Stash intervention

[LiddleDesigns]

Hello everyone,
I've realized that I have a lot of stash yarn that's been forgotten and hidden away from hubby's eyes...
I suggest we have a yarn and stash intervention. Basically, take the time to locate all your stash yarn and fiber goodness and inventory your supplies. My hope is to realize that I have great fibers here and I don't need to be jealous of all the yarn I see on youtube and instagram. I need to be working from my stash more. I have some yarns I'm not super excited about, but they still make good charity gifts.
I have fiber that I've spun, but haven't knit anything with my handspun in a long time.
Basically, I need a stash intervention and I hope some if you will join.
flash your stash, post some patterns/project ideas for your yarn, and fall back into love with the yarn you own

[LiddleDesigns]

[LiddleDesigns]

I have a baby blanket/ child sweater quantity of this baby bernat yarn... But nothing in mind for it yet.

[LiddleDesigns]

So many left-over bits hanging around...

[knitterlady13]

I've been using my leftovers to knit prayer shawls. I like to multi strand thinner yarns and simply pick up a new leftover when a strand runs out. That usually makes for a nice fade effect over the course of the project.

[Wyogal]

Great idea knitterlady13

[LiddleDesigns]

Handspun yarn, some is a bit overspun. Also a bunch of singles that I need to plyand some squishy fiber... All pretty but no plans for any of it

[LiddleDesigns]

Pretty sure this will be another shawl. I have an idea but I'm still trying to identify how I'll make it.

[Fiber Passion]

I need to get mine worked on to! Thanks for an incentive to get stash bust'n

[knitterlady13]

Since leaving R, I have seriously cut back on my yarn purchases. I still do subscribe to the JBW Indie club but I'm thinking about canceling that. It's all great quality yarn, but with prices having increased I feel like it's a bit expensive for a skein and especially on months where I don't love what I receive.

Anyway, that's not to say that I don't have way more yarn than I'll ever knit, so I've been focused on knitting from stash. I have so many beautiful skeins and it's been fun to "shop" my stash. Plus, while I've seen much much larger stashes, most of my yarn is pretty expensive so I've been feeling better about knitting down what I have rather than accumulating more and spending more money that I could spend on other things (like travel!). I don't knit as fast as I used to due to time constraints and injuries that flare up if I knit for too long.

So, here's a picture of my stash that I posted in another thread. I also have a few projects already in project bags (not shown) and few skeins that haven't been catalogued yet, so they aren't on the shelves. (I don't shelve anything until I've had a chance to take photos and add the yarn to my stash on Airtable.) But, this is most of it.

[lovestostitch]

knitterlady13 - I can understand why you feel safe about having your yarn out since you do routine pest control. When we lived in Houston we had regular pest control but we don't need it in the Chicago suburbs. When people say they could never live in our cold climate, I say "winter kills lots of bad things." I may see a spider now and then but I just vacuum to take care of them. In Houston, we had poisonous spiders and rodent sized spiders! I'm pretty sure I've never had a wool eating bug in my house but the horror stories I read on R scared me. I do think your yarn wall is beautiful!

[knitterlady13]

lovestostitch I probably wouldn't display my yarn this way if I was still in Illinois. It's so much more humid there (than here) and you guys have sooooo many more flying bugs. Plus...basements. We always had silverfish and earwigs in the basement in Glen Ellyn (shudder). I don't think earwigs would hurt anything, but silverfish like to eat plant fibers. We have both here as well, but it's pretty rare that I see one (but also why I have David spray upstairs).

LOL! And, yeah....we also have all of the poisonous spiders, enormous spiders, scorpions and venomous snakes. Gotta love Oklahoma - the year the tarantulas migrated through our office complex was pretty bad for someone who is terrified of spiders. (And I do know they can't hurt you, but...)

[allie108]

Wow, that's impressive! I sure wish mine was that organized. It's a beautiful thing!

[crosstitchlinda]

I think I'll wait until January to post pics, this is when I compare reality to my spreadsheet and make sure everything agrees!! I must have spreadsheets going back 10 years by now.

[LiddleDesigns]

Oh that's nice. Do you go on a yarn diet if it's out of control? I have been thinking of limiting myself to stash-only projects for 4-5months.

[crosstitchlinda]

Not exactly a yarn diet, but I don't have a Local yarn shop and I find it difficult to pick colors online. I only get to a brick and mortar shop every 3 or 4 months. I do try and buy sparingly. ( We won't talk fiber!!)

[Yarnyentrechat]

I have fiber that I've spun, but haven't knit anything with my handspun in a long time.

I definitely am guilty of this one! I keep getting 4-6 ounces of fiber, spin it between fingering/DK, and then have an unusual yardage of an inbetween weight that I worry isn't strong enough for something like socks. I could make mitts or hats, but really how many do you need? And then I'm not as eager to gift handspun as I am commercial yarn, so I have a whole collection of handspun that's just sitting...

[HeatherAthebyne]

Oh, blanket making is a good idea! I have a couple of family members to whom I can gift handspun, but I still have a bunch of those odd skeins around.

[Yarnyentrechat]

crosstitchlinda Oooh, that's a great idea! I might have to give that some serious thought...

[Wyogal]

Blankets are awesome for this. I have done 10 stitch blankets out of sock yarn held multiple strands together, and it is easy enough to use any weight yarn. My best results for mixing yarn weights come from choosing a "background" or basic weight, & then occasionally adding pieces that are no more than the next weight up or down. So for example if most of what I am using is 5.5 st/inch (DK on a US6), then every so often I will add in a bit of worsted (5st/in) using the same needle size, that makes the heavier yarn "pop." Then if I have some sport weight that blooms I'll use that on the US6, and if it's sport weight that knits thin, I'll string along some 4ply on the US6. Just remember that every piece you knit doesn't have to be a masterpiece, and you are actually learning facts & techniques through experience, and those learned memories will build your confidence and desire to explore new things. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[KnitSwag]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to share what I did last year to help reduce the odd bits from my stash. I crocheted tiny little Christmas stockings ornaments. I made over 400 of them! Then I sent them to pregnancy centers as gifts for their clients. I made little stockings, big stockings, fluffy stockings, camouflage stockings, stockings with sequins, some with lace yarn, some with shiny thread, many with handspun... I worked on it from May until December, then kept going into January until I finally ran out of steam. It was so fun because each new one with different yarn was a whole new adventure. They only take about half an hour, so I could really crank them out. I did keep having to buy white yarn for the cuffs. And then I had to recruit friends to help me glue little holly berry patches on them (not shown here).

So if you need a project to help destash, something like this is a great one!

[Char]

These are so cute!!!

[FreedomLover]

KnitSwag These are adorable! Another group to make mini stockings for is Warmth for Warriors.

[allie108]

Yes, I have made a batch for Warmth for Warriors 😄 for Christmas in July project. Lots of fun!

[hereami]

LiddleDesigns

For some reason...I am just now reading this thread.

I love your pinwheel blanket. Did you ever finish it? I would love to see a finished picture.

also... Did you use a specific pattern for it, or just make it up as you went?

It really is lovely, and looks so cozy and warm.

[Char]

We have an awesome amount of stuff that goes on here - it is easy to miss stuff.

[TeaNSugar]

This is something I've been wanting to do. I don't have a whole lot of yarn, but a lot of what I do have is kind of ancient. So I want to organize, inventory, and make plans to finally use up the very old yarn. I did inherit a cubby hole shelving unit which I plan on using, only my yarn will have to be in plastic bags/baggies as it is super, super dusty here.

[TeaNSugar]

hereami Yes, I've been looking at everyone's updates. It does look like fun, but I'm not sure I'd remember to post updates every week. I see you are making good progress on your stash!

[hereami]

TeaNSugar

I don't remember to post every week either. Others forget too sometimes.
I completely forgot to post this week, so I just joined in the conversation and then adjusted my scores on my signature. For me seeing my own scores when I come online is a gentle reminder to not buy something when I am out and about.

Something I like about FiberKind is that it is relaxed and easy to join in. A do what you can when you can kind of place. No pressure....just craft because you want/love to.

What kind of old yarn do you have?
I have quite a bit of wool and acrylic. This week I am playing with my wool and trying to make a hat. There is a group on here making hats for charity. Not sure my hat will be good enough to give to anyone...but I giving it a try. Worst thing that can happen is I have an ugly hat to wear this winter when I go for my morning walks...lol.
stay well,

[TeaNSugar]

hereami Oh, that sounds great and works for me. I'll go ahead and join.

I have mostly acrylic with much smaller amounts of cotton and wool. My little sock yarn stash is now mostly white because at one time I had the big idea of attempting to learn to dye. I never tried it, and there it sits.

Here's hoping your hat will come out fine! I am starting a sweater which I hope won't end up ugly too. lol