This is not how I intended to spend my day and even worse, I just got enough sorting done for now without really addressing the issue of my yarn storage/organization.
It all started because last night as I was trying to finish up a small hat I realized I was going to run out of yarn. I knew that I probably had some more of this yarn and color somewhere in the yarn closet.
When I moved our stuff from Big Canoe I took some time to try and organize the yarn but I really only dealt with separating out several types I was using for scarves which is what I was mostly knitting at the time. Since then I’ve been crocheting a lot of blankets and of course, I’ve been buying yarn even though I had some blanket quantities somewhere in the yarn closet. And I kept buying! I have mentioned that I cannot resist a bargain so when I see good sales on the types of yarn I’m using for the blankets I buy… and I buy faster than I use.
Anyway, back to search. I pulled out one of the bins that had a mix of a bunch of types of yarn and in the bottom found one skein of the pink I was looking for. That’s it on the bottom left. Shocking that I managed to find it and while it’s not the same dye lot, it will work.
While I had a couple bins out, I decided to pull my “hat” yarn and put that in a bin. I’ve decided that Hats are going to be my travel projects for 2020 and I’ll work on some in between blankets too. I’ll make a few for family but I’ll just make a bunch and donate them. At least that’s the plan!
Anyway, now I’m a little more organized and have a bin with hat yarn and I’ve separated out the “blanket” quantities and blanket kits because I plan to continue to crochet them in 2020 too.
What I didn’t do anything about was some of the scarf and shawl yarns I bought when I first started knitting. A lot of it is hand wash only and at this point I doubt I’ll ever even use that since most of the stuff I knit and crochet is donated and needs to be easy care. That means superwash wool or acrylic. I really had no idea what I was buying in the early days and unfortunately I’m not sure what I to with it … maybe I can offer it up on Ravelry but that won’t happen for a while because it will take time to sort and decide what stays and what goes and I’m not ready to tackle that right now.
Just so you know, I do expect to USE most of the yarn I have. For now I’m into making blankets (I made 22 blankets this year) and hats but I’m sure I will be back to knitting scarves and shawls eventually.
And before the entire day is gone, I’m going to go do some binding.
Well, at least you know what you have and a plan for the new year is always good.
Because you, like all of us, have unlimited free time (insert eye-rolling emoji here), have you considered knitting/crocheting up a swatch of the hand-wash yarn, perhaps in a loose stitch or with large needles, then tossing it in the washer and dryer to see what happens? That would probably answer the maintenance question right away, and you could proceed from there.
Reorganizing–it always has to look worse before it gets better!
I did this task when I moved last summer. I gave away a lot of yarn I knew I would never use. Now, I’m on a mission to knit down my stash and scraps. I made good progress on that goal this year.
Me too! I decided to use them to learn a new technique: 10-stitch blanket. Making those corners was a revelation! I’m still in training when it comes to saying “No!” to friends who have their own scraps to donate to me.
Maybe you could use the hand wash only yarn to make some felted items. C
Perhaps you could use the hand wash only yarn for some felted items.
Well, that’s quite a stash. Mine has dwindled down as I donated so much to the ladies at my grandson’s church. I bounce between crochet and sewing and am confident that I will use both my yarn and my fabric stash during my life time. Is that YOU I hear laughing uncontrollably?
Merry Christmas
xx, Carol
I’m having sympathy with this – I always seem to make a bigger mess while trying to organize things. And I always end up with a small pile of “stuff” that I can’t figure out what to do with because it didn’t seem to fit my other categories. Good luck with this project!
That is what happens to me every time I decide to organize. You do have a good stash of yarn but you also use it. I donated most of my yarn and will now just buy for specific projects. I do not knit or crochet as fast or as much as you do. The Black Friday deals on fabric though are getting me into trouble. I just organized my sewing room a month ago and already it is looking messy. You did a good job getting your yarn organized even if it took the entire day. That’s always a good feeling.
I donate hats made with pure wool to Cheyenne River Reservation. There is a great need for winter warmies, and they hand-wash items.
DSS (Children’s Services for ages birth to 18)
PO box 530
Eagle Butte SD 57625
Street address is 1302 N. Willow
Julie Garreau-Project Director
Billy Mills Youth Center (The Main)
8200 East Lincoln Street
P O Box 410
Eagle Butte, SD 57625
I love your blog. You seem to create so much, and such beautiful items!