The stashless knitter - discuss

I read a blog post a while ago by Staci of VeryPink.com, the post was actually written many years ago now but I came across it during a bit of late night yarny scrolling. In it she talked about how she was a knitter without a stash - a stashless knitter and I freely admit that the concept floored me.

A knitter without a stash? How is such a thing even possible. At first I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept. I don’t have a huge stash by any means but I do have a reasonable amount of sock weight (and some DK) yarn, and if pressed in an emergency I could ‘shop the stash’ to cast on for something at short notice.

Whilst I do my best to buy yarn only for specific projects I often find myself drawn into a bit of spontaneous purchasing - one of a kind (OOAK) colourways being my particular weakness. And even if I do buy yarn for a particular project, sometimes it ends up not working out quite right and I have to try something else - the original yarn going back into my stash for a rainy day.

If you’d asked me a few years ago I’d have said the more the merrier, with regards to yarn. But since Covid hit and we had to re-evaluate our home/living space I have definitely become a ‘less is more’ knitter. Whilst I do still have a stash I have downsized it considerably. It’s a sad fact that the yarn I bought at the beginning of my knitting journey is in many cases not what I want to knit with now. Tastes change - I know mine certainly have - as have the kinds of projects that I like to knit.

Over the course of six months or so I’d say I reduced the size of my stash by half (some was sold and some was donated) and then over the next year I halved it again.

In fact, writing this I’m thinking that I might be overdue for a bit of a clearout again. I now keep all my yarn in two large plastic tubs - and that’s it. Once it spills out into other areas of temporary storage it’s generally time to pare things back a bit. Going through my storage is also a useful way to remind myself of what I actually have already - it’s all too easy to forget and be attracted to the lure of new, shiny yarn when you already have something very similar at home.

How about you - would you ever see the appeal of being a stashless knitter or do you love to curate your extensive yarn collection?

Three reasons to air your stash

I’ve never really subscribed to the notion of spring cleaning – or any kind of regular cleaning routine come to that. Apart from when it comes to my stash. Not necessarily linked to spring, or any other time of year, I will quite often get the urge to have a good rootle through my stash. 

Not that I’m looking for anything in particular, you understand. It’s more akin to visiting with old friends. A chance to check in with skeins both young and old. Frequent purchases nestling alongside never-to-be-knit classics. 

This year I have had to move some storage boxes around (thanks to the current situation and the never ending chaos of 2 adults and 2 near-grown adults all living and working under one roof). I took the opportunity to have a good rummage, clear out some old WIPs that were never destined to become finished objects and pick out a few items that could go to other homes. 

There are any number of advantages to doing this on a semi-regular basis, but three solid reasons (should you need them) are: 

1. A chance to check for unwelcome visitors. I’m not going to say the M word out loud but we all know how attractive our stored skeins can be for little beasties. I’m keeping my fingers firmly crossed when I say that I haven’t yet been troubled by this, but obvious signs to look for are little papery cases attached to your yarn, areas of breaks or weaknesses in the yarn or fine sandy grains in and around where the yarn is stored. This article is very informative – if slightly terrifying. 

1. A chance to reconnect with forgotten items. Despite my best efforts I often forget exactly what I have stored away, especially as it is currently stored in multiple places. I try to keep track with an Airtable spreadsheet but there’s no substitute for actually getting my paws on the yarn to remind myself what I actually have in my possession.  

1. A chance to rehome some yarn. Let’s face it, I have way more yarn than I can knit in the next few years and it’s all potential moth food. Quite often when I go through my stash I’ll find something that no longer appeals to me, or I never quite ended up using. I can often pick out a few items to either use as prizes or giveaways, or to donate either to charity shops or other organisations. I often like to donate to Knit for Peace as they will accept either full or partial skeins as long as it is clearly labelled. 

No cold sheep here

Image by Martin Tajmr from Pixabay 

It seems that there are definite seasonal patterns to my blog posts and I often feel the urge to write about the same topics at the same time of the year. January, without exception is my cue for a little rant about yarn diets or cold sheeping or whatever you want to call it.

Call it what you like because we all know it doesn’t matter a hoot, and most knitters will cave like a soggy digestive at the first yarn show or newsletter offer. If you do manage to resist, obviously hats off to you for your impressive show of restraint.

This year more than ever though it seems appropriate to support our hard-pressed yarn shops and indie dyers. Financial insecurity, the looming shadow of the ongoing Brexit disaster and many other factors mean that where we spend our hard earned money is important now as never before.

For those that don't know, the practice of Cold Sheeping refers to going on a yarn diet or a restricted yarn buying policy - akin to going 'cold turkey'. It is certainly a common feeling at this time of year to feel slightly overwhelmed by your stash, or to feel as though your house in general has way too much clutter in it to even contemplate buying anything more stuff.

However, whatever the answer is I'm almost certain that it doesn't involve going on a yarn diet. For the simple reason that diets never work. If they did the diet industry would go out of business. Anything that advocates extreme restriction or denial will inevitably involve a backlash at some point and freed from constraint you will be gleefully hoarding pretty sock yarn again before you can say 'Blue faced Leicester'.

So, I am proud to say that there will be no Cold Sheep or yarn dieting here. This is a Cold Sheep Free Zone.

My stash is a thing of joy - it brings warm and woolly solace to dark days - and it means that at the drop of a hat (or the news of an imminent baby arrival) I can rummage in the stash, grab some needles and whip out something cute and giftable in less time than it takes to traipse into town to buy a congratulations card.

So, this January I am encouraging you to give the Cold Sheep the Cold Shoulder. Embrace your stash in all its woolly glory and show some love to our fab independent business.

And if you’d like to make better use of your stash and get some inspiration and support, please do check out my new venture - The Stash Appreciation Society. We can promise you a warm woolly welcome.

PIN FOR LATER

Pre-launch of the Stash Appreciation Society

I let my newsletter subscribers in on the pre-launch a few days ago and I just wanted to pop in with a little more information about my upcoming project for 2020 - The Stash Appreciation Society.

To be perfectly clear and upfront this is a paid for, membership subscription which gets you access to an exclusive Facebook Group packed with chat, inspiration, monthly themes, KALs and free patterns all aimed at helping you to make the most of your stash during 2020. The monthly subscription will be £5 per month and doors will open for this on 1st January 2020.

If you already know that you would like to join however I am offering an early bird joining rate - a flat £40 which will give you membership for the full year until 31st December 2020. I know that this time of year can be hectic and so I’ll be keeping this early bird offer up until 31st January 2020 - so don’t worry if you’d rather wait until the New Year. You won’t miss out.

You can find all the information on the Society here and of course, if you have any questions please just reply to me here or on any of my usual social media links and I’ll do my best to respond as quickly as I can.

Colour Therapy

Pattern: Garter Ripple Squish on Ravelry

Whenever anyone asks me what my favourite colour is, my stock answer is always “Blue in general - Teal in particular”. But this latest project of mine is giving me cause to reconsider.

I am reknitting an older design of my own - the Garter Ripple Squish blanket - that I originally designed as a smallish sized baby blanket for a friend.

For some time now, you many have noticed, I have been wittering on about the size of my leftover 4ply sock yarn mountain and fearing that my entire stash space is going to be taken over by these cute, beguiling, self-multiplying balls of handdyed yarn.

I had been looking online at a whole host of stashbusting projects but having just finished a sock yarn, mitered square blanket I was in no hurry to undertake another 4ply blanket project - especially since it took me 3 years to finish it. During which time my sock yarn leftover stash was entirely undiminished - in fact it grew considerably.

So having seen a few marled projects - especially the Bobble Marley hat by Riverknits - I had a bit of a “What If…” moment. I grabbed 3 balls from my leftovers pile and cast on for a lap sized Garter Ripple Squish.

And it was love at first sight. There’s something magical about watching each colour blend into the next. And something pleasingly thrifty about being able to use up every last yard of yarn. I just knit until one of the three yarns runs out and then add in another one. I’m using the Clasped weft join for this and will leave the ends until after I’ve blocked it - before giving them a trim.

It’s so addictive, and on 7mm needles it is growing at a very pleasing rate indeed. And more importantly, I can report that there is definite shrinkage in the size of the leftovers mountain. It’s still there - but I finally have the sense that I have the upper hand in this battle.

No cold sheep today

I first wrote this blog post in January 2017 but as I read of another independent yarn store closing down it makes for more pertinent reading than ever.

FROM THE ARCHIVES:

Apologies in advance for the slight mini rant today but I have heard and seen so much online these past few days about 'Cold Sheeping' that I feel duty bound to try to redress the balance a little.

For those that don't know, the practice of Cold Sheeping refers to going on a yarn diet or a restricted yarn buying policy - akin to going 'cold turkey'. It is certainly a common feeling at this time of year to feel slightly overwhelmed by your stash, or to feel as though your house in general has way too much clutter in it to even contemplate buying anything more stuff. Heaven knows, I am certainly guilty of feeling a slight sense of panic as my formerly well-contained stash spills out of its neat wooden drawers and starts to set up home in other areas of my house (is it just me or does the stuff breed when you aren't looking?).

However, whatever the answer is I'm almost certain that it doesn't involve going on a yarn diet. For the simple reason that diets never work. If they did the diet industry would go out of business. Anything that advocates extreme restriction or denial will inevitably involve a backlash at some point and freed from constraint you will be gleefully hoarding pretty sock yarn again before you can say 'Blue faced Leicester'.

So, I am proud to say that there will be no Cold Sheep or yarn dieting here. This is a Cold Sheep Free Zone.

My stash is a thing of joy - it brings warm and woolly solace to dark days - and it means that at the drop of a hat (or the news of an imminent baby arrival) I can rummage in the stash, grab some needles and whip out something cute and giftable in less time than it takes to traipse into town to buy a congratulations card.

It must be especially hard at this time of year for our beloved LYS's and independent yarnies who have to endure all talk of 'cold sheep' with a fixed grin and a firm hand on their budgets. January can be bleak enough for any business but small, independent businesses feel the pinch more than most and a little support at this time of year could make all the difference. I know that budgets can be tight right now and appreciate that not everyone may have the funds to spend, but even if you can't take advantage of your favourite indie dyers latest update you can help spread the word by telling your friends or sharing it on social media. And if you are visiting your LYS but really don't want to buy more yarn you could always take the opportunity to stock up stitch markers or needles - you can never have too many of either.

So, this January I am encouraging you to give the Cold Sheep the Cold Shoulder. Embrace your stash in all its woolly glory and show some love to our fab independent business.