Tag: stash

Knitting · New House

Yarn: Sorted and packed

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four large plastic bins filled with yarn

I took up my knitting needles for the first time in 32 years when President-Elect Obama asked Americans to volunteer on inauguration weekend 2009. All of those first projects supported a new caring ministry at church, and I was very select in my yarn purchases: three skeins of Lion Brand Homespun for a prayer shawl or a colorful yet purposeful selection of Cotton-Ease for dishcloths. Eventually, I graduated to better quality fibers, but they were always chosen for a specific pattern. At the time, I was a “monogamous knitter” and that was also how I made my fiber purchases, one at a time. It would be five years before I ventured to that slippery slope of purchasing yarn without having already planned a project.

I have distinct memories of that 2014 purchase. For weeks, before the start of each sampler afghan knitting class, I gravitated to the bin of Frabjous Fibers fingering and admired the soft, springy texture. But the weight gave me pause. I had been working with thicker strands (worsted, Aran, chunky) and the fingering selections felt fragile by comparison.

But as brown was Dad’s favorite color and he would have appreciated the dark chocolate hue, I eventually purchased a skein in the Hedgehog colorway without any idea of what it might become. That was my first step into stash creation. Then there were yarn crawls hosted by local yarn stores – each an opportunity to purchase potential. And yarn clubs with boxes of squishy mail arriving monthly from Idaho and quarterly from Germany (although not in the same year.) Each purchase was photographed and inventoried, but organization was slightly haphazard with yarn tucked in six locations around our small house.

In preparation for our move to Solstice Place, that mishmash has been corrected. Each skein (all 115) has been sorted by weight and yardage, the location has been verified in the Ravelry database, and those skeins are stored in new plastic tubs that Two Men & a Truck will move in 39 days.

Happy knitting!

Knitting · New House

Impact of Tariffs on Local Yarn Stores

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chunky varigated yarn in green and orange colors with knitting needles

With the stock market appearing to have recovered after spiraling into a tariff black hole the likes of which we had not seen since 1987 (and that time we lost half of our portfolio’s worth!), it was reassuring to learn that all of our lumberyard decisions – exterior and interior doors, door hardware, and windows – are already in a local warehouse. We had worried that the price of Canadian lumber might escalate to the point of making our construction project nonviable after the current administration insulted our nearest and “best-est” neighbor.

Up until now, I had only thought in terms of big-ticket items (appliances and roof tresses) as being affected by the roiling rhetoric in this uncertain trade environment. But, the instability in the market also has a negative impact on small entrepreneurs like local yarn stores (LYS).

  • Knit Camp and the 2025 Traveler’s Club – Marie Greene is worried that the future shipments for our upcoming virtual adventures to Germany, France, and British Columbia could be affected by shipping strikes, trade issues, or other disruptions. She will combine three quarterly packages into one box. While not a big deal, I will just have to be patient and open each package at the assigned time rather than acting impulsively when my box arrives, it is sad to think the American business environment is that unstable.
  • Yarnology in Winona, MN – Having weathered the global pandemic, they promise to make it through this new gale but they are urging customers to be flexible. Exact shades of favorite yarns may not be available and to buy an extra skein when purchasing for large projects as they may not be able to replenish weights, colorways or dye lots.
  • Stash in Charlotte, NC – Has informed its customers they are stocking up but to brace for the worst. Often yarn stores order directly from small companies and, in the past, were able to avoid tariffs due to the small size of the orders. “The de minimis exemption has been off, on, off, on and so on and no one knows what to expect.”

During the market swings, pundit noise, and alerts from different yarn and knitting sources, I find the Hokey-Pokey is the earworm in my head.

You put the tariff on, you put the tariff off
You put the tariff on and shake it all about  
You do the Hokey-Pokey…
Knitting

Stash Challenge

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handknit gray and purple striped triangular shawl with lacy edge

In the spirit of new year de-cluttering, I joined Marie Greene’s Stash Challenge – a much abbreviated version of her Stash Sprint class. Within the text of five emails sent over five days, she offered “stashtastic inspiration” in manageable micro amounts.  Then, I coupled my efforts and transformed a beautiful Merino-Silk blend into this Swiss Dot Shawl from her Stashbuster Series:  B is for Bobble patterns. 

Knitting

Strategic Stasher

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skeins of yarn in multiple colors

While the list of survey questions is not nearly as extensive as a Myers Briggs personality test, the Knit Camp Stash Sprint quiz does incorporate aspects of actual psychological analysis.  Of Marie Greene’s three basic yarn collector types, Fiber Sentimentalist, Optimistic Acquirer, and Strategic Stasher, my profile falls strongly into this last category.  Individual traits include:

  • Well organized stash.  (I pride myself on having every skein carefully cataloged on Ravelry with important details duly noted such as weight, color, dye lot, purchase price and date, including a photo for quick visual ID.)
  • Well planned projects and purchases.
  • Likely to use exactly-the right-yarn for the job which often necessitates purchasing new yarn rather than substituting.
  • Willing to relinquish yarn if a project changes direction.  (As proof, 14 skeins found their way to new homes as prizes for the Zumbro River Fiber Arts Guild: Knitting Group’s first ever annual Winter Finishing Fest.)

During my Stash Sprint class I handled every skein with a discerning eye.  While deciding what to keep and what to give, I made some discoveries.  Fingering weight comprises a third of my reserves but then many of Martina Behm’s designs require this weight and Hitchhiker is my favorite pattern.  DK makes up the next largest quantity but that makes sense as well as it is a great weight for sweaters and my first (and to date, only) dyeing project used this weight.  I have never knit anything in lace weight yarn and gave away two skeins but sentimentally kept two simply because of when and where I purchased them.  Since my access to the Knit Camp Stash Sprint class never expires, it will be interesting to see how my stashing patterns evolve and whether, after taking this online course, if I reframe my approach to yarn acquisition.

Happy knitting!

Knitting

Stash Sprint

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Twice before I have started but not completed Stash Sprint with Marie Greene; described as:  “A 6-week stash discovery workshop – complete with stash management tools and resources for happier stash knitting.”  I am not sure what interfered with my intentions on previous enrollments but I hope this blog post will create a sense of responsibility to you, the reader, to make this third time the charm.

You don’t make art out of good intentions.

Gustave Flaubert
yarn stored in containers

An early workshop assignment asks for a stash picture so that workshop participants can cheer on individual progress as organization takes hold.  For purposes of this photo shoot and to honestly share what I have where with my fellow Stash Sprint specialists, I’ve pulled from two locations.  No craft room for me – our house is just too small.  The two 34 inch x 15 inch plastic bins on the left “hide” under the bed – yes, I know that is negative feng shui. Three containers (two woven wicker baskets and one hand thrown pottery pot) on the right are stashed (pun intended) behind my Ekornes Stressless recliner in the TV room where the majority of my knitting occurs.  Ravelry records my stash as 106 different yarns, mostly single skeins but some in quantities of two-s or three-s.  Enough of each for a hat or a cowl or hat & cowl set.  The division (right now) is by weight so I can find what I need based on a pattern’s recommended weight but we will see what changes with Stash Sprint.