This weekend I volunteered to help Renee of Miss Celie’s Pants with her first ever Baltimore Destash event. Over 50 people brought fabric and some yarn to a venue to trade and then donate the rest to charity. It was great and filled with such positivity and light. I was responsible for sorting and managing the donated yarn and surprisingly, I didn’t take a single thing home. Why?
Because my stash overflows.
I’ve got a lot of yarn and I’ve been doing well at knitting a lot from my stash this year. So far out of the 29 finished objects I’ve completed this year, 4 were made with yarn bought in 2018. The rest has come from my stash. But I’ve also bought yarn this year too…I know my stash is never ending. So it left me curious today…what does your stash look like?
Do you only buy for the project you have in mind? Do you have 1 bin or do you have more yarn that you’ll ever knit in your lifetime? Spill the beans!
Yards of Happiness 
I’m a one bin kind of gal. And a lot of that is actually leftovers. Too much of anything just makes me feel stressed, even beautiful yarn.
I’m the same, I feel super stressed out and anxious when I have too much yarn in my stash. I never have more than what I can store in one bin plus another small box for cotton only.
Same with everything really, too much of something makes me anxious so I keep cleaning out my wardrobe every time I get something new 😉
Don’t ask! Probably at least 10 large Rubbermaid bins!
Oooh, I’m a multi-binner…at least one for every yarn weight there is…but this year I am knitting from stash! So far I’ve been successful in avoiding more yarn purchases…I do feel the weight of all that unused material and it’s an uncomfortable feeling. I can imagine the liberation of buying yarn for a pattern that you’re going to knit RIGHT NOW….I’m not there yet…a few years perhaps!
I have yarn in bins in the den, living room, and one bedroom closet. Too much!
One basket w/4 WIP and a 1/4 basket of leftover yarn and two bundles of projects not yet started. Too much yarn overwhelms me:) Hah…I am a minimalist to the core.
I have a lot of future sweaters hanging around, LOL! I went a little wild as a newbie knitter, but have been really careful the past year or so; that initial excitement for making sweaters has yet to materialize into anything other than yarn stashing, sadly.
These days I only allow myself new sock yarn, as that’s what I am always knitting and it’s a one-skein project, or one yarn club (again, single-skein quantities); those tend to be the same “allowance” most months, though! I have mixed feelings about my stash: on one hand, I love having it there when I’m ready; on the other hand, I hate that it’s just there, not being worn! Definitely a case of needing to shift my focus to those sweaters that I was–and still am!–excited about and make them a reality.
I’m a hoarder… over many years and many moves. I buy for a project I have in mind, but then have second-third-fourth thoughts and often end up making something else. Most of my yarn is in zip lock bags now. Sadly, it hasn’t always been. Last year I tried working only from stash and found a number of moth-eaten balls of yarn. Eeeek! Many spit-splices later, I have made vows about caring better for my stash. Categories: fingering, sport, DK, worsted. Mostly wool and blends, but some cotton and synthetics for friends who have allergies — or babies. Hiding places: Bottom of shelving unit with door; entire antique wash stand; stack of bags behind overstuffed chair (!); tote bag in bedroom. I make vows every week to get better organized. Then I sit down and knit instead.
I’m fairly new at knitting, so my stash doesn’t even remotely resemble my fabric stash! However, I would love to know what I can do with leftovers…perhaps you or someone following can post about some potential uses for projects using a skein or less? Boy, I hate parting with anything usable! I wouldn’t even mind donating it.
Ideas?
Check out the mitered square blanket. It’s made from scrap yarn. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/mitered-square-blanket-tutorial
My stash also overfloweth! We had to temporarily move from our home for a remodel and I was appalled at the amount of yarn and fabric (quilter) I have.
I ALWAYS have waaaaayyyyy too much yarn stashed because I grow soooo attached to it. Telling myself everytime I’m tempted to give away or barter a skein that 1) oh, I LOVE that color, I’m going to do this and this with it or 2) it was way too pricey to barter or give away . . . somehow it all ends up working out. 😉
I just realized recently I have more yarn then I’ll ever knit. And there is always a new project to knit. So I’m disciplining myself to go to my stash first before I even think about buying more yarn. Wish me luck.
I most certainly have more yarn than I will ever knit… sadly… I love to knit but I don’t have all the time I wanted. I have many cotton bags (not bins) with WIPs. I also buy for a project, but then have second and third thoughts and end up doing none. Reading your blog inspires me! This year I’ve even knitted with wool during the summer! Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm with us!
I have one large trunk full, and a bit of project bags around and about. Luckily yarn squishes somewhat. I always try to only buy what I’m going to work on next, and to some extent that’s true. This year I have not obtained any yarn that is not in the queue. But I’ve also only made one thing that wasn’t from newly purchased yarn! (And that was completing an afghan from my grandmother’s stash for my brother…does it even count if it originated in someone else’s stash and not mine?) It seems as if a purchase gets superseded by a more recent purchase, it enters the stash and never emerges. Regarding destashing–I can generally remember what project I had in mind when I bought the yarn, and so it all remains in the ever increasing queue….
I have a huge antique blanket chest full, an antique pie safe full, a dresser full and some bins in a closet. That is more yarn than I will ever use. Lots of it came from when I worked in a yarn shop years ago and I think I am going to have to start cleaning out and donating to charity.
Definitely more yarn than I can ever use in my lufetime, and still buying!
I have enough yarn to last at least 5 people for a lifetime. I have now decided that I will live forever so I can’t knit items for my great, great, great, great grandkids.☺️
S.A.B.L.E
Stash amount beyond life expectancy!!!
KKKK!!! Very good!
I’m nearly 60yrs. now, and I’ve been making things since I was about 12yrs., so I’ve had to address the issue of a stash many times. I’ve done needlepoint, cross stitch, quilting, dollmaking, mohair bear making, scrapbooking, soap and lotion making, painting, beading, crochet and, now, primarily knitting and garment sewing. After needing to weed through and downsize other kinds of craft material over the years, I allow myself a bookcase of folded fabric yardage with a tub of scraps, and 2 tubs of yarn. It sounds so grim to limit oneself with creative supplies, but I feel the burden of money spent and projects neglected otherwise. For me, if I feel overextended, I lose the peacefulness I’m looking for. Life is such a balancing act, I find. 🙂
Why does my so-excited-can’t-wait-to-make-something yarn look old next to new can’t-wait yarn? Sometimes only a month between purchases. That said I buy alot. I try to buy a sweaters worth as that is what I knit most. Just need to grow a second pair of hands to knit it all!
I currently have two drawers and two baskets of stash, and it feels like too much—I used to just buy for the project at hand. Then I discovered Ravelry. 🙂 My stash feels like a to-do list rather than an opportunity sometimes, especially because I mostly knit for my family, and since when did single skeins of pretty sock yarn and lace-weight make sense for a family with three boys and one girl? (Four boys and two girls if you count me and my husband.). I work a hands-on job in a medical clinic, work that is better suited to scrubs than knitwear, and live in SoCal, and have active kids, so when am I going to actually wear shawls?. 🙂 They’re gorgeous, but I have shawl yarn for days and (sad but true) no need for shawls. Maybe I’ll have to use the sock yarn for, you know, SOCKS. 🙂 I think I have 2-3 years worth of stash—I’m really working on knitting from what I have this year, and finishing it up.
My stash is organized in large bin, shelving units and large glass jars. I know my stash has become excessive so I am focusing on knitting from stash and not buying. When temptation strikes, I remind myself of all the beautiful yarn for projects waiting in the wings. I’ve also donated some, mostly that from when I was a new knitter and buying inexpensive stuff. If only I could knit faster…
I usually buy for about 3-4 projects. Since I live abroad now I have 2 small bins of yarn. It can be hard to find quality yarn so I stock up a little bit when I can.
oooooooo.. lol I am a sable….way bad!!! my sister owned a yarn shop 10 years ago and moved and went out of business.. not wanting to give the yarn away and some of it is indie dyers and pricey, she talked me into( didn’t take much talking really) “storing ” it for her.. well its still stored, what I haven’t used.. many bins full and now I try try to limit buying. its usually on a trip where I buy from a local dyer or spinner as a type of trip remembering, or so I tell myself.. my daughter is an avid knitter so thank goodness for that, I know when I am gone my yarn will have a good home….
I love my stash. I am thinking of destashing some fabric so I have more room for yarn. What must be included in my stash is my terrific collection of patterns… Periodically I go through everything and see if I am still interested. I have accepted other peoples destash and I love that too.
S.A.B.L.E. here too! You know those 12 gallon bins with the fold-over tops? I have 30+ of those stuffed with yarn (and a few smaller ones too). My craft room is now storage. I went nuts for a few years, especially when I first started knitting. This summer/fall will be my great de-stash. We are planning to move and downsize next year so it has to be done!
SABLE, definitely! I spin, too, so I have yarn and fiber. I love it all! It’s so inspiring!
I just started knitting last July but have managed to purchase more yarn then I need. :-). So far it can all fit in one smallish cabinet still.
I actually have a “Yarn Room”. I store my yarn in china cabinets, glass cabinets, cedar chests, and the closet. I like to see my yarn. I’ve got the yarn bug bad. I love it though. I’m always working on a knitting project so I knit all the time. I may never use up all my yarn, but, I consider them my art supplies. An artist that paints has a collection of many different types of paints and colors. That’s how I see my yarn.