Friday, January 04, 2008

Owning up to The Stash . . . .

As I mentioned last time, one of my resolutions is to knit from my stash and not buy any new yarn until Rhinebeck. Now I feel it's time to really own up to how huge my stash has become. Those of you on Ravelry can view my shame stash here. That's right, 190 items. Crazy!

Since not everyone is on Ravelry yet, here are a few pictures that show my stash in all it's glory.

Monster Stash

On the top row, left to right, we have my best yarns (which are the centerpiece on my coffee table), my sock yarns, and miscellaneous "nice yarns" in the back with (mostly) lace weight yarns in in the little baskets in front. In the second row we have wools yarns in front and sweater yarns in back (plus a little un-dyed sock yarn), lace-weight yarns, and a big old bag of Lion Brand yarns along with some old acrylic from my grandmother's stash.

Yipes, that's a lot of yarn! I'm not sure how this happened. It's not like I went on yarn binges. I guess it's like gaining weight - a nibble here and a snack there, and before you know it your pants are all tight. Same with the yarn. A skein here and a ball there, and before you know it, you have 46.88 miles of yarn in your house. That's right. Almost 47 MILES!!!!

Maybe my yarn diet should last until 2015!!

23 comments:

Kyle William said...

your stash pales in comparison to mine... but I guess that doesn't make it "OK"... :) - I think having lots of "unassigned" yarns can be risky if you don't have the space... and that's my big problem right now... but the big "sin" is having lots of projects lined up and ready to go - those are the ones I am focusing on this year. I decided to (try) not to buy yarn till July 4, 2008... we'll see how far I get :)

jessica said...

That is pretty impressive! Most of mine is just a skein of this and that... not enough for any big projects. And then i've got all the sock yarn... *grin*

Jenn said...

I feel your pain. But oh-so-much worse. Do not be ashamed! (But it really is pretty, so you should be happy to knit it up. At least that's what I'm telling myself to try to keep from buying more.)

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Instead of hording, think of it as front-loading all of the work of yarn acquisition for those projects!!

Sarah said...

Now you are making me want to get on my treadmill. Weird, huh? That's quite a bit of yarn.... 47 miles - wow!

Jennifer said...

Ah the stash. I've got an embarrassing amount as well. I think you've got it right with the nibble here, skein there, ending up with a mountain of yarn.

cpurl17 said...

Beautiful stash.

I'd be embarassed to show you mine.

Anonymous said...

I'm in awe of your stash!

Sonya said...

It's all so pretty! There are worse habits to have. Smoking crack for instance. Now THAT would be bad. ;o)

Zonda said...

Hehe...you are a braver woman than I! I cannot show it, I just can't admit it yet....

Olga said...

Think of it this way...it's not all for you, because you knit gifts! Now, my shoe addiction can't be rationalized away so easily...

Ragan Knits etc... said...

Wow! It is a great stash though! I agree with one comment you already rec'd on the "front-loading"...yeah...that is totally it! :o)
You can keep your resolution...not buy yarn until Rhinebeck. I have faith in you!
:o)

Anonymous said...

Anytime I see someone with a huge stash I have to show my fiance. "See honey? I told you my stash is way too small. THAT is a huge stash." :)

Jessica said...

The good news is, I've seen worse. ;) I love how you equated your stash acquisition to gaining weight, they really are similar! I recently gave a big box of yarn I knew I wasn't ever going to use to a local charity. Something like that could help you unload some if there is stuff you don't really want. Overall it doesn't seem that bad to me, but I have my own stash issues, so far be it for me to make a judgment!

Anonymous said...

I have never thought of adding up the mileage of my stash...scarey thought! There's probably enough yarn to wrap around the world! OK, I'm exaggerating but I'll bet there's enough to get me from Florida to New York! It sure does add up, doesn't it? Nothing makes me happier than petting my sock yarn, so I guess it's not all bad.
Blogless Mary Lou

elizabeth marley said...

Good luck knitting from your stash. I'm thinking about a knit it or trash it resolution for yarn this year...we'll see how that goes.

~Kristie said...

"A nibble here and a snack there".. I love it! It's exactly how I gained my weight and how my stash "grew" this year too. I guess me & my stash grew together last year. Since I put me on a diet, I should probably put my yarn on one too ... great idea.

Karen said...

I know that is how my stash has grown too, in small bites. Sock yarn is the worst for me, followed by a skein here and a skein there that "would make a nice hat". (I don't wear hats really, but adore making them.) I'm working on buying for what I am making, and backpeddling at using up what I have at the same time. Will it work? We'll see.
I didn't think yours was so bad really, until you gave the mileage. ; )

Sourire11 said...

Holy stash batman!

I love that you calculated how many miles you have. that totally cracked me up. Good luck with the diet!

thegabbyknitter said...

That's dosn't look so bad.

Good luck with knittng from your stash!

Anonymous said...

I thought I had read it wrong when you wrote yarn diet until Rhinebeck but wow, what a stash! You rock at yarn shopping!

Ariel said...

I just see that as reasonable contingency planning in case, um, world yarn production grinds to a halt? Or sheep suddenly go bald?

Bianca said...

WOW! You have an enormous stash! I am healty jealous! :-) If my stash was so big we sure have to move as my house is not so big :-)

But it has an advantage - you almost have every suitable colour for projects at home.

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