Like most avid knitters and crocheters, I have a yarn stash that would see us through WW3… if only it were edible. My King Sized bed is mainly propped up by boxes of yarn bought for projects that overran or overspilled or never got started or became a work in progress. There is a sizeable heap of my favourite chunky blanket yarn – because it is discontinued and I bought a lot to hoard – and plenty of ‘that’s a good deal’ back up in bundles of Rowan that won’t let me down when I need it. (IF I ever need it).
Under the bed doesn’t even house the cheap pom pom yarn and naff early days buys I know I’ll never use for anything nice now.
I can live with the backups and the box of ‘bargains’ but the pretty yarn for projects I fancied or whimsical buys really bother me. And I don’t feel as if I did anything very beautiful or creative last year, so it annoys me even more to know I have costly beauty under the bed.
In order to avoid woe filled self flagellation, I did a quick look back to see what I actually did make last year. And considering the business, the half running a gym, the 5 high maintenance children etc etc, I think I did better than I feel like I did.
There were a lot of hats, it would have to be said. But a blanket put together and a blanket done start to finish and a beautiful garland, a huge pillow and much more. I might feel like I did nothing but it isn’t true. And this doesn’t include the unfinished wips under the bed too, which all urgently need dealing with. Nothing worse than unfinished yarny projects. All the pain, none of the gain.
However.
I’m on a budget, I have a hoard of beautiful yarn and a need to use some of it instead of sleeping on it and stroking it looking at it.
So I came up with a year of yarning frugally.
Something that would turn this…
… bags full of half finished works in progress….
and these…
… my most recent yarn buys or gifts…
into pretty things and an emptier under the bed.
Happy, frugal and decluttering all in one, see?
I’ve made a start on this, a blanket for Bene that never happened that is becoming something else.
And I’ve been enjoying getting out the yarn and looking at it and seeing what I have that I could do nice things with.
I’ve been doing some ripping.
And enjoying the opportunity to look afresh at things in a new context while taking better photos. Next up is getting out magazines and books and planning projects.
The rules (my rules) are simple. I’m aiming to buy no new projects this year. Max may buy me a birthday present or Xmas present but I won’t buy new, except to finish off a project that starts in the stash, if necessary. No point adding to the wip pile for the sake of a few quid and inflexibility.
And I’m going to post about my makes more often by getting back to my Sunday Stitches posts. Feel free to join me, if you feel the need.
Great plan!
I need to do the same with my yarn AND my fabric stash. I optimistically thought I could fit all the fabric under one of the beds yesterday, but I was wrong. So, I need to come up with a way of making some space fairly swiftly! Of course, I cant just give it away, I have to use it (ahem).
I found that organising my yarn stash in some clear plastic boxes which were easily accessed, made it a lot easier to see what was there and not to forget about what I had already. I have one box for sock/4 ply yarn; one for DK and so on. Of course, ravelry is also a good way of doing this, but most of my stash predates ravelry, and I do not have the time or inclination to document it there.
I think I better start an etsy/folksy shop – otherwise my house will just be full of completed projects rather than stash..!
I have decided to do this too. I decluttered my yarn stash, went to ikea and now all my yarn is neatly put away out of sight in sitting room. I am only going to buy more yarn if an already started wip requires it to be finished. Apart from that I’m just going to use up the yarn I have already for the planned projects. Angie bought me two yarn boxes and a skein from etsy for Christmas so I’m also going to teach myself to knit socks.
You are so good at this. I’m such a beginner when it comes to knitting but would love to hru as better as you.
Good plan 🙂 You’ve made some lovely projects over the past few months. I think the zig zag cushion is my favourite. You might find the StashKnitDown group on ravelry helpful, there’s threads for Cold Sheep-ing and also Moderate Merino which is where you set your own criteria for stash reduction. Plus there are various other challenges and ideas for using up your stash like filling a basket with yarn to use up, knitting so many yards a month or making X pairs of socks in a year.
Hopefully this time next year you’ll have a collection of FO’s, a much reduced stash and a smug grin 🙂
I love the sound of those groups. I’ve never quite got into ravelry but I think I need to try.
Have a look on here, they’re very friendly 🙂 http://www.ravelry.com/groups/stash-knit-down
I love the idea of this, even though I’ve already failed by buying random yarn in the Jan sales! Still, I can say that I won’t buy any more until I’ve used it all. So I’ll join in and look forward to seeing what you come up with this year!