you can huddle in wool. The needles will be good weapons too. Meanwhile at armageddon I’ll be stumbling around in diamante platform heels, wrapped in silicone pieces like a cheap ass Madonna circa 1980’s and gingerly holding out an unplugged pyrography pen to ward off the mutant zombies. . .
I might have to start taking knitting a bit more seriously. . .
Thanks, you made me laugh so hard I’m crying AND coughing!
Legal Disclaimer: It’s not my fault that I am pitiably funny, I am extremely poor and not worth suing and so any choking cannot be attributed to me for litigation purposes ๐
I know that I am weird, but even the description of how a big, disordered mess becomes organized is something that I find extremely satisfying.
Me too.
what’s wrong with the purple one ? it looks done to me ?
More storage is always welcome. Some days I feel like hamster or stressed dragon or something.
I try to fight my hoarding tendencies, but it’s a loosing battle – right now I keep buying more fabric and cloths… hopeless
There is a storage to rent in our block and we thought about it, but they won’t sell just rent and I get a panic attack just thinking I would have to clear it out if they’d stop renting, so…
Such satisfaction in sorting the yarn, and for the self-pat on the back for doing it at all. Gordon is right, more storage!
Thanks for the inspiration. I have partially finished knitting projects, counted cross stitch projects, needlepoint projects, etc. I now realize what I need…more yarn! Your Gordon is still sweet on you. Creating a new floor for more storage? He’s smitten.
Years ago I learned to knit, at that time, I already crocheted and Tunisian knitted; but, then my neck and upper spine started pinching spinal nerves and hands numbness set in. I loved hand crafting, so I finally gave in and bought a knitting machine–something that had always fascinated me because I love quirky mechanical things and had no idea what rabbit hole I was jumping into. In short order, because these thing multiply behind your back when you aren’t looking, I had 4 machines… I started to think earn how to make them work, after I had to learn how to take them apart and service them or give them tune ups. Then because I apparently didn’t have enough to learn already, and because I was dissatisfied with yarn choices available to me in the quantities machines consume (really, they are like a starving teenage boy turned loose at an all-you-can-eat buffet), I backed into spinning. Yes, spinning yarn. I bought an Ashford Traveler DD wheel and proceeded to learn to spin. THEN, I discovered the hobby groups in Facebook… and my spinning really took off, as did my mechanical imagination… so I bought a Majacraft Aura Wheel, two more Silver Reed knitting machines and an antique Prior’n Purl machine. Which is when I hit a wall, Majacraft is a good company, but as an inexperienced spinner I didn’t know enough to know that there was something wrong with the wheel-but I am stubborn enough that I fought with it for nearly a year, before my suspicions were confirmed and ot was repaired–that wheel taught me almost everything about adjusting a spinning wheel to get the yarn you want. I even went so far as to customize a $400 accessory for it, to get the rests I wanted, but bad introductions always color a relationship, so it moved to a new home and a Lendrum entered the craft room, such a sweet and utterly capable wheel. The Prior’n Purl was a super challenge, just by right of age… it was crotchety and grimy–if it as a human, it would be an old grizzled deck hand seaman… I hand to figure out how to take it apart, how to clean it, how to put it back together, how to use it… it was just as difficult as the Aura, but I still got have it half tamed… but when it knits it knits so fine! So, fast forward to today… I have three different gorgeous fiber baths from Butterfly Girl’s sister on three different wheels, and line flax on the fourth wheel, and sm taking a Correspondence Course on knitting machine knitting, and the newest antique garter stitch knitting machine just arrived… a beautiful wooden Passap Occassion machine circa pre WWII. It is stuck, so I will have to completely disassemble, clean, straighten the aluminum bottom and brace pieces, oil, and refurbish before even trying to get it working, but I am happy with my herd of machines and wheels. Maybe I will try one of those shawls on this machine when I get it working…
Crafters call those UFOs, unfinished objects, and weโve all got them, whether we admit it or not. Iโm glad you got all organized, I wish I could do the same.
I hope to organize my next art studio with the Dreambox. Check it out at http://www.createroom.com.
Gordon, you rock! Rubber floor and more storage, yeah. Ilona is so fortunate to have you.
Gosh, I’ve been eyeing the DreamBox for quite some time now. But the shipping and duties (I’m in Asia) make it unlikely I will ever get one . . . unless they have a reseller here.
Love it.
I rug hook with wool cloth cut into various widths – depending on what pattern and what you like to hook. My third bedroom looks like a hoarder lives there – because when you see something you have to have – why not.
I used to crochet so there is a little yarn also.
One of these days I will reorganize- again.
Last March when the lock downs started I took the opportunity to finish several mats/small rugs/pieces I hooked over the years since that is the one thing I donโt much like – 7 pieces I now am only behind like 20 pieces or so.
Ps – we donโt talk about my beads for beading around here either.
I went through a stage of buy masses of baby pure wool – I knit for the Premmie babies at the hospital – but now I want to knit something with beautiful funky yarn like youโve got BUT Iโve got all this baby wool sitting there…..
I feel you! Sweet of Gordon to be so supportive.
Would love to see a before and after – I could use the inspiration, as I’d like to see my closet floor before I grow old and die. It’s a walk-in closet, but at this point I can only take two steps before hitting clutter. Argh!
Gordon wins Husband of the Year
Buy the yarn. Be happy. Find good uses -like the feral cats- for the yarn that no longer makes you happy. When it exceeds capacity ask your husband for advice lol. Thanks for sharing you have such a charming way of telling about how you choose to deal with life. I appreciate the peeks into your life as much as the snippets you guys so generously share. I do appreciate it. I love the yarn in most of your projects.
I love everything about this; thank you for sharing!
I am just building my stash, and yours sounds awesome. The freehand fade shawl is very pretty; the blues glow.
Way to go! Have you heard the term โSABLEโ? Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy ???? Try not to feel guilty about your stash. Itโs your money to do with as you please, and Is hate for one of the things that you love to turn into another obligation and/or stressor.
I love boring garter and stockinette stitch projects for TV/movie watching. You donโt have to pay much attention to the knitting, but youโre being productive, so you donโt have to feel guilty about the TV time. ๐
Every one of those knitting projects are so gorgeous! Makes me wish I could buy one from you! They look wonderful!
I, personally, would love to see finished projects, if you wanted to share!!
TD
I have tons of yarn. I can’t knit fast enough. This is what happens when you have friends that have a yarn store and will order anything you want. 95% is loaded into Ravelry. I made the mistake of adding up how much is invested. Yikes.
Not to mention the spinning wheel, the sewing machines…
If it brings you joy, it’s money well spent.
It’s likely a bit of a hike, but Austin Creative Reuse is a fabulous organization that is remarkably good at rehoming all sorts of craft odds and ends, should you find more stuff that needs a home that’s not yours.
I have a question – is it the buying of yarn or the keeping of yarn that makes you happy? If it’s just the buying of it, you could donate it to people who knit stuff for charity (like you mentioned). For me, it’s both the buying of cool stuff and sometimes the keeping of that stuff – sometimes the giving away of that stuff that makes me happy!
Thank you so much. You have no idea how much the rationale of “if it makes you happy, do it” just helped. I have a collector mentality, and for some reason it makes me happy to have “a thing” that I am actively searching for and buying. I started last year buying perfume – I probably bought 100 different samples and probably 15 bottles, but I ended up giving most of it away. Then I went onto nail polish – the stuff that I had to order from Australia and Korea and England. Then I gave most of that away. Now I am onto lipsticks and eyeshadows, and I will probably give a lot of that away. But it makes me happy. And I don’t feel as guilty.
I love our local Buy Nothing group. I gave away an abandoned knitting project (1 completed mitten that my puppy chewed up and the half-finished partner) that I had kept in a drawer for 10 years (my dog is now 11) to someone who makes upcycled tapestries.
My husband is always on me to organize my craft room, as it has taken over most of the basement. I could stock a store with all of the yarn I have! He also like to talk about how I started a sweater for him years ago and finished 1 sleeve. So I guess he has 1/4 of a sweater. I wish I has space to dump all the yarn and sort it! I also have more projects started than I can probably ever finish in this lifetime. I’m pretty sure The Joker and The Thief is saved in my Ravelry favorites! I will tell my husband that the solution is more storage, not less yarn!
I donโt knit or crochet, but Iโm fascinated by your projects and the beautiful yarn!!
Thank you for sharing this.
With all my covid19 crafting I used up 30 years of stashed yarn I’m now replenishing my stash. I’m also learning to thumb type instead of old lady one finger texting. One finger is still faster.
When I used to clean out my closet, I would open it randomly for months afterward just to look in and see how neat it is. A couple of years ago, I had a closet organizer come and do an installation. Now it never gets messy enough to start the cycle again.
Gordon is awesome.
Looking at fiber arts is fun. I love the beautiful yarns and patterns. Maybe someday!
My husband recently lost his favorite hat that Iโd made for him and the yarn has been discontinued, but in my giant stash, I had two skeins of exactly that yarn! Iโd even taken detailed notes on Ravelry, so I was able to recreate it.
I never feel bad about my stash. It makes me happy and it isnโt hurting anybody. Donโt feel bad about having a lot of WIPs, either. If youโre not feeling inspired, switch to something else.
I crochet little projects now. Hats for 18 inch dolls, simple vests, I also sew. I dress new dolls and give them to Toys for Tots and local charities. These projects can be done in a day or two. Maybe you can use some of your yarn for easy quick stuff.
This made me laugh…because it’s true… ๐ ๐ ๐
“My 2021 New Yearโs resolution is to finish all my craft projects from 2020 that I should have done in 2019 after I started them in 2018 after buying the supplies for them in 2017 with the tutorials I found in 2016.” – Factory Direct Craft
Sort by color next. Iโve seen it done and itโs insanely beautiful!
I think my favorite “yarn” project is one that doesn’t use much yarn really. Something my great-grandmothers, grandmothers, mother, aunts, & great-aunts all had in their kitchen. It was a half-towel that had a crocheted end that buttoned over the handle on the stove. Kept the hand towel from falling on the floor every other use. Ironically I never learned how to knit, crochet, sew, or any of those skills. Plus I’ve carpal tunnel so it’s not really an option, however I’m fortunate in that my spouse is teaching two of our daughters sewing and or oldest is teaching herself to crochet. Someday I might get new towels for my kitchen lol (used the ones from my family until they were threadbare)
Ilona,
I think your husband is wonderful, kind and thoughtful. Enjoy your yarn. If I may, my mother passed away in June. My life centered around her. I’ve entered a new stage in my life and I’m learning what it means to live alone and find balance. Finding joy is a part of that. If yarn makes you happy, does it really matter if or when you use it? Its texture and color inspire. Its potential is found in your imagination and gives satisfaction when shared with others. I think finding joy, like most things in life, is a journey that we sometimes overthink and forget to feel.
When I DO have the time to walk my dog and de stress, I often find it relaxing imagining the future quilts I will make – patterns, colors etc. Never mind that I also have at least 3 unfinished bed or wall quilts in my craft drawers. Maybe when I’m retired I will finish them, but it was sure fun planning them. I try to not feel too guilty, when I’d rather start a new project than finish one of these old ones.
I have 10 thumbs – no ability to knit, crochet, do needle work. No skill.
My happiness is making cards. I hunt for “pretty design, blank on the inside” cards for holidays. All the holidays. And lots of stickers. I have a serious Hallmark habit!! Also, when Current catalog has good sales on stickers! And Hobby Lobby has great blank cards in note card and greeting card sizes. (This is not an advertisement for any brands, just sources! ????) And of course, finding “themed” postage, if possible. Everybody needs real mail. ????????
The “1/8 of a shawlette” could be an RBG collar. And the “3/4 of a sweater” – make the other sleeve in a lighter blue or maybe pink (is that pink in the hem of the sweater?) and attach the sleeves. Start a new sweater trend!!
I think your projects are fantastic and I wish I had the patience for knitting or found it as relaxing as you. Instead, I buy the yarn with the hope that I will master more skill and do something amazing.
Your pictures of the 1/8 shawlette would be amazing for a doll if it’s actually small enough and it kind of looks like the other unfinished shawls could easily be made for some different sized kids who would absolutely love it / wear it / play dress up in them. Buy yarn, skip the guilt – it makes you happy and that is worth quite a bit more than money; I’m with Gordon on this one.
Thank you for the peeks into your life. It’s like gaining another friend who you may never meet in person but enjoy the conversation; even better because there is no guilt for the lack of return comment! Thanks for all you do and provide for us.
If you sew 2 of the triangles together kinda looks like a blanket…
Hello everyone. Iโm Fatin from Malaysia. I wish I have soooo many yarn!
May I know any good way to start on knitting example of maybe book recommendations or what type of yarn good to start with?
I have just gone to Spotlight and the craft section just blinded me. I literally stood there for full 10 minutes, static, trying to figure how to start and end up not buying anything after 2 hours of staring at everything.
I really want to get into knitting and start knitting baby clothes as most of my family member starting to have babies and hope me soon ????
Hi Fatin,
You need to join this website: https://www.ravelry.com It’s free.
On the website, there are many projects and patterns, a lot of them also free. The patterns will tell you exactly what type of yarn to buy and where to buy it. Here is a selection of beginner projects.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/60-quick-knits-for-beginners/patterns
If you never knitted before, I would start with a washcloth, something like this. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/grandmothers-favorite
It would require cheap cotton yarn and once you learn how to knit with it, wool will be much easier.
Former yarn shop worker here. Don’t be discouraged if your beginning projects looks nothing like the pattern picture or that it may be kind of stressful to learn. It totally gets better with practice. My first scarf looked like a oval-ish blob. It should have been a rectangle. So many skilled knitters started with weird looking first projects.
If you do end up liking knitting and want to knit nice looking things to wear, I’d advise that you work your way up to allowing yourself to rip (aka undo/frog/tear apart) things out without guilt. It’s ok to have unfinished objects but if things looking weird does not make you happy, you can usually rip them out and start again or reuse the yarn for a different project.
I taught myself to knit when my daughter was about two years old. I had a friend who knit a baby sweater for her, then knit another one when she grew out of the first one. After that, she said I needed to learn how so I could make my own!
I got a โlearn to knit bookโ that taught the basic stitches, casting on and binding off. Start with a US size 8 needle so itโs big enough to see the stitches clearly. Ilonaโs right about starting simple with a dishcloth. Then learn new techniques after you get the basics figured out. The Ravelry website she mentions is great for patterns. YouTube also has tutorials and look at the tutorial videos on yarn manufacturers websites like http://www.lionbrand.com/pages/how-to-knit which also has good illustrations. I also use Pinterest to keep track of how-to examples and color ideas.
Good luck and happy knitting!
I sew and my UFO pile is pretty big. Some of the things are half made, some are a pattern with folded fabric, some are cut pattern pieces with a note as to the pattern, some are repairs, some are can this be saved or can this be made into something else?…yikes. Every year I try to finish at least one thing from this pile. Sometimes I get a wild hair and clear the bin in a couple days. Right now it’s over flowing and I also have bags of fabric scraps stacked every where, a pile to destash, another pile of large scraps to destash, sewing projects to get rid of (including cut but unfinished PPE gowns, lazy baby quilt and book kits…), a pile of stuff to sew for the kids, a pile of mama cloth to finish, fabric that has been washed and just needs to be put away, a pile of patterns I want to make and one of patterns I want to put together. Plus my many shelves of fabric. In short a total fracking disaster ???? You’re in good company.
I love your therapist. Do what makes you happy. No therapist, but explains all of my cooking books. If I am in a bookstore with my adult daughter and I start sliding over to the cookbook section, I get the “No more cookbooks!” Lol
“Blood Heir” arrived from Amazon today!!!! Guess what I’m going to be reading? (Actually, Amazon delivered it to a neighbor who graciously brought it over to me.)
We hope you enjoy it! <3
OMG, how, what, but its not released for 2 more days.
I am so very happy (insert jealous ) of you right now.
But then i’d stay up all night reading it and wouldn’t be able to get up for work in the morning.
Oh well, wait will be over soon
Hello Kyle,
The print date was moved to the 8th of January to ensure everyone could have it by the 12th. And sometimes deliveries go very fast indeed ????
I did go and track my order from fishpond (hoping hoping hoping that Australia has them too) but its รณn our way to our warehouse’.
oh well, that happens when you live on the other side of the world.
i’ll get the ebook on the 12th so then it wont matter when the ‘real book’arrives ๐
I will put it on my bookshelf (1 of 4 double bookshelves- hubby calls the room the library) and have my happy moment :).
I have an insane number of cookbooks as well. I finally figured out I was subconsciously trying to find one that would do the meal prep by itself.
I am still looking.
I GOT MY COPY OF BLOOD HEIR!!!!
God I needed this.
So thrilled for you! Hope you love it ????
Yes, yes, yes,
I will suggest, as a very experienced yarn buyer, that one of your divisions be weight of yarn. Thatโs how you decide if you have the right yarn for a pattern, and how sensible yarn stores organize their yarns.
You are an amazing artist. Gordon is my hero!
Itโs not your usual style but you could make some chunky projects (throw blanket? Dog bed?) using multiple skeins a la https://thesnugglery.net/the-ultimate-yarn-stash-buster-how-to-make-chunky-yarn-for-arm-knitting/
I went thru my โgood yarnโ stash tonight. Currently itโs sorted by weight: mostly sock (because socks and shawls are portable), followed by lace weight (because itโs lace!), and a few skeins of sweater weight I had (have?) plans for. I wonโt discuss all the cotton yarn (dish cloth weight) and โafghanโ yarn I inherited from my great aunt (as those were her passion) that sits in large plastic containers under my cutting table. My craft room also needs a good sorting and the mending pile is hiding good space for projects. And I canโt find a sweater that is 2/3s knitted! So glad Iโm not alone in having project materials exceeding time to work on them! Thanks for the inspiration!
I recently moved and now have a designated craft room which I was able to mostly organize as I unpacked. I make cards and scrapbooks. While you have an abundance of yarn, I have enough card stock to open my own store. When I could go out to Michaels and Joanns I couldnโt leave without more and more card stock in many beautiful colors. When I am in my craft room and looking at all the card stock, I feel happy and making my cards, keeps me sane in this mad, mad world.
I am happy for you that you have a functional craft room for when you are able to use it. ????
I think more storage is a winner. Lots of cube storage (like you have bookshelves for your books) so you can just go in and see it all displayed beautifully on your walls and get that happy feeling.
The pictures of your UFOs make me feel less of a knitting spaz, so thank you for that. ๐ I have a bunch of random half-finished items for myself, which is fine, but I also have an IOU-UFO list for family members. Off the top of my head, I need to finish: 1) 2nd mitt of a pair for my dad, 2) a knitted tote that just needs straps and lining sewn on for my sister, 3) a blanket that was frogged and is now only 1/10 finished for my brother-in-law [I did tell him at the outset that it would probably take at least 5 years-I’m pretty sure I’m a year past that], 4) a scarf for my mom (actually working on this one!), and 5) an amigurumi Jabba the Hutt for my cousin. I’ve actually finished 2 hats for my grandma, so there is that. Finally, let’s not even get into my stash. I’ve been on a bulky yarn kick the past year or so, so I have quite a few large lumpy plastic bags since I’ve exceeded my storage bin capacity. ‘:}
I have books, like you have yarn….
Though some are decidedly DNFs, there are a few which I will (eventually) get around to finishing.
And do I love arranging them! Sometimes it’s colour coding, sometimes alphabetical, most times author-wise…..and if I am totally funked up, they go alphabetically author-wise with date of publishing……and then I am so pleased with myself that I treat myself by pulling out two-three books and reading them simultaneously…..(most times, though, I just end up piling books around me and reading…and then my sis puts them away….)
Oh, he’s a keeper. What a wonderful man.
I feel you. I had to put myself on a yarn diet. I have bins in the laundry room, bins in the extra bedroom and small stashes in the living room and bedroom. That’s after donating a bunch. I am knitting hats, scarves, headbands and mittens like crazy and donating them. I live in Minnesota where we have three seasons (winter, road construction and leaf raking) so those items are actually useful. I can’t wait to see more pictures of your room and stash!
When I helped my parents move from California to Alabama (for the 2nd time) in 2013, I found the cut out pattern and fabric pieces to a dress my Mom had started for me in the mid 70’s. She packed it up and moved it to California in 1980 even though it would never have fit me even before we moved. It was turquoise chiffon fabric with bright pink stripes. I kinda wanted her to finish it just to see what it would have looked like.
I am a crafter too. Last year during lockdown 1 in the UK I finally organised my 12 years worth of cross stitch mags. I now have files organised with patterns by type etc. (Think animal, architecture, samplers etc.) That took a long time….
I do cross stitch, card making and diamond dots. I sorted everything and labelled it.
I have two craft cupboards and a 3 drawer plastic chest.
My left over Christmas cards are hanging on a door.
Every year I set myself goals, some of which I achieve. Some are held over.
Last year I finished my diamond dots- 4 outstanding projects. There are about 25 not started.
I finished a large cross stitch for my husband, 4 years in the making last week. I have probably about 250 counted cross-stitch kits. Not counting Christmas ones, they are a separate file…
My card and paper stash is huge. I am very glad there were no craft fairs that I could access last year or my card stash would be bigger. I have 3000 card blanks, sorted into piles of 10 each, tied up with ribbon. 10 is how many I can do in an afternoon.
Lockdown 2 was Christmas card making, hence the overflow. I gave most away to friends. Christmas has its own shelf in my cupboard.
This year I hope to finish more cross stitch, diamond dots and try and finish an outstanding punchneedle kit!
My husband laughed out loud at the craft comments as he has suffered from craft chaos for the past 40 years.
Thank you for all you and Gordon create, long may it continue!!
Gordon. Is. Awesome.
I can relate to the happiness of buying craft supplies. My office doubles as a craft room, and I now have two decorative skulls on top of my speakers, and the top of my desk doubles as painting space. (The sketchbooks are small, otherwise it would make too much mess.) It’s fun to sit there and write out a scene, then grab a sketchbook and draw/paint it.
What I do when there’s just too much, and I need to pare down is box up supplies that have never been opened, and send them to my best friend Greta. She’s an art/science teacher, and has to buy her own supplies. All the extra sent goes to those of her students who can’t afford any.
I think your therapist is right, too. Buy your yarn. If storage space starts to run out, see if any of the local nursing homes or churches would like a few skeins as a donation?
I’d love to see your craft room. Mine is currently a forest of paint brushes, trays, resin bones, and sketchbooks. **Sigh**
I have four trunks of quilting fabric. I join you in the stash pleasure. It makes me very happy.
I’d be happy to give the Hitchhiker a home. I knit, and I’m even in Texas!
I absolutely love that your hubs put in a floor for your craft room! Now he just needs to finish your projects for you … ha! I am not very crafty at all, but i decided I was going to finish a quilt my mom put together when she was a young girl. I put the edging on and the backing and started to quilt it. That was about 30 years ago and it’s been in the closet ever since.
AND craft rooms are supposed to be full and messy – all my friends that have them are, it’s a sign of genius. Me, I have a full garage that would drive you insane, because it is just junk covered in dust and spiders, but my hubby is a hoarder and I can’t do anything with it or the house. So if I showed you a picture, you’d never be embarrassed again! ๐
I have several “blankets” stitched by my grandmothers and I can tell you, I don’t look at how they were knitted, but that they were made for me with love. Your’s look lovey too.
Have a wonderful day!!!!!
Gee, now I feel guilty for my (plural) stashes. Beads, Yarn, Stuffed Bears, Bracelets, Wire wrapped pendants, this list is incomplete. BUT, I’m 69, so I have to give myself some slack. I do feel sorry for whoever has to sort it out, ’cause it doesn’t look like it’s going to be me. And, my husband has way more than God, no joke. We keep thinking, come tomorrow, we’ll look on doing it. Huh.
The fact that my favorite author (you), is a knitter, makes me absurdly happy. I was an avid knitter up until early last year, when carpal tunnel “benched” me, as it were. I’m waiting to have surgery until my life calms down a bit, and then I can get back to it! I also spun yarn, so I have gobs of that sitting around. I miss it so much. It was nice to get a peek into your crafting life. You choose beautiful yarns. Blues and greens are my favorite.
More storage! Gordon is awesome. I love sorting and organizing my yarn. It’s in plastic totes by weight / fiber. I love seeing your WIP projects.
oops I thought that was going to be the avatar. Sorry
Oh, how I would have wanted to see the Giant Dragon Hoard of Yarn!
I am sure it would have been majestic….are you sure you didn’t take a picture of that one?
Don’t see much difference between buying more yarn that you need and buying more books than you could possibly read. I had to downsize (this KILLED me) give away sets of books. I found that I can re-buy these books on my Kindle PLUS a whole bunch more and store them ON MY KINDLE, or Amazon does it for me. Wha-la. More storage
Wow. I love your knitting, even if it half-finished projects. I would wear any of my those. You have great taste in color/pattern too!! Me, Iโm collecting planner stickers for my Hobonichi journal which is a rabbit hole in and of itself. I find my anxiety lessens when I can decorate my paper. ::shrug:: We do what we need to do, right?
So many typos in that comment. SMH.
Thank you so much for this post! Not only do I feel I was there with you, but, it made me very happy to read that you’re happy. I can’t help but believe this was a great mental and physical vacation. Wonderful!
And I agree, Gordon wins husband of the year!
Hugs for 2021 and beyond!!
I must confess that I have at least 3 unfinished projects I stopped working on when I got sick. But after a long time, doctors finally heard me and dug in and figured out what was going on, and I feel so much better now. So what do I do with all that fabric I cut out when I weighed almost 45 pounds more than I do now? I figured to hell with those, left them where they were, and started opening storage containers and found MILES of fabric and the patterns I bought on sale for $1 each because I might actually want to make that blouse or coat or pants or dress one day. Well, today’s the day! I have to alter all the patterns, which required that I purchase more pattern tracing material. It takes some time to remake patterns and measure and trace, but I now have a few patterns that work, so I’m sewing. There are others I like, too, but those will do for today, right? The patterns I like are out of print, of course. Good thing I bought so many when sales used to happen! I am working to get a wardrobe that fits me and suits me. One of these days, I’ll get out of this house, and when I do, I will need something that fits so I can stop looking like a bag lady, right?
But when I started looking for my fabrics that I knew I had, I found so much I had forgotten I bought! Container after container opened to reveal more fabrics and more patterns and my biggest flaw was that I rarely bought thread and kept it with the fabric. Good thing there’s the internet to buy supplies because my tools had rusted and they needed to be sharp! Then, of course, amidst the fabric, I found some tools I had purchased still in packages, in perfect condition. So I have more. I even found my electric scissors sharpener! Score!
I would go to the fabric store and see luscious fabrics in gorgeous colors and think I’d make something. I bought heavy stuff to make light coats, I bought peachskins to make dress clothes, I bought poly/cotton for summer wear. I have yards and yards of fake fur to make coats, but I only ever made myself two of them. I brought in some fabrics I felt I could make nice stuff to wear with, and started. The rest? Well, at least I know where those are now, right? I asked my husband what material would look good as pants. He chose crushed velvet, which almost did me in and stopped me in my tracks, but I pushed through it and he was right. I will not use crushed velvet again for a long time, but I am fairly sure that was all I had of it, anyway, and that means I won’t buy more. I used to kick myself because I knew I had all that fabric I had never used, but I also know that whoever dies with the most fabric wins, so now I have all that to use without having to go to stores to risk contagion and I will soon enough have clothes to wear when I can go out. I can buy more later and still win, right?
Ilona, that yarn you don’t want to use could go to many places. People make many things to give away to those in need, and most of those things take little yarn. Nothing needs to be thrown away, but a lot can be given away, if you can find where it’s needed. The real beauty of giving away what you don’t want to use is that you suddenly have space to buy more! A craft room without crammed shelves is a wasted room, you know. If you don’t want to finish those projects and the idea of unwinding all that knitting on things you didn’t finish makes you cringe, give away the unfinished stuff and let someone else repurpose it all. And one day, if you ever get out of Texas, those shawls may be welcomed into your wardrobe.
When I sew, I can be there for hours and it feels like a few minutes. I have to concentrate on what I’m doing, so I can’t even consider all the stuff that makes me want to scream because it’s not getting done. I end up with something I want to own and a calmer mind. We all do the crafts we do to enjoy them. While I do enjoy making clothes, what I really enjoy is wearing my new clothes, knowing that they fit and look right.
We all need to know that when we have time to do them, our crafts will be there, ready to be done. That’s why we keep stock on hand to use when we need it.
And Gordon is absolutely correct when he said the answer to this crisis is more storage. We all need to do what keeps us at least partially sane, and if buying yarn is what does that for you, buy some more! My husband could not be less interested in buying fabrics, but he has never said that I have too much of it. Then he shocked me by choosing fabric for a blouse to go with those crushed velvet pants. It’s really good to have a husband who sees the signs that you’re going insane and actually does something to help, isn’t it?
Love the WIPs! Check out the Weaving Stephen video by Stephen West, it has a great method of weaving in ends as you knit. Made multi-skein projects finished projects for me. I can’t wait to see photos of your finished craft room.
For the garter stitch items, you could vary up how you approach a row to make it less tedious. Like, instead of knitting a row, you could turn it around and purl that row instead and do that for a bit.
It’s also entirely possible to knit and purl backwards, where you could do something like garter stitch by purling a row and then knitting the next row backwards (without turning the fabric).
(I find it easy to knit backwards and a bit tricky to purl backwards, myself. Note that knitting or purling backwards also changes which side of the loop is facing you.)
I know what you mean on the incomplete projects, though. Someday, I do hope to get to my own ones. [sigh]
Four years ago we moved into a new house so I reorganized all my yarn so it would fit better in the new space. One of my favorite yarn shops organizes most of its inventory by color, which is gorgeous to look at, so I tried that too. And I made a list of every type of yarn while doing so. It was five sheets of legal sized paper, front and back. It did not include all my undyed yarn, which is probably 40% of my stash. Because yarn is pricey I have many sets of yarn consisting of three or four skeins, thinking as I purchased them that I’d just put them together with something similar and make a sweater (I have enough wraps and scarves…). Epic fail. About two years ago I took a color theory course at a Stitches and realized I was going to have to sort my stash again, this time according to weight. Bought a mess of clear tubs, powered through it, and offloaded all my acrylic. So now my three tubs of worsted yarn are all together and I can see what’s in them. I think I have four times my height in tubs, but I don’t feel intimidated by it anymore. (Only one times my height in fabric and the beads are mostly under control). And because life is short, I do have two tubs labeled “bougie”, one commercial and one to-be-dyed, which are where the silk, cashmere, yak, specialty gift yarn, etc., ended up. I’m trying to work my way through those–and the stuff my sister dyed for me–first rather than saving them for “someday,” because that’s today, especially after a year like 2020. And many of my UFOs are going to be back ripped; the yarn is still lovable but I don’t need the albatross of a project that isn’t talking to me anymore.
Good luck on your sorting journey. Clear tubs are a game changer! Budget several days. ????
Um can I send my yarn to you to take over now????? I have some lovely yarn made from musk ox, wool, and silk that would be entirely too warm for Texas but works great in Nome, Alaska where I live!
I am in awe of anyone with any organization skills.
Oomph. I feel this so hard, however I don’t have a craft room ????. I do have bins and bins and bins of yarn. I could legitimately open a craft store as well. And my project pile of shame? Well it takes up 2 bins… I am hoping to one day finish most of them (so many are so close), but I recently pulled apart the ones that I know I never will. I would love to see your craft room once you are done! I think it will be inspiring
I used to do pictures using satin stitch embroidery. I was very good at it and probably still would be, but the only other thing I find as anywhere near as boring is casino gambling.
Lord, if you are listening, I also want someone who will lay down new rubber floors for me in my craft room unprompted. Please and thank you.
I have many started crochet Afghans……… sigh. I am ashamed I didnโt have the self control to make myself finish.
I have gone thru the pathos of giving away tons of yarn and semi finished articles. I crochet now and only have to dresser drawers of commercial yarn. The rest is homespun by me on Turkish spindles and even if I never use it, I can’t get rid of it.
I would agree with the husband. More storage is definitely the answer. If it makes you happy, more storage is easy. Yarn cubbies (https://sweetkiwicrochet.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taras-yarn.jpg?w=584)? Yarn pegboard (https://hearthookhome.com/inexpensive-and-easy-yarn-organization-wall/)? Pictures after the fact or it never happened ;). Also itโs very Marie Kondo like relaxation to see other peopleโs storage solutions – partly because my own storage goals are so lofty.. and my reality is so very humble (or realistically non-existent).
As others have mentioned, Gordon is clearly a keeper between the flooring and the answer to more yarn being more storage. And donโt feel guilty about your stash. Many others have stashes. My fabric stash is insane, my mother and friends literally come shop in my sewing room. But I can afford my hobby and it keeps me sane so I have no guilt. ????????โโ๏ธ????
For those with mega yarn collections, have you thought of a yarn wall? It would be good so that you can visualize your supply and will help you creatively because you will be able to see what you have to work with and you wonโt need to dig as much.
That is sooo cool
I don’t know why, but it makes me think at “Santa Klaus is a stinker”, a french movie. I translate the extract :
“- A mop, how wonderful, Thรฉrรจse
– No Pierre, this is a vest
– Of course this is a vest, there are holes for the arms.
I was saying to myself that I was missing out something to take out the trash.”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1wvrL5cHciQ
No offense here, your knittings are really beautiful, the movie just jumped in my mind in reading your post… ????
“Bigger holes for the arms”
I have two under bed storage boxes full of unfinished sewing and knitting projects… maybe I will finish them…
I allow myself 3 simultaneous knitting projects: 1 small project like a simple scarf or mittens, 1 medium like a simple shawl or a complicated scarf and 1 insanely complicated lace shawl. Any UFOs would keep me from starting something new I want to work on, so I either finish it or toss it.
I have a craft toom. I’m a quilter….i have several containers of UFOs…..UnFinished Objects….it is the nature of the beast….i have fabric to last hopefully til i die, cuz being retired i don’t buy much – and i have been a fabricholic for years…. but i get lots of fabrics and JoAnn cards as gifts, and i keep my scraps (2 bins of those)…. I don’t guilt over it..i think of all the things still out there to make…..and i have a moderate stash of yarn as well, because i like to crochet…..and a stash of paper and supplies cuz i sometimes scrapbook….oh!…and watercolors paints and supplies because i like to paint….and……!!!…..SO, you are actually quite lucky to have only the mountain of yarn.
My conclusions:
1. You really like shawls!
2. You need to find a knitting club – one that knits for charity -and donate the projects you’ll never finish. That way you’ll feel good because you didn’t waste all that yarn and time and someone else benefits! Win-win.????
3. Be glad you don’t do card making (which is my hobby). Yours involves patterns, yarn, and needles (maybe embellishments here & there). Mine has paper, dies, stamps, inks, markers, pencils, glues, stencils, dimensional tape, paper, regular tape, two sided tape, scissors (OK, you have scissors, too), cutters, stamping platforms, die cutting machine, embellishments, did I mention paper?, envelopes, ink brushes, blender brushes, crafting mats, paper, and all the rest of the stuff I’ll never use in my lifetime! I feel your craft room pain!! ????
4. Gordon deserves a big kiss and a gold star! That was awesome!!????
5. If knitting is your release and makes you happy, then go knit!!????????
Love that you were able to meet some neighbors while cleaning out your crafty stuff! Wish I had a garage…????
We moved last year. All my yarn is still packed away in the shed because there’s no place to put it. I’m having separation anxiety and at last I understand why. My hubby just looks at me and shakes his head. I just told him if he doesn’t get my yarn out for me I’m going to buy more. Then I admitted the pleasure is in the buying and owning, not necessarily the using. I explained yarn is soft and pretty. I passed this gene on to my daughter, but at least I know we aren’t alone in the world.
I never learned to knit but I do like crewel and needlepoint, and I have more UFOs and USPs/unstarted projects than I have space. One great thing my husband did was get me a high intensity lamp so I could figure out which color goes where. I can’t follow the diagrams for counted cross-stitch due to bifocal eyes but printed needlepoint patterns are doable if I ever had time.
You know if you auctioned off these unfinished projects to fund some charity you love (Yarn Buyers Anonymous?), I am sure, we – your fans – would pay a lot for them. You would be free of the pressure of unfinished projects and free up some more space. My greyhound rescue group, GALT of Texas, does auctions of greyhound items all the time. Iโm sure you have charities that do it, too, so you might be able to farm out the work of running the auction. Win – win.
Iโm having a similar problem and I suppose my husband has attempted to help. He gave me a small tabletop in the basement to set up a tiny tabletop photo studio setup. My problem is that I love all things vintage glass. Pyrex. Hottles. Fire king. Depression glass. Carnival glass. Or cute new glass. I love to use it and photograph it in food posts. It started with a cobalt blue decanter set and a Hall teapot my gran gave me around 1991. I love to hold it in my hands. Itโs not soft or warm and fuzzy but I just love running my hands over it all and remember playing with some pieces when I was little. The last piece I bought I sort of smuggled it into the house and pretended Iโd had it for years, rather than listening to him bixxx about buying more glass. Maybe I need therapy. Phooey. It makes me happy and one day (maybe when Iโm 60) Iโll have a display cabinet for it. Sometimes I cook just to use a certain piece of my collection and it makes me happy.
????I too have a yarn room that will not be photographed until it can be organized. But, all I could think about was your new flooring. Wow! Look at your new blocking mat!! Jealous. Thank you for sharing your stories. They make my day.
Buying yarn makes me very happy. I have a staggering stash. One tool that has enabled me to find everything I need is the Ravit app on Ravelry. I am a devoted fan. You log in each yarn with a photo and then you can sort by weight, yardage, etc. I can now pull up an inventory of my entire stash. Itโs still astronomical but now I can put my hands on that Alice Starmore Scottish Fleet whenever I want. Joy.
Iโve been knitting since I was a kid and the only knitting projects I finish are scarves lol. Every winter my whole family gets another scarf. They just smile and accept. I think hoarding yarn is probably very common ????.
I also cleaned out my knitting supplies. My arthritis makes knitting a no go. I find crocheting is easier so I kept the yarn and gave the needles away. I kept a couple of needles that could be reused for other crafts. It’s not easy to go cold turkey.
Regretfully I am looking at the same issue. Now use big needles and easy projects. Blankets to donate , any size.
I am so glad to know I am not the only person out there that has projects half finished. My downfall is afghans and throws. I have at least 5 started, all different patterns, and yarn everywhere. I think about digging one out to finish, then something else comes up and there they stay.
Oh, pictures of the organized craft room would be lovely! I love watching videos of organization, Kondo Marie-like spaces, capsule wardrobes, etc. My own environment is so chaotic, these videos are uber soothing for me.
My own craft is quilting. There’s stashes of supplies in five places in the house because it doesnโt fit all in just one (>_<). I need to organize it… (as well as my books, the kids clothes, my brand-new home office -thanks Covid- my post-renovation kitchen…)
Posting my very first blog comment to say, the enormous blue shawl is absolutely stunning. Gorgeous. I don’t knit, but that is very inspiring.
I am a quilter and my stash consists of fabric, lots of fabric. I do make a lot of baby quilts (just finished one and am working on the next in 5 minutes) but sometimes the amount of fabric depresses me. I give some away but every time I make another quilt I know why I keep it. I do have them organized by colors in bins so that helps a lot. If yarn makes you happy, I say go for it!
I feel attacked!
My sewing room was in a similar state last week. Now my living room is a disaster area with piles of bags and random boxes and my sewing room is empty. Then I decided that maybe I should paint the sewing room before putting anything back in. I still haven’t sorted out my sewing stuff…
Gordon rocks and i love his surprise for you. Plus love that you out down a aodt floor! I think your shawls are great and my favorite is the blue one! Its gorgeous! Have fun finishing it. Cant wait for your book release. Im trying to read a few other authorโs books and they dont compare to your books or a few of my handful of other favorite authors. Where the pace is too slow or the characters are flat. Yall take care!
I totally understand. The family joke is that my daughter raids my basement regularly for craft supplies and waits to see if I miss it. Happily I rarely do. My treasures involve knitting, sewing and most forms of needlework. Name your poison and I can probably give you a project or 6. My issue is magnified by loving to take classes and having a husband who finally came to understand that I am a process person, not a Project person. I am very grateful he is tolerant of it! When youโre feeling guilty about your lovely collection remember you are also supporting those yarn businesses. Any chance one or more kiddos will take up knitting?
I am a hobby soap maker and my stash of fragrance oils is insane. I see a name or a description of something that sounds good and sample is in my cart. 100s of samples. I canโt even make a batch if soap with a sample.
Ooh, I love soap molds, they are so varied and beautiful, I have a terrible weakness for them. But I personally have extreme sensitivity eczema etc so always make my own batches super plain which never look as good in the molds. As for my family they are mostly male and tend to be a bit grumpy about some of my style choices for their soap requests. . .
Your post and the subsequent remarks of the hoard made me so happy.. it’s good to know that I’m not so alone or unique in hoarding hobby supplies.. it’s a hoard of mes out there!!!!
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As always, you bring laughter and joy with your posts. Seriously, these works I progress are beautiful. I hope you finish them or at least make make them into beautiful, zany blanket;)
I donโt have so much yarn as I have fiber. Pounds and pounds of it. Eventually it will be yarn.
I also have polymer clay, fabric, beads, wire, paint, and more.
Iโm determined to make 2021 the year of destash and project finishing only buying something if I need it to finish something.
I love how your floor was quietly done and suits you. Thatโs a Curran moment for sure.
You are so talented! Iโve tried knitting and crochet, both stress me out – a lot. My sister is talented with knitting, sewing, cross stitch, she belongs to a fiber guild. Iโm in awe of her and you.
Wow. Some of that yarn is beautiful.
My yarn stash wasn’t nearly as big, but I managed to get rid of a lot of small balls by crocheting a granny square (small square) lap afghan and giving it my mother for Christmas. Some of my yarn had been inherited from my grandmother after she died… in 1989.
My Christmas gift to myself was a DreamBox, since I don’t have a craft room. ๐ Unfortunately, it only holds about half my craft supplies and none of my yarn. At least my paper supplies are all in one place now.
Buy the yarn. Release the guilt. Keep the husband.
Signed,
Quilting fabric hoarder ๐
There’s always another solution, which you kind of already stumbled upon…which is to buy yarn, and then give it away or donate it. Buying pretty yarn makes you happy. Would it also make you happy to know other people were making things with the yarn, especially if they sent pictures?
My church has a bunch of ladies who like to knit and quilt and they do stuff like make blankets for women who have survived domestic violence. It’s really sweet! The church has a huge stockpile of yarn now, because lots of people bought yarn to donate.
Then you can have all the joy and none of the guilt, without more storage! ๐
You should auction it off and see if the price for the item is worth finishing it.
I would love to bid on the shiny hitchhiker item.
Gordan’s more storage comment sounds like something my husband would say bout my fabric stash and sewing notions.
Periodically I straighten up my sewing stash. I just tidied the “closet of doom” aka the closet that holds odds and ends of sewing stuff . Yes, I have 4 closets full of sewing notions and fabric.
I hear you… I love (love love love!) buying craft stuff and craft kits and craft books…but I very rarely make any of the things. Over lockdown I bought a Cross stitch whale kit, a pink and turquoise macrame plant hanger kit, pompom making gadgets, tiny packets of coloured felted fluffy wool, oil paints, brushes, 2 canvasses and a huge bottle of gesso, air dry clay, 2 pottery books and snazzy coloured crochet hooks.
This is only during the first lockdown which in the UK was 6 months approximately.
With this crazy amount of craft stuff I have made 2 tiny felted yetis the size of the palm of my hand.
Does this make you feel any better…?!
I love the blue shawl and the purple one…just beautiful! I knitted one blanket with a broom stick knit…once. I did it while in my undergrad to relax so I could sleep at night. It worked well then. My area of hog wild was arts and crafts for my daughters. I finally have thinned them out into craft donations as those same daughters are in their mid twenties. I have no guilt. Neither should you. They served a purpose and may still for you. As to the cleaning and sorting, itโs one of those projects that gets done when the cosmos comes together and you feel itโs time. ???? No worries,
Wow!! Aren’t you on any crochet /knit groups on facebook? We all love to buy yarn and don’t use the majority of it. As for not finishing projects I blame it on living in the south. (I am in OK) By the time we are half way thru a project we are well into the next season and our wip is no longer appropriate. When that season comes around again we have lost the pattern, hook size, don’t know where we bought the yarn, etc. I have long embraced the fact that I have a very absurd hobby (since I don’t finish anything) and I have accepted it. But it makes me happy. Buy your yarn!!
I re-arranged my entire office shelving this weekend to make space for my blocking matts and random box of Christmas balls that I keep knitting but never block and stuff. Turns out I didn’t 1,000,000 empty apple boxes-I would rather have founds some hibernating projects.
I agree with both your therapist and with Gordon. More storage to do what makes your heart feel good…I have found that I feel much better when I do โallowโ myself to do what I like if Iโve met my responsibilities and Iโm not hurting anyone or anything else…
That purple shawl is gorgeous.
Interesting. I have a history of starting a “relaxing” job and not quite completing it. Periodically, I gather together my interim projects, invite my friends and/or family over and confess that I have lots of unfinished projects “See, I just ran out of impetus. Would you like to claim and finish any of these? Please!”.
This works pretty well, especially if life is dull. It used to be my friends picked up the projects, then as my kids grew, they picked more of them up. Now, my grandkids do a lot more, even coming to my place and interacting with me. Fun for me anyway. I am 78 and still don’t have greatgrans to share with.
DRAGONBOGLE…. Keep up with your great books, I’ve read all I could find.
It’s like “I don’t need fewer books, I need more bookshelves.”
As a reduce-stress crocheter, I do only the simplest stitches and patterns, so that I don’t have to worry (stress) about tricky things or much counting. But I love touching and looking at yarns. I want your yarn stash! No, what I want is your yarn budget — and your helpful and understanding husband.
Ilona. your knitting looks lovely. my mother used to knit. (didn’t they all?) I had a bulky white wool sweater that I wore for many years but that too is lost somewhere back on the road of life. Don’t be disheartened, it is not the destination, it’s the journey. sometimes that path can be rocky but yours, yours is a path that brings joy to so many. thank you.
p.s. storage works but sometimes so does letting go.
Wow Ilona, you have selected some absolutely beautiful yarns and are lucky to be able to knit such wonderful scarfs and sweaters. Gordon putting in a new floor in your crafting room was a great surprise for you, and then he earned double husband points by suggesting more storage for your yarns and projects! The two of you make such a great team. A final note, I thank you both for writing Blood Heir, I am anxiously awaiting my Kindle download on Tuesday.
SISTER!! I ha v e a good si zed stash that is badly in need of organization. I have a 1/2 rule. Try to finish if 1/2 or if mentally not good idea frog and repurpose. I believe seasoning frogged yar n is necessary at times. if stuck for some reason, I make baby blankets and afghans and donate to a shelter for teens or abused families. Lots of times I open the bins and just plan for the lovely day when i have great hands and all the motivation in the world!!
Wow! I I am so proud of you. I have spaces I have needed to clean out for a long time and you actually did it. This is inspiring! Also I recommend watching the Netflix series Home Edit for inspiration about storage.
https://youtu.be/XPg_BE6EA94
2 1/2 years ago I moved into a 562 sqft senior apartment. My yarn stash came with. It had been living in about 15 decorative boxes and got shoved between my bed & the wall. Which makes changing my sheets a PITA. But this summer I pulled out my stash and started making blankets for shelter dogs & cats. Very interesting colors and patterns but the recipients donโt care. Then when fall started I switched to hats & scarves for people.Donated 6 sets along with gloves I bought. I went through enough of my stash that I have actually purchased some new yarn.
My recommendations:
Can you change the sweater to a vest?
Can the shawls be used to wrap up and bring home preemies? Or sent to a women’s shelter?
Happy knitting ????
I canโt have finished buying yarn. I havenโt won yet.
O itโs snowing. So I made your bread! Awesome and easy to make !
Don’t worry about it. My mother has repurposed rooms of the house for her quilting. Dinning room now that the kids have moved out – Quilting room. Old quilting room – storage. New addition above the storage room, more storage mostly for backing etc.
When I downsized my house I gave away 10,000 books. They were all my friends and I had to rehome them.
It took forever. Im sure they all thought I was nuts and took them to appease the crazy woman. So kudos to you for rehoming some of your friends!
I really enjoyed the meme that said:
“Too many books?” I believe the phrase you are looking for is “not enough bookshelves.”
I am basing my 2021 around this since buy and having book makes me happy. Do whatever makes you happy and fix the storage to accommodate it ๐
I loved this post and I donโt even knit or crochet. I do, however, have more than enough โstuffโ I should be sorting…someday… ๐
Your stash sounds like mom’s and mine. I love using varigated yarn, and I have 6 or 7 plastic totes full of it. Mom make knitted afghans using blocks. Average is 63 blocks I think. Anyway, she makes each block with a different pattern, and usually picks three base colors to use throughout the afghan. Takes her just under 300 hours I think to make one, usually queen size. Her yarn is sorted by color and fills 25 or so plastic totes. When I moved here back in 2006, we spent three days combining yarn stashes, because I had some solids also, just more varigated.
Hello! This in unrelated to your blog post, but I received my copy of Blood Heir in the mail today, and I just finished it and Iโm soooooooooo happy!!! For a whole day I was able to forget about all the awful shit that has happened to the world and to me in 2020 and feel the light hearted joy of reading a good book! Thank you so so so much โค๏ธ And this is greedy, but I truly hope you are able to develop this into a series (if everything pans out) because Julie is phenomenal and Derek is phenomenal and the both of you are PHENOMENAL! Just had to express my happiness and gratitude, thanks again! Stay safe xx
P.S you donโt happen to have the second book already written as a glorious surprise by any chance, do you? ????
We are so happy you enjoyed it! <3
Buying yarn is a perfectly acceptable hobby. I buy books. Right now, I have more books than I will probably be able to read before I die, but you never know. I may live to 105 with good enough vision and mind enough to still enjoy reading.
Knitters have TBK guilt pile and readers have guilt TBR pile. Donโt feel bad. Just enjoy the โfull cupboard during a snowstormโ feeling. My books did that for me. I wish I had photos of my library. (I had to downsize a few times because my employer forgot to trickle down at least a measly cost of living increase in nearly nine years. ????)
While in theory I know that itโs common for knitters to have any number of semi-finished projects gathering dust and to feel guilty over the existence of them, and that that fact should make me feel better about my own sad, neglected dust gatherers…it doesnโt really help. I feel really, absurdly guilty.
I wonder if thereโs a Knitters Anonymous group. โHi, my name is blahblahblah, and I bought four more skeins of hand-dyed merino even though I have nine unfinished projects lying around and I havenโt actually finished more than a beanie in the last six years.โ
LOL, loved this post. Also, I want to go to YOUR therapist. To have someone seriously say I should buy more yarn because it makes me happy is brilliant. I will tell you what I told Meghan Cianna Doidge, don’t stress yourself to finish stuff you don’t LOVE and WANT to do. Gift it to someone else, they can take it apart and rescue the yarn. You only have to ship it to a lucky reader, you have a whole plethora of people who would love to divest you of that guilt of not finishing a piece. And about that one you took from someone else and didn’t finish? Find someone (just ask I’m sure there’s someone who’d love to finish it) to take over where you and the first knitter stopped. What a great history on that piece just think of it!!
Anyway, I’m just glad to have you and Meghan encouraging us all to knit and crochet, my jam is crochet and I’m so grateful to be back to it. I won a skein of Mudpunch from her and just finished a gorgeous scarf, holy heck batman, those colors make me happy! Can’t wait to see your craft room (I hope you don’t feel guilty about the yarn, therapy yarn should be a thing!!). Happy knitting.
Organizing can be SO satisfying. The Iโve been doing smaller scale (closets) organizing myself and the feeling of accomplishment I get is definitely disproportionate to the actual amount of work completed. But it makes me feel good. And Iโm super envious of your knitting/crocheting skills. I can sew, embroider, etc but canโt seem to get the whole knitting thing.
We all need things that make us happy, regardless of its usefulness. Maybe you can find a neutral base and combine the shawls to make a comforter or wall hanging. That way you donโt have to finish the individual pieces but make a new one.
I really like the color patterns from the yarns. Iโm sure the complexity of the patterns help relieve the stress.
Oh, just to have a craft room! I have an โart areaโ and an overflowing stash that I also emptied out, reorganized and intended to sell off before the Holiday Season.
Somehow the idea of weighing partials, calculating shipping, which in many cases from Canada could cost more than the yarn, it all just became overwhelming.
I am now a firm believer in Gordon’s concept, just buy more storage!
( Although anyone wanting an entire stash shipped as one ๐ )
First, your husband is AWESOME and a total keeper. So is mine and this just sounded so much like something Michael would do. He is always trying to make things nicer, easier, safer for me. You and I are blessed and I’m sure we both know that.
Second, if you have a lot of crafts (or just one craft but a lot of stuff) then I have a link for you.
https://www.createroom.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA6Or_BRC_ARIsAPzuer_LS2Z1jPtTIENZFvV_GEV03ItLR6m-xzJU3qNeKVEgTPvI2a7KlzMaApOUEALw_wcB
I own the old version of this and it is AMAZING. The old version had fabric totes instead of the nice plexiglass bins, and even the old version is a game-changer.
You need about the space of a refrigerator for the footprint, but you need wall space on each side if you want to open this up all the way. It holds a crap ton of stuff.
Looking forward to my pre-ordered Kindle copy of Blood Heir— thank you SO much for revisiting Kate’s world for us! We have missed them so— even though we love the Hidden Legacy and Innkeeper worlds, too! AND we love the Edge world (which I am rereading right now to tide me over until the 12th).
OMG!!! O_O
Amazing cabinet!
Right?! They are like some puzzle box that has doors that open and then open again. I honestly wish I had the space for a second one because I would love to have one that was just for sewing and needle crafts. They are pricey, but really worth it.
You have my sympathy. I am also sorting and straightening up my sewing/yarn room. I think you need to get a sock machine, a circular sock machine. I have a ton of shock yarn and I donโt knit very fast. So, my answer is to order a Circular Sock Machine from Erlbacher Gearheart. Once you get the hang of it, you can knit a pair of socks in about an hour. And, itโs fun. I love HedgeHog fibers too and you should look at Wollmeise. Martina uses it in many of her designs. Okay, I will stop trying to enable your addiction but, you should think about a sock machine.
You already know this but it bears repeating: You have a WONDERFUL husband.
I’d love to see pics of the various storage bins/dressers/whatever. I can always use inspiration for storage (especially in a one-bedroom apartment).
Buying yarn and using it are two different hobbies.
My sister suffered from depression and she bought yarn. When she passed my nieces gave me her yarn stash. I went from two 50 litre crates to about 40 crates. I started a charity craft group at my local church. I still buy yarn and knit baby blankets for charity.
Kudos to Gordon. He has successfully evaded martial trap #3471. Had he agreed with your desire to evict the yarn, he ran the risk of being blamed for getting rid of the yarn. Since it was his idea. By encouraging you to acquire more storage, responsibility for regretting getting rid of any yarn can not be on him.
Well played Gordon. Well played. ๐
When you knit and/or crochet collecting and stashing pretty wool is 30-70% of the fun depending on your current mental health in my opinion. Embrace the stash lol
First, I adore your loving spouseโs immediate response: more storage! I am blessed with a kind Spouse as well.
I love the 1/8 of shawlette! I totally see it as a neck wrap, flourish, or even twisted into a broach pin.
My yarn hoard is plentiful, but my cross stitch patterns are a hoarders delight. Regrettably, my carpal tunnel is a pain. I have several โlapโ throws that should have been much larger.
Thank you for sharing your organization experience. Iโve been trying to find the gumption to tackle my own, and spent part of my lovely snow day here in central Texas sorting patterns & rediscovering โlostโ projects.
Nice shawls!
I hate garter stitch with the anger of the heart of a fiery sun. Hate. Hate it. Oh my word it is so boring, I can hardly handle it. Yeerch. Just thought I would share that. ๐
My stash went astronomic when a nearby LYS went out of business and was selling everything at bargain prices. In the meantime my mother kept sending me “interesting” yarns she found at all sorts of places, thrift stores, garage sales, etc. I begged and pled, please, no more yarn. She just kept mailing it to me. Finally when she was able to visit I showed her the sixteen 30-gallon bins I had that took up most of my tiny craft room, holding most of the yarn. (Seriously, it was not a room anymore, it was just a yarn closet.) At last she stopped.
Get rid of it? What, what did you say? Sorry, these words do not make sense to me.
Oh boy. I should send you a picture of my craft space…I am a Maker, I don’t stick to one craft. I papercraft, vinyl, sew, knit, crochet…the list is endless I love creating! Unfortunately, my space reflects that. I have barely enought space to operate in it so I feel your pain but I agree with Gordon! More storage!!!
This post is literally the best thing of my day! Please post your craft room. There is no such thing as too much, particularly too much of something that makes you happy.
I am wondering if there is an Instagram site for pictures of peoples craft rooms I can follow…
I dream of a craft room… working from home has squashed that notion for a while ????
Sooooo looking forward to Blood Heir!!!!!
Never, ever feel guilty about the size of your stash! You are just playing s/he who dues with the biggest stash wins! You can never have too much nice yarn or cloth!
A little late but just saw/read the post and am here just to say that Gordon is a treasure.
Glad to know I’m not the only one with a sock yarn addiction. Just saw an article in Vogue Knitting where they said that having a stash is not bad, especially in times like these. As for the unfinished projects, it’s better to start new projects and not finish them than never start anything new. They’re all beautiful.
????
Impressive! I just moved out of my craft room and now I need to go through all the crafts in the dining room before I have to move them into the kitchen. Maybe next week.
????????
Tell me about it. I’m in the process of cleaning my own craft room. Why is that the room that turns into the dump room. We have a second room to use as a junk room and it always seems to go into mine!
“Why does this crap always end up in my craft room?”
“Hey! You wanted me to clean up the
mess in the laundry room, and I’m
quoting you here, ‘that’s where you
work on stuff’…So that’s where I put it”
“Love of my life, I have NEVER, and will never work on the carburetor of your Chevy Biscayne in my knitting basket.”
In my old place I had an craft room but now I donโt and I realized how big my hoard might be. I decided it just means I need and better bigger craft room in the next place.
Or build a nice crafters shed. I have a friend that weaves and she has her looms and spinning wheels in one.
A She Shed?
Good for you! I am just finishing up my craft room, which I am fancily calling my studio. It has been a year since we moved to our new place, and it took 3 months to get the bookcases, with doors on the bottom half that we installed last week. I am looking forward to getting everything put away so I can find what I am looking for! I have drawers, boxes and bins and have no idea where some things are! Just have to talk myself into doing a final sort and get the last boxes out of my way.
Such a mood. I think every knitter/crocheter/crafter knows this feeling. I am weird in that I just really love blue things– blue clothing, blue yarn– to the point where I feel weird wearing any other color. So I buy a lot of blue yarn and then realize that there’s a limited amount of actually useful things that I a) can crochet or b) have the patience to crochet. Currently there is an unfinished dress and an in-progress scrap blanket because I have all this Caron Simply Soft. I mean, some people hoard taxidermy (taxidermized?) animals. At least yarn doesn’t look at you with marble eyes.
Though no shade to taxidermists. Taxidermy is cool, but I’d be more disturbed by walking into a room with that much taxidermy as opposed to that much yarn.
Makes me want to put googly eyes on the skeins.
I stumbled across your blog this afternoon while looking at sessions referred by website on my store and it noted your site as a referrer which I thought was incredibly odd. But to come here and see that you are a knitter/crocheter made my day. ๐ Congrats on working in the craft room and getting aspects of it squared away! Currently my very large yarn stash (of mostly other indie dyers) is living in our master bedroom. Makes it cozy but detracts from the ambiance. ๐ Hope you are well! Can’t wait to dive into the next book!
My word. you are just like my daughter where yarn is concerned. She has a bedroom just for that and shelves on all walls from ceiling to floor full. She also has plastic bins full stacked up. She loves it. If it makes you happy go for it. Do not feel guilty for a thing that brings you pleasure. Take happiness where you find it. GOD Bless.
regarding 1/2 finished projects, gather up the project and remaining yarn, but in a zip lock bag and take to good will. SOMEONE will do SOMEthing with it. that’s what i do when i’ve reached the end of my craft projects, blocks from quilts, yarn, beads, etc. i’ve bought enough stuff at good will i know someone will use it if you won’t. guilt free. Thank it for it’s service before you pass it on, i learned that from the japanese art of cleaning or something like that
Oooooo, excellent suggestion!
If you want to get rid of some of the UFO’s you don’t think you will finish, you could donate them and the associated yarns to an assisted living center or a retirement home. If you do finish something and decide not to keep it you can give it to a battered women’s shelter (they may give them to the residents or sell for operating expenses) or other non-profit group/convention. These will often put it into an auction for fund raising.
I finally had to start cleaning my craft room. I have several major hobbies including cardmaking, scrapbooking, miniature painting, terrain, and recently picked up resin. I have been buying molds left and right and have just plain run out of room to store stuff. And as bad as my craft room was, I made the executive decision to start moving tons of stuff out and then slowly moving it back in. Thankfully I’m almost done, though I still wish I had more workable room.
How about displaying your pretty yarn in shadow boxes on the wall. Then its not unused yarn making you guilty when you buy more; its art. Take it down when u decide to use it. You could place the frames around the house for you to enjoy and dream about what it could be made into
You two are my husband and I, and I love it! I was sorting fabric in my quilting room last month, and just sighed to my husband and sadly said “I should really stop buying fabric, I am out of room to store it.” He just looked at me and laughed, then said he will build me another shelf. Husbands are the best!
All those not-finished-projects are beautiful. Seeing the sweater made me sad as that must have taken ages to do but without a pattern…what can you do? As for that shiny shawl in that Shiny Silver yarn…unravel it and do something else with the yarn because shiny yarn is a treasure.
I too have a (much smaller due to budget constraints) stash. Having yarn enough to just pull it out and start a new project the second I finish the old one is wonderful. Socks are my go-to project so, in my opinion, you can never have enough sock yarn. Besides socks are practical and pretty. Shawls can be practical too in the summer, when the evenings get cool or when the movie theaters blast the AC so high a snowman would complain it’s too cold.
Also, pat yourself on the back for actually cleaning that storage room! Go, you!
Be sure to include the “before” pics, especially of the stash on the garage floor! It will make us all feel kinship over too much yarn and not enough space ๐ I think the she shed idea is good too!
Here’s my two cents: Guilt is an unnecessary emotion. Abundance is marvelous!!! Bottom line: keep whatever sparks joy! (yeah yeah yeah, Marie Kondo taught me that – but it works!)
Thanks for sharing this awesome story. I’m so impressed and happy for you that you got so much done with clearing out your yarn room in relatively quick time.
I especially loved the part about Gordon’s solution to your yarn crisis – more storage! Yay! What an amazing husband. That put a big smile on my face and a chuckle out of my lips. =D
If yo come across any yarn that u don’t want anymore, your local nursing home or assisted living home would love you if you donate to them. I’m a CNA at a NH and I can tell you most seniors have a very limited amount of spending money and are Arts and Crafts programs are very under budgeted if given any money at all.
You did a wonderful job!! So hard to start such a mega project and amazing to have made such grand strides! All those colors and such knowledge…. Enjoy yourself most of all.
I have significantly cut back on my fabric stash and still can’t help myself when I see ‘the next fabric’ I have to have. I think it is a sickness, LOL… And anyone with towers of fabric also has many unfinished projects. Blouse with collar made, No sleeves, out of Liberty of London lawn. Check. Dress from when my daughter was 8, bodice hand smocked and skirt gathered. Apparently I could not decide on piping… My husband gives me the same look as Gordon gave you when I say I want to use my stash first. Utter disbelief.
I would say your supply hoarding tendency is completely normal. And understandable. You just never know when you will need a new pair of socks and you have to be ready.
I would also like to thank for generously sharing parts of your life and your writing with us. They are a great escape and never fail to brighten my day when I need it.
I have an easier solution: Keep the yarn – at least, as much of it as makes you happy. (So yes, if it makes you stressed to have a mess because you have more than you can store, you’d still need to get rid of some.) Then buy and read Clara Parkes’ book, A Stash of Her Own.
Yarn stashing as feminist empowerment FTW!
I loved this post. Congrats on getting your craft room nearly in order! Kudos to Gordon; he gets you. ๐ I don’t have that much yarn… yet… but I do have a lot of fabric! My husband doesn’t say anything, but he made sure there was a nice big room for my crafts when we moved.
A shawl from 2017…..?!?!?! That i recognized. From previous posts???????? heh, i know i’ve been reading your blog a long for a long time. I just realized how long ???? time flies when you’re having fun????
I always smile reading your yarn adventures. Thanks for lifting my spirits.
Two additional possibilites for over-yarning: make shawl, hat, vest etc and donate to nonprofit for homeless or to fund-raise; or link up with seniors’ or assisted living home knitting circle and gift yarn to them annually.
GI JOEEEEEEeeeeee!
If you can, would you post a pic of your new organizer for your yarn, please. I have a yarn problem, too; and I am trying to find an organizer that can go in the guest bedroom against a wall. thank you
I have a friend in England who loves to knit and collect yarn. He suffers from SABLE, Stash acquisition beyond life expectation. Is it possible that you have an American version of this?
I feel that the 2/3 of a sweater could, with a little mental rearranging, be 13/15 of a knit bag. Perhaps?
Must be from being cooped up so long that everyone is cleaning out their craft stashes. I took all the odd balls of yarn I had and dumped them in a basket. Then proceeded to crochet a blanket, close my eyes, pick a ball and add it in. It actually came out better than I thought it would. And much less yarn hanging around.
ha! didn’t mean to guilt you. you don’t have to finish it, I’ll still love you. ๐
The beauty of your mind is displayed in your appreciation of beautiful yarn. There is no such thing as too much appreciation and you can’t be too beautiful.
I have far more projects — and far stranger ones — in my stash. Occasionally I just get tired of something I am working on and start something else. As I see it, such projects are a little like finding money you forgot in a pocket. Some of my favorite items are projects I dropped and then picked up later! In fact, I have a partial sweater I should just pick up again for these chilly days!
love seeing your works in progress. and i would absolutely love to see your craft room too! its always wonderful to see the different ways people come up with storing their supplies. my craft room has become a dumping ground too and desperately needs an overhaul.
Hello Ilona
These projects are beautiful.
I was wondering if I could buy your second project the “Hitchhiker by Martina Behm” made from the “Silver Shiny” yarn. I like small scarves and I find it cute as is. I can either pay you directly or donate money to an organism of you choice in exchange for the cute little scarf. Please contact me if you are interested ๐
I know I am posting way late on this, but have you considered knitting/crocheting for a charity? There are a ton out there of various needs, some don’t even ask you for whole blankets, they just ask for a square (they piece them together). Its a great way to get rid of stashed up yarn, makes you feel good about it, and you can do mindless style knitting or crocheting for mental therepy. Save the intricate stuff for projects you actually want to do.
Absolutely Beautiful
Thanks for making me feel a little better about the size of my stash and the number of UFOโs. ???? Is there a correlation between knitting and writing novels? It seems like most of my favorite authors are also knitters…
Quite a lot of shawls. What about knitting a dress?