Continuing this backwards account of this ‘outside’ process: plan, make, finish, wear, this takes us to the stash. I wrote these posts in this order as truly, this is how I think to begin any new project. Backwards. 100% inspiration to knit any garment, for me, comes from the fashion statement it creates in the end.

The stash. That would be the yarn all of us knitters accumulate over time. Oh, the yarn. Even the most controlled of us seems to get swept up in the purchasing of yarn. Or, we get caught up in the giveaways. Or, the sales. Or, the yarn swaps. The beautiful colors, the different textures, and new fibers on the market pull at our heart- strings and our pocket books.

I have a stash that I affectionately call my yarn shop tucked away in a shelf in a corner of a spare bedroom that has recently transformed from an office to a craft room. The yarn shop consists of bundles of new yarn already chosen for a specific pattern. So, one sees many bundles or bags of yarn.  You might ask if I ever change my mind for the yarn’s intent and there have been a few times I have done that, however, I try to avoid.

Here is close-up of the stash from about a year, ago or so.  Some of these bundles are knitted up.

I put the yarn into bags for dust and sun protection.  I do poke a few holes for air circulation as well.  Believe it or not, Reynolds oven roast bags work perfectly for this as they are easily purchased in a grocery store and come in different sizes.

Then, there is the other stash or tall shelf, standing in another corner of the room.  This is not new yarn, rather houses the scrap yarn from the projects I have already knitted.  I have all kinds of ideas on how to make the most of this yarn but may wait until I have more so, I will continue with the new projects for now.

As you can imagine, as one stash goes down the other grows but only by small amounts of yarn.  It is a perfect system for my needs and desires.  Yarn tucked into baskets and other fun containers is eye-catching and adds intrigue.

I love the look of the ball winder and swift near the stash.

Here is another knitter, Barbara’s stash. She organizes differently than me.  This shows a system that is not bundled by projects, but by color and possibly by yarn weight and other properties.  I love the color organization and the narrow shelving to house more yarn in the space allotted.

And, here she has cataloged with key information for her easy access.

I recently read a post called, “Is my stash hurting me?” And, I loved Agnes’ honesty, analysis, and true reflection of her own stash. And, it caused me to pause to consider if I felt my stash was hurting me.

And, it is now true confession time. There was a time about 15 years ago when I had built a stash similar to the above. It was at a time when my family was much younger and my career was newer to me, both of which were much more time consuming to keep up with than now. Knowing I had beautiful yarn in which to knit and couldn’t get to was putting a great stress and strain on me.  My own yarn stash was like a noose around my neck. To release myself of that pressure, I neatly bagged pretty much the entire stash and took it to Good Will. My shelf was empty, my knitting stopped, and my nerves relaxed. At that point in my life, I felt my stash was hurting me and I took action.

Fast forward to more recent years, my stash has re-grown (of course) and I now have time in which to enjoy it. I look forward to my anticipated projects as well as those projects I have yet to plan utilizing the scrap.

When you build up a stash with projects, you hope your love of those projects doesn’t wain.  I would imagine this could be a challenge for some. Luckily, not me.  Project choice could be one reason.  That will be a topic for another post.

These are two of the projects you see from the stash, above.  Both are heavily worn.  Also, this is the yarn pictured in the header.

NOTE:

Outside process: plan, make, finish, wear ~ what happens before and after the actual knitting

Inside process: the actual knitting