I’ll wait to go to the store

Yesterday, after getting together the shocking list of all that is unknit and must be knit, I discovered that I have no yarn. Well, that’s not true, obviously… I mean, I have rather a lot of yarn. It turns out though, that when I went into the stash with the list of things that I wanted to make, to see what I had to make it out of, everything was unacceptable. Here’s a great example.  I decided that I’d start the parade of Christmas knits with one of the little sweaters that needs making. I chose a pattern – it’s the Baby and Child Sophisticate, all I needed was a little bit of worsted weight yarn, and surely that’s in the stash, right?

I went into the stash, and found about 10 yarns that could work, and rejected them all for some reason or another, and then started making a list of what I needed to go to the yarn shop for.  I put “500m of worsted” at the top of the list.  Since I was stuck without that, I decided I’d start the cowl.  I went into the stash for that… and about 20 minutes later I’d rejected everything I had and added yarn for that to the list. This continued for a while, until essentially speaking, I’d decided that none of the yarn I have now would work for anything and I’d need to buy more for everything, which totally defeats the purpose of a stash.  It’s not supposed to be an untouchable collection… it’s supposed to be my own private yarn store. A pre-planned smorgasbord of yarns that I love, and it turns out that’s the problem.

It turns out that mostly I love this stuff, that’s why I bought it,  and I don’t want it to be gone, and I think that if I knit it it will be gone, which it will be, but the point was to use it to make things, not to hug it and kiss it and call it George. There will be, I said to myself, as I stood in the stash, and thought things over, other yarns. Yarns I love as much as these yarns.  So, I didn’t go to the yarn store today. I stood there in the stash, and I looked for some proper freakin’ generosity in my heart, and lo and behold, the yarn I needed was there after all, as long as I was willing to part with it.

frankiesweaterstart 2015-11-27

Two skeins of Longmeadow Farm merino, in a gorgeous colour called “Brick and Mortar” (that I totally would look great in) that is soft, and lovely and will suit my little nephew to a tee.  I started knitting straight away so that I couldn’t change my mind, and I love how it feels, and I’m trying to remember that knitting it up is more than half of the pleasure of having it. I’m still having pangs as I go along, but yarn is for using, and for keeping people warm and this yarn was doing none of that in the stash, and now it’s meeting a noble destiny. It’s not supposed to be there so I can stand in the middle of it all and say “Mine, Mine, nobody else’s.”

frankiesweaterstartball 2015-11-27

Besides. Maybe there will be enough left over to make me a hat.

133 thoughts on “I’ll wait to go to the store

  1. Good luck on your knitting list. You’re a fast knitter so that is a good thing. I enjoy seeing your progress every year..I make a lot of Socks for Christmas. This year I smartened up and knit from biggest size (13 mens) to smallest. Happy knitting !

  2. I do a lot of knitting for charity. And I have this fight with myself regularly. The point is to knit the yarn. I don’t actually *need* any more knitted items. Better to knit and give them away to share the wealth!

  3. I know the feeling but if I enjoy the knitting process and keep a photo of the finished result I find that satisfies that inner feeling, plus you have room to buy more, new colours, new stash to feel.

  4. I have a pretty good stash (probably not your level and certainly not Bonnie level), and I have a hard time with that too. I ended up buying yarn, because the yarn I wanted in my head wasn’t the same as what was in my stash. I totally could have changed my head. Really.

  5. I think that as knitters, we have this viewpoint that yarn is Our Precious. It can be hard to use it sometimes — I mean, what if you knit it up and it’s not as spectacular in the FO as it was in the skein? That may be why I bought yarn for four new projects at my LYS today despite having a room full of yarn at home. But three of the four are gifts, and though they’re going to be in yarns I love, I know the recipients will love them, too. I have a feeling that will be the case for whoever is getting that sweater.

    And remember — the sheep will always grow more. 🙂

  6. My stash is mostly made up of sock yarn – but it’s used for more than just socks. I buy certain blends for baby sweaters and cowls, striping for hats and wonderful solids or heathers for shawls. I do have sport and dk in single and multiple skeins – never know when someone needs a special hat or pair of leg warmers or boot cuffs or maybe mittens. Anything else in my tubs is in a project bag with the appropriate pattern and they are for either me or my husband.

  7. “I looked for some proper freakin’ generosity in my heart” I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about! I’m a quilter, so for me it’s fabric, but you’re right: it’s hard to be generous, and share sometimes, even though we know it’s the right thing to do… love your blog BTW; just found it recently. I knit tiny bits (I even have a sheep and a spinning wheel) but you’re way, way out of my league. you inspire me to pick up my knitting again!)

  8. And this is why I don’t have stash. I know that makes me a total freakin’ weirdo. But the chances of having just the right yarn in just the right colour and quantity for whatever I might knit are… zero. I realize that I’m in a minority here, so I’ll just shuffle away quietly at this point…

    • I’m with you in the minority. I have very little space to store yarn, so I buy only what I need for a project I’m about to knit. I can always go to the LYS just to oogle and fondle all of the lovely yarns.

    • Another one with you. I do have a very small “stash” but it’s mostly leftovers or things I have plans for. I can’t afford the space or the money for a huge supply of yarn, and none of it would be right anyway!

      • Yeah, my “stash” is either leftovers, or things that are in big plastic bags with the pattern I plan to make using them. I don’t buy “just because” yarn, because I don’t have the room. (Also because I am married to a woman who is a big believer in “just because” yarn, and if we both did that, the yarn would take over the house.)

    • Stephen West once said he hopped on his bike to go visit his LYS (or what he prefers to think of as his nicely organized, well lit personal stash.)

    • No, you’re not in the minority. I’m with you after learning the hard way when I was a quilter, stashing fabric like the hoarders shown on TV, I ended up giving it all away when I learned to knit. Knowing that I tend to keep my Precious Yarn, I learned to only buy yarn for specific projects. Saved me tons of money too.

  9. This is my problem exactly. I have tons of yarn and I can’t bear the thought of parting with any of it. So I buy a lot and occasionally use a bit. There’s a college tuition worth in my stash. I’ve got to start using it.

  10. “So, I didn’t go to the yarn store today. I stood there in the stash, and I looked for some proper freakin’ generosity in my heart, and lo and behold, the yarn I needed was there after all, as long as I was willing to part with it.”

    I think this may be the best Thanksgiving sermon ever written for those of us who already have Enough.
    Thank you.

      • I inherited my mom’s stash. I eventually sold and gave away most of it because it made me so sad to knit. You can’t take it with you. And you can’t come back and yell at your daughters for squandering it either. My sister said “mom’s dead, she doesn’t get a vote.” Knit all the yarn you can NOW because your kids won’t bear to want it when you’re gone. I’ll never stash again, I’ve learned a horribly painful lesson of the futility of stockpiling.

  11. Knit it up quickly, like ripping off a bandaid. That way parting with it will hurt less. I know that feeling. Some of my Christmas yarn is so gorgeous and such a step up from what I used to use that I almost feel like pouting when I think that I have to give it all away. But all isn’t lost, I’m finally done shopping for other people’s yarn and I can get some reward fiber for when all of the gift knitting is done.

  12. I am not unfamiliar with this phenomena. However, I try to stop and remember how much I truly love the person more than an inanimate object and how the thing from the yarn would make them feel a little extra loved by me. If that doesn’t work, well, maybe it isn’t the right yarn for them and I look over the stash some more. Most of the time. ;^)

  13. Just pet it and call it George while knitting the garment. And then try to un-clench your fists when it comes time to wrap the gift. That’s very warm-hearted of you to part with it, which is, of course, the theme of the season.

  14. Ahh, think of all the good karma you are collecting. Think of it as opening up room in the stash for more great yarn! The annual spreadsheet update is one of my favorite things about the Christmas season

  15. I totally understand why you are reluctant to turn that yarn into something not for you. It’s so beautiful. But there you are, in the true spirit of Christmas, knitting something for someone else. Perhaps you can wear your hat when you are taking your nephew out to show off his wonderful sweater. And enjoy it.

  16. When I was a quilter I was a fabriholic with a pet stash. Then I was stricken with the knitting virus and the fabric languished in bins until guilt kicked in. You know, that old New England use-it-up thing? I finally went cold turkey–donated the fabric to Project Linus quilters. My yarn stash is much smaller and more manageable, as I buy yarn one project at a time–with occasional lapses, of course!

  17. Oh, you poor dear. You’ll knit up a dozen or so gifts with precious, precious stash yarn – and then come January, you will have to – HAVE TO – replace that stash yarn. And quickly, too, because it will snow in January and you might not be able to get to the yarn store when you neeeeeed to, so the right yarn better already be in your stash. I have such sympathy for me.

  18. Well a couple of folks sort of beat me to it in the comments, but I have to say I was thinking of Gollum while reading your post. Kudos to you for overcoming him/it/her.

  19. Wrapping a baby in something made from a favorite yarn is the only way to make snuggling them even sweeter. You’re treating yourself to extra delicious baby hugs.

  20. Yeah…I keep looking at my stash going “but it isn’t right for the recipient.” Even when it really is and I need to give over.

    Still, one of my favorite things is when I go back through the stash and discover that something I’d forgotten I owned (which happens far too often) is perfect for a friend’s gift. Suddenly I can’t wait to knit it.

  21. Hi Stephanie, This is Longmeadow Farm. I am loving the fact that you like the yarn and are enjoying knitting the sweater gift. Thanks for choosing yarn from your private store. May ewe and your`s have a wonderful, memorable Holiday season. Thank You, Sandy LMF

  22. Some of the yarn we buy just because we deeply love it. Some we buy to use. The first is our collection. The second our stash. I am trying very hard not to be a collector ! Yet, I agree, there is some yarn that just begs to be close.

  23. Oh yes, completely understand the pangs of letting go of stash yarn. Especially when it is a colour no longer available. (Why do they do that to us, anyway?) Good for you in letting go and letting Louis get it. Hope you do have enough for a hat as well, and if not enough, I hope at least a little will be left over that can be added to something special just for you. That really is a gorgeous shade.

  24. My dear Stephanie,

    You just saved me a trip to the yarn store. Went stash diving and found enough for my BIL’s Christmas and my new nephew or niece due in January. Hope you get your hat!

  25. Yep oh yep. On the table next to me is the pile of balls of yarn for Christmas slippers. Right at the front is a ball of crepe yarn of perfect, purest green. I think it’s Cleckheaton’s machinewash crepe. (I hearby pronounce myself as probably the only person
    bizarre enough to cherish crepe yarn. I think it is because my Mum made lots of our sweaters out of it. Big Red, my favourite, was made from Old Patons Totem, and has kept me warm at least once a week every winter since 1987 when I scored it after my brother didn’t wear it. Big Red is a bloke’s fisherman’s jersey, looks a treat, more faithful than many a spouse… Mum still says that ‘Totem is cheaper than Valium’, as a mantra. She’s right). I bought it at a long gone shop as a single ball for $2 way back in 2005, and I cannot bear to use it for slippers that will get worn out soon, even on the feet of people I love. Just had the thought that it will make a fantastic coat hanger cover with leaf lace edging for my youngest sister who adores the things….

  26. I can relate. Especially after purchasing yarn for “The Force Awakens” hat for my son ( finished ), and just today I bought yarn for a sweater vest for hubby. This with a closet full of yarn and UFO’s to be completed and delegated in time for Christmas! Next year I vow to start on Jan 1.

  27. “Call it George.” Awesome reference. You are so right about the stash. I recently decided to post ALL my yarn for sale on Ravelry and, if some wants something I find I really can’t let go, I’ll ask for a really high price for it.

  28. I am sure there will be opportunities for stash replenishment in your near future. Good on you for making all that room for new treasures! 😉

  29. It’s not supposed to be there so I can stand in the middle of it all and say “Mine, Mine, nobody else’s.”

    It’s not? Uh oh.

  30. It’s odd, I’m overjoyed when, looking for yarn for a project I want to do in my supply, I find it do actually possess something relevant. That’s what I buy the yarn for.

  31. I don’t have a stash….but when I finish something and really like it, I wash it, block it….and store it away. I’m afraid that if I wear it, I’ll wreck it before making the next thing, leaving me with only 1 hat or something after all my effort.

  32. O.M.G…….I thought I was the only one left who ‘got’ “I will hug him and kiss him and call him George”! It does my heart good to know that there are other crazy people out there that quote old Loony Toons, erm….. I mean the Bugs Bunny Roadrunner Hour….#favoritesayingever

  33. You are not alone. That’s why we blog and write right? I love all the fibers at the LYS sale…..weeks later…I cant recall why I have all that dreaded ruffle yarn in my yarn cabinet. And why couldn’t the cat have found THAT in the middle of the night , no he found the wool. I really ought to just buy as I go with yarn. Given the fact that i live in a major metropolitan area with no less than 3 studios within 20 minutes of my door, some of which Are indeed open on Sundays too… I have little to no excuse to stash…at all
    ever

    • Until you have to knit snowshoes because Winter dumped over a foot of snow outside your door.
      Maybe your LYS should give you a key. Just in case.

  34. I tend to purchase my favorite colors- orange and green when acquiring new yarn. I also have lots of fantasies about what that orange and green yarn will become, and how great it will look with all my other orange and green clothing. So it would be ridiculous to make something for someone else since most people aren’t orange and green fanatics like I am, and knitting something from my stash would take away from my future wardrobe. In my defense, I’m pretty good at knitting up my yarn, and I get paranoid if my stash gets bigger than my yarn bin.

  35. I understand your problem. Sandy’s yarns (Long Meadow Farm) are wonderful. I compliment your generosity of spirit and willingness to share. I am sure you will particularly enjoy seeing the recipient in the wonderful sweater. (Hope you have enough left for a hat.)

  36. Good job!! A stash is meant to be used, otherwise it’s just clutter, blocking up money, space and energy. I love that colour and I’m sure the child will love the sweater!

  37. I’ve started making a note of what i planned to knit with it when I buy yarn, so it’s still stash yarn, but it’s got a purpose. Then I don’t pull it out later and go, “Why did I buy this again?”

    My stash is just a 3 drawer dresser though, so it’s not very large. Enjoy your knitting.

  38. Dear Stephanie,

    I totally get this! So many balls and skein of yarn mean so much more than what they already do with their fiber-y goodness.

    I really love reading your blog and am so excited to see a post every day currently.

    Happy knitting and thanks for doing what you do and being who you are.

    Agnes
    Stricktanz on ravelry

  39. harlot i have my grandmother’s/mother’s collection of Vogue Knitting magazines with patterns from the 1930s through the 1950s. Probably dozens, maybe hundreds, of patterns. The illustrations look a bit … how shall i say … dated of course. Including the hairstyles.

    i was just looking at the magazines yesterday when they surfaced once again among the things that had to be moved when they installed a new appliance in the basement.

    i can’t think of a better person to offer them to than yourself. You’d be the one who’d know what to keep, what to toss.

    i just have to find a way of getting them to you. Slowest case scenario, when you ride-for-charity to montreal next summer.

  40. This conversation was going thru my very brain as I washed out the bread maker pan today. I have decided to (ghasp) sell some of my stash to fund other fiber arts projects..like heddle bars for my loom and bobbins for my antique CPW.

    Some of my stash has been there for years and nothing is calling it’s name. Time to part with it..even though it has given me years of “oh..it’s so pretty” moments.

    bjr

  41. Recurring scenario: I buy some sock yarn because I love it, cherish it in my stash, and then start to make some toe-up socks “this time, for me!” (I knit two at a time, so they’re the same size, despite creative patterns and shaping.) By the time I reach the heels, I’ve decided maybe they’d be a great gift for someone who Really Should Have These Socks, so I make them in their size. By the time the socks are done, I’m either sick of looking at the freakin’ yarn, or love it so much that I get more of the same, and start over, making a pair for me. Same result. Five years of sock knitting, dozens of pairs of socks for family and friends, still have never worn a pair of hand knit socks!

  42. Holy cow! I had this exact same conversation with myself this Xmas. Had to slap myself around and tell myself that if there was a skein of yarn in my stash that would be perfect for so-and-so, then I was going to use it. Didn’t matter if I have been saving it for something else (because, let’s be honest…if I was going to knit that something else, I would have already done it). I am going so far as to use some of my solid color sock yarn and hold it double stranded to get a worsted weight, if the color of the sock yarn was perfect for some one on my list.

    Be generous and let the yarn go.

  43. Must chime in, as I’m just as guilty with not finding anything to knit with – and I have a notable stash. However, I will gulp, quit rolling in the stuff, and just sit down and work harder on making it into the beautiful, useful articles that seem to really make a lot of people around me very happy. Or maybe I will really take the plunge and let my daughter and sister take things from the stash for their own projects this holiday. Perhaps my husband will then quit bugging me about buying more!

    • …And to keep things sane, I will now officially say that when I stash-dive, I am going to visit George and give him (it?) a hug.

  44. When I moved across the country several years ago, I hired a moving co. and had to value the items to be moved. When I opened the closet holding my stash and started calculating, I realized that it was the most valuable thing in my house, hands down. In fact, it was so costly that I had to pay for extra insurance to cover it, and label the plastic tubs of yarn as “high value items.” The tubs were semi-transparent, and the movers were completely baffled by the labels. “But this is just yarn!” they said, as they carried it out of the house.

    Needless to say, the stash has grown since then. But I will try to get a grip, and start selling or giving it away. I’ll have to keep some for a second purpose, which is arranging a few skeins in a bowl or vase here and there, and leaving it out for a while to look at it. Then I put it back and bring out a different group.

    And when I was working on a graduate degree several years ago, I would put a couple of skeins on my desk to pet and admire while writing a paper. Taking those 30-second breaks now and then kept me going.

    Yarn has a mysterious power, doesn’t it? 🙂

  45. Soooooo relatable. I’m printing this off in large print. I will then laminate these wise words. I will then affix this to every single yarn storage tub.
    No, we will not be discussing if a single pack of laminate sheets was sufficient for said stash signs.
    Really, when was the last time those skeins popped out to visit ME?
    Oh, um, yeah, that one bin was pretty overstuffed.
    Time to cull…..for a yarn swap!!!

  46. I’m glad someone else has this madness too. I’ve started visiting the stash and thinking ‘what can I do with this?’, rather than starting with a project in mind and trying to find the yarn in the stash. It works to some degree, but doesn’t necessarily help with the letting go of some yarn problem. For that, the only answer may be hypnotherapy….head transplant (or something), otherwise more bags of yarn will enter the stash, scraps and remnants etc and it will grow and grow and take over the house!

  47. Oooh that was me this morning with my stash. I finally pulled out a ball of sock yarn that I sniffed and squished fondly. It WILL become fingerless gloves and I will call them George!

  48. Apparently this inventory problem is more comment than we realise. I appreciate your readiness to admit that you have a private stash. I have quite an extensive one myself that I keep feeding. I take comfort in knowing that I am doing my part to stimulate the economy!

  49. After these many years I’ve come to the realization that when yarn comes into my house it has a pattern to go with it.
    Other wise it will be squirreled away with a name like George.

  50. I love you all! My husband has developed a sudden dearth of hats (he loses/misplaces them). I went stash-diving this past week in order to make him three hats but concluded I would need a trip to the yarn shop because everything he’d like was multiple skeins intended for sweaters. I didn’t want to “waste” skeins on the hats and lose the potential sweater. What was I thinking? His warm head now is more important than a someday sweater! I’m taking him into the stash this afternoon to choose his hat yarns; and as I knit them, I will call each “George.”

    • Why is it that someone only ever suits/likes the yarn that is part of a SQ? My daughters always want just one skein mum but it’s always from a sweater quantity, I’m so glad they knit though that most of the time I can let go.

    • I have exactly this problem. I’ve ‘broken up’ a large batch of potential-sweater-wool in the past to make something small, and then cursed myself later, so I’ve learned the opposite lesson to you. Don’t break up sweater wool!!! I do knit quite a lot of them, though, so it makes sense for me.

      Steph, love the message of both generosity and a bit of realistic frugality. Both necessary to get through the season sane, I reckon.

  51. I will hug it and kiss it and call it George! “That’s IT!” You’ve figured out the problem I have. Stash….not for admiring….for using. Thank you. Now to have the power to overcome the admiring!

  52. That yarn is positively gorgeous! And you’re right, that colour would look fantastic on you. I’d seriously contemplate starting the little sweater over again before you get too far along. (Sorry.)

  53. Oh I feel your angst re:your wool. I have similar stern conversations with myself about my wool. Likewise I dug deep last week and gave away 2 jars from my 5 remaining jars of the most amazing plum jam I have ever made in my life. This makes us good people right? It’s not supposed to hurt when you give it away! I keep whispering ‘give freely’… Thinking of you x x

  54. I have that problem with my sock yarn stash. I finally forced myself to cast on a pair using a skein from my stash. Now the whole time I’m knitting on these socks, I keep saying, oh I’m so glad I did this. I really need to use more of my stash. Let’s see if I actually do. Maybe this first pair was my first step. lol

  55. The problem with my stash is that I’ve outgrown the yarn in it. The yarn I bought a few years ago is not what I need now. Also I’ve fallen in love with skeins and just bought one which is not enough for projects I like to knit now. I like the idea of putting things on Ravelry for sale. This can be my first new year resolution – shrink the stash. I also have trouble letting go of things I’ve knitted. My stash simply gets transformed from yarn to knitted objects and takes up the same amount of room. Second new year resolution: let go of knitted objects I’m not wearing.

  56. Thank You Stephanie for verbalising what so many of us feel, I literally overcame this exact feeling yesterday by remembering I love the person it will be gifted to more than the yarn but still when it’s something you cannot replace it’s a little hard!
    I literally had to stop hubster in his tracks and read this post to him so he knows I am not alone, others have the same issue with stash!
    HUGS, Mel x
    P.S That yarn is GORGEOUS!

  57. I have realised over the last week that the reason I buy yarn is FoMo (fear of missing out). Living 12,000 miles from the Euro/American-centric part of this planet I have a highly ingrained sense that this is the way the world is. However I have also taken on the EZ mantra of buying for weight for long-lasting knitting joy, hence mostly fingerweight variegated single skeins – which don’t go far by themselves, except for a Martina Behm neck adornment pattern, lovely in themselves but often I would like something a bit more covering.
    However currently knitting a baby blanket in delicious Kauni Rainbow and some soft, soft merino – it has taken a while, but have pushed some personal boundaries on this one. More wonderful than I would have ever thought! Go well.

  58. Laughing out loud partly in relief that I’m not the only one and oh man do I understand this.

    That is going to be one lucky little boy in a handsome sweater. Have fun playing twins! (Or if there’s not enough left for a hat for you, maybe there will be for him.)

  59. You are a kind and generous knitter! I have the opposite problem: my stash has many wonky or partial skeins that I am having trouble combining in a way that doesn’t result in objects that scream “krafty!”

  60. “Love it, and pet it, and call it ‘George.'” Oh, how true! I’ve vowed to stop being a “selfish knitter” and get into the stash. Thanks for reminding me of my vow!

  61. This post is totally me! And I really need to overcome this….SO MUCH yarn and I don’t want to use it up. What?!?! That’s just crazy….and I vow to do better next year because there is ALWAYS more yarn that I love and want. Always. Good for you for being generous — I’m going to follow your example and cast on a gift in some lovely treasured yarn.

  62. Sorry. I know new little people & others close to your heart are important BUT, sometimes we have to put ourselves first. Sometimes, the Knitter comes first!! I have yarn that’s MINE, MINE, MINE & then there’s The Stash. Sometimes MY yarn moves to The Stash as my taste changes or I find something I love even more – YES, I am able to love multiple yarns. So forgive yourself, don’t stress out under the Seasonal pressure to produce a gift, knit with Love in your Heart ’cause you can always frog that thing & make the hat of your dreams.

    • Yes I am able to love multiple yarns — just like the Yarn Harlot! (I think her name is from working on multiple projects at once.)

  63. Yes, the struggle is real. My rav group had a stash yarn swap, and I kid you not, I couldn’t participate because when push came to shove, I could bear to give anything up.

  64. I made the announcement on Sunday that my challenge for the year coming is to “knit myself out of yarn.” I read your post after. Thank you for the reinforcement that all this charity knitting (b/c I totally don’t know enough people to give all this knitting to) is going in the right direction! 🙂

    • omg. My best estimate is it would take 5 years working full time knitting to make it through my stash. I think that means it’s too big!

  65. Love this post! I try to periodically “visit the stash” so I can reacquaint myself with it’s contents (and check for moths – you never know). So often I forget exactly what I have, and finding the forgotten yarn usually inspires me to knit it up. But sometimes when I look through the stash I realize I don’t like that yarn quite as much as I did when I bought it. And that makes it easier to pass it along – either as a knitted gift or as a gift to a fellow knitter.

    My problem is that I can’t seem to visit a LYS without buying something, so I end up buying yarn with no plan for what it will become…

  66. I don’t have too much of a stash, mostly leftovers from my projects. I don’t usually buy “just because”yarn —too expensive! But it is fun to let friends come and dig around and find something that will work for one of their projects!

  67. I can totally relate! With me, I buy yarn with the intention of using it for something specific in mind, and then it sometimes sits in my stash. Somehow I always end up going to the lys to buy what I need for a specific project.
    Love the color of that yarn, by the way!

  68. On a related topic — what do you do with the yarn that’s left after you’ve knit a project and now have a skein or less left? I see projects titled “Stash Busters”, is that what those are for?
    Never mind why I want to know.

  69. I keep doing the same thing! I want to knit a hat. I don’t need a hat personally, but I love making hats for gifts or charity. But when I go to the stash all the yarn there is supposed to be for ME!

  70. Regarding a stash: I discovered that my taste in yarn has changed over the years. So those treasures from 20 years ago don’t interest me anymore. It is better to use the yarn up and buy new stuff from time to time.

    One way to use up a stash and do something good is to make chemo-hats. But not just regular chemo-hats. I make them from my pattern (Quick Winter Hat) on ravelry.com, and the point of that pattern is to mix yarns in a wild way. It is a great way to use up small swatches of yarn. I did this for several years, and randomly saw my hats out in public. One time I was delivering a garbage bag full of them to an oncology center, and one of the ladies waiting for treatment shouted out: “Here comes the Hat Lady!” It was wonderful to know that this was something to look forward to after a chemo treatment. And it used up those random swatches of yarn in my stash. In fact, my stash was almost extinct!

    • Addendum: After a certain number of years, wool yarn starts to fall apart. It also has a greater chance of being a meal for a moth. So, it is better to use it while it is young and in good shape!

  71. I have knitted the free version of Baby Sophisticate – hopefully the paid-for version produces something rather more proportioned to fit a baby. It wasn’t great.

  72. “Proper freakin’ generosity”- those words should go with me every time I go into my stash. In fact they should be printed above, below, and inside my stash so I find it over and over again. So generous with our time but it’s a tug-of-war letting go of the beautiful wool I fell in love with. Three projects on the go for Christmas. Two made from new wool (and it’s nice new wool!) that there might… (struggle) have been something in the stash I could have used. Only the cat hats are being made from sacrificial scraps in my stash-not very generous. Next year will be different! Thanks for the reflection. Good for our souls.

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