Hello friends! I hope you are keeping warm. I experienced negative wind chills for the first time in my life on Sunday. While it wasn’t terrible, I just made sure I wasn’t outside for too long! So one of these days, I’ll get a picture of the cowl I made during Christmas…
Other than that, I’ve been focusing on the sleeves of my cardi. I am close to being finished with the second sleeve. Then all I have to do is seam the cardigan, then add some rows at the end…then block. Phew. I hope I can wrap it up this week.
Now that we’re coming to the end of January, I wanted to check in with you all about your crafty goals. I’ve been reading a lot about stash downs and I have to admit, I’ve been unconsciously committing to one. Husband has already asked several times if I wanted to go to JoAnn this month, and I’ve responded with an emphatic NOOOO every time. I mean:
And there’s yarn stashed in my closet too, FYI, but it doesn’t look as pretty as what I have presented to you here.
So yes, I have a lot of yarn.
What do I do? Stop myself from buying yarn? I don’t think completely restricting yourself from purchasing something helps in the long run. Saturday Night Stitch has a really good blog post about common New Year’s Resolutions that she’d rewrite to make them more achievable. One of the items on her list is buying fabric. Instead of restricting ourselves from purchasing something from our stash, she recommends thinking about what compels us to make these purchases, and to perhaps adopt a “one in, one out” policy.
I like this advice. If I’m being honest, I typically buy yarn if I’m feeling stressed and want to treat myself. I like the idea of using what I have, limiting my purchases if I can, but not completely restricting myself from buying something new. For instance, I’ll be in San Francisco next month, and I’m really looking forward to finding a special skein there as a memento for my trip.
Amanda Scott from browngyrlknits has a fun Stash Down project in the works. While I haven’t gone through and inventoried my yarn, I really like her idea of a “yarn budget” so that you don’t completely deprive yourself,.
How about you? Is your stash out of control? Are you making anything from your stash this month?
Categories: ALL THE THINGS, crafts, yarn
Jennifer Stark 
Using up some of my baby yarn but always looking to use up my stash but then I get so tempted 😅
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I won’t commit to stop buying yarn, but I always try to have a project planned for any new yarn that I purchase. And knit from my stash, too.
I also went through my stash recently and removed all the single skeins left from other projects and yarn that I’d bought a long time ago and then never felt like using and donated it all to a charity that teaches women in various difficult circumstances to knit; together with some old and no longer used knitting needles and supplies. That cleared up my stash a little and I know it will be used for a good cause, so it’s a win-win to me. Now I can buy more yarn without guilt! 😉
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That is such a wonderful reaspn to clear your stash 😀
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Okay, well, if that’s “a lot of yarn”, I’m in deep trouble, haha! I saw that same Stash Down post and really liked it too. I haven’t really gotten all organized with a full list of projects, but I’ve got yarns in mind that I want to use soon. But good for you for resisting when the hubby offers a craft-store trip!
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What you don’t see is the Closet of Shame 😀
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Oh okay! Whew! lol
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I’m also trying to use my stash but I haven’t really banned myself from new yarn. I must admit that I’m addicted to buying sock yarn…and despite trying to stay away from unneeded expenditures in January I just ordered a skein from Etsy!!
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Sock yarn is my weakness!!! It’s just sooo pretty and I want all of it.
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I think you highlight some very good suggestions for getting a handle on our stash. I made myself finish all WIPs before the new year, and I am now only working on two. I went through my queued patterns and paired them with the stash wool, caked it up and put the yarn and patterns together in one of my empty bins. The visual is keeping me motivated, while having things separated out allows me to be reminded of my intentions. Too often, I will completely forget about yarn that gets put away with all the other skeins.
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I think separating them and keeping them out as a visual is a great motivator! 🙂
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