Setting the Stash Free

Dear Red Heart Super Saver,
I'm afraid it's time for us to break up. I'm sorry to say that it just isn't working out anymore; I just don't have the time for you.

Let me say: it's not you, it really is me. You were really there for me during those lean years when you were all I could afford. And when I was a beginning knitter and really hadn't met a lot of other yarns, you were really lots of fun to knit with. And it was convenient to buy you at the big box craft store, since when my kids were really little, they were terrors in the yarn shop. You come in lots of colors, and let's face it, you wear like iron! I know you make great garments and soft afghans that will never wear out. I learned to knit with you, and no one can ever take that away from us. We'll always have 4th grade.

But, I've met someone else, and they are really special. Yes, it's Natural Fibers. I just feel more like myself with Natural Fibers, and my knitting projects seem happier too. Natural Fibers are very varied and beautiful too, and although my new love might be a but more high maintenance, I think we make a great match.

So, I am letting you and your other acrylic friends go. I think that the kids at my children's preschool will use you and glue you and cut you and create beautiful works of craft with them. They will give you the love that you deserve, and their mothers will cherish the art you become. I just can't give that to you. I just know that I'll never knit you.

Love, Liz K.

If you're never going to knit it, get rid of it. Can you find a senior center/nursing home, preschool/daycare, or local school or community center that can use it? Swap it or gift it, but release the guilt and set your stash free.

Second step of the program

In my new Stash Addicts recovery program I have already covered the First Step.

1. Admitting you have a problem. -- DONE!

Now to conquer Step Two.

2. Remove all temptations.

This would mean that I need to stop checking a certain website (sorry y'all - no name, no link, no temptation) every other hour for new updates. Their so-called "sneak peak" page is a just an attempt to lure me to the darkside.

A new knitter's confession

I started knitting last October. Just then I inherited one cardboard box full of mostly acrylics. Then I bought a couple skeins here and there and used up most of them. Then I started working at a yarn store... Where temptation was all around. And the store closed at the end of April and I had a big discount on whatever I wanted to take. There goes another cardboard box. Then I went on a trip to Switzerland where there was this cool little yarn store and this awesome sock yarn sale. And then there was the Mass Wool and Sheep Festival and my birthday all at once. And there goes a third cardboard box. And I cant quite fit everything in those three boxes.

The conclusion is: I am still a new knitter, but my stash is already quite important proportionally to the number of months I've been knitting.

I would really like to get rid of the ugly acrylics and have in my stash only yarns I cant wait to work with or that I know which project Im going to use them for.

My goals:

• Use up all the baby acrylics on one or several log cabin blanket(s)
• Get a good headstart on my Christmas gifts which are all in the stash already waiting to be knit
• Knit at least 3 pairs of socks from the stash (I've got enough for about a dozen pairs I think already)

My exceptions:

• If on vacation I come upon a wonderful yarn shop where I find something I couldnt possibly buy somewhere else
• If I need something for a my Project Colorswap pal and there is nothing in the stash that is appropriate

My reward:

• Hopefully I will have saved enough money to buy myself a Denise interchangeable circular knitting needle set plus the few circulars not part of the set and some kind of organization system for the remaining stash better than cardboard boxes.

new member

hello everyone,
I am really, really, good at starting new projects. I'm also very good at buying for new projects. I'm not so good at finishing projects. So, here I am hoping that this summer will be the summer to finish up some already planned projects.
My challenges:
I'd like to use 1/2 of my wool stash to finish some felted projects and to make a couple blankets.
I need to go through my stash with a more aggresive eye and remove all the "never going to use it stuff".
Make the Lotus blossom tank on the cover of IK

Exceptions: My birthday is at the end of June .
I also will allow myself the emergency "I can't finish this whitout one more skien" purchase. But I should be ok, with the projects I'm focusing on.
Reward: just having the extra space and the extra money to do some home repairs is good enough for me.

1st step of 12

My name is Michelle, and I have a problem. I love to touch, smell, pet, fondle, and caress all sort of textile mediums. The next step, as you all know, is acquisition. I'm a true textile junkie. I know the first step is to admit you have a problem (check) but I'm clueless as to what steps 2-12 are. I'm really going to push myself and attempt to buy nothing for the duration of SOS. No material, yarns, rovings, nadda. We shall see how I do.

Lately I find my stash (of all of them) to be a bit overwhelming. Much more coming in than going out. The last couple of months have been crazy busy, so that doesn't help much. I'm hoping with the help of you all I am able to stay focused and get started with projects already in the que, and not be lured into something new that requires the purchase of goods. I have plenty. There were some really good sales after the first of the year; I have enough to keep me busy for a year (or two, or more) if I just stay with what I already own and have at the ready.

Some goals
• Get all yarn, material, needles and notions, etc. organized. I spend more time looking for whatever when I'm ready to start something new. Also I'm always surprised during the hunt - I usually find something I totally forgot I had, or I'm finding things that I was looking for months ago.


• Start some holiday gifts - I have the supplies at the ready for things I ran out of time for last year.


• Make me something summery


• ????

**Excemptions**
- I have yet to dye yarn that is for a wedding gift in October. If I blunder, I'm going to allow myself to rebuy so I'm able to finish in time.

-I'm leaving the second one open for now because I can't think of anything at the moment.

I will be having some yarn come in that has already been paid for (str club and co-op stuff)but as others have stated this stuff does not really count.

Wish me luck :-)

Hard at work.

I'm trying to get this first baby towel knitted and off the needles so I can work on number two, and also start the mitred block baby blanket ... only to discover I'm going to have leftover yarn! Augh! I don't want leftovers!! Guess I'll have to make some baby washcloths and booties to go with the towels.

I have done well though, resisting the temptation of the yummy summer cottons at Elann.com. Though my knitster Brandon has decided I have to place an order for him now. It's -so- hard to be good! Can't I just buy one little ball? Or two? Or twelve! Look at the colors .. so pretty!

Another new member checking in

Well I just found you today, so a bit of a late start. I'm Mary in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

I hate to even think about the size of my stash. This past weekend I got back to sorting it to put some stuff up for sale on ebay. I posted 3 auctions and also started an inventory. Bad news, my stick drive seems to be corrupt and I can't access anything on it. At least I only got through the bottom shelf of the shelves in the guest room. At this point I'm not really up to listing all the places I have yarn stashed, never mind all that might be there, but one story might suffice....

I did resist the urge to join some friends on a road trip last Saturday that included a visit to the yarn shop in Gordonsville. But they called when they were there just to make sure I didn't need anything. I almost succumbed to the urge to have them buy Cascade for me (since I really want to try the felted bowls in "One Skein" and/or the felted boxes in "Mason-Dixon," but did resist. When I started the inventory the next day the first box that came off the shelf was 7 bags (10 balls each) of different colors of Pure Highland Wool from an Elann sale that I had bought specifically with felting in mind. When you can't remember you have that much yarn for felting you're in trouble.

So, other than not straying from the KAL, my goals are:

1) Inventory the stash.
2) Reduce the stash by at least 10%. Sounds little, but given what I think the size is could involve a lot of ebay auctions since I probably can't knit that fast. Might adjust this when I do step 1 though.

My exceptions:

1) Yarn necessary to finish a WIP/UFO in existance at this time (so no starting things just so I have an excuse 'cause, "oops, guess I don't have quite enough...")
2) Trip to Idaho with my niece (via Massachusetts to pick her up). This may be easy or hard. In Mass I plan a quick trip to Webs to try and locate a size 35 circular for the aunt we'll be visiting in Idaho. Just being there might make me woozy. But I also want to make sure my niece (a new knitter) has something to do on the trip, so if I can't bring her something from my own stash I can at least fight the Webs urge by purchasing only for her! In Idaho I don't know if there will be yarn-buying opportunities, but if there is something and its unique I'll probably let myself get a wee souvenier.

My reward:

Have to think about this some more. I'm definately in the "buying yarn would defeat the purpose camp." I'm thinking something that will help keep the (smaller!) stash organized in the future might be the ticket, but I'm not sure what that is.

Kucki's Summer of Stash

Hi,

my name is Karin and I live in Germany. As I am preparing to move together with My Guy I want to reduce the Stash I have. I have several sweaters worth of stuff and a whole basket of sock yarn, too.

My exceptions will be:

1. start late (though I have not bought yarn this week, grin)
2. turquois yarn for a ChicKnit CeCe

My challenges will include:

1. CeCe (obbviously)
2. red Bob from Knitty
3. finsh my green sweater and sew up a blue one
4. Lace cardigan with free pattern from Elann

My reward:
less panic in the eyes of My Guy when contemplating my stash and the thought of him and it in one place

A Setback 36 Hours In

I already feel like I've let you down. I started a shawl for my mom with yarn from my stash (see I was being good). It needs to be done by the end of July and it's also my Amazing Lace shawl. After restarting (twice), I caved and bought a cone of yarn online.

It will be my last purchase until Labor Day.

The first step is admitting your mistakes, right? This morning I had planned on going to the LYS, and I decided not to. The temptation is just to great. I'm sure they will not go out of business just because I'm not shopping there this summer (although they might have a bit of a dip in profits).

While I wait for the contraband yarn to arrive at my doorstep, I will tackle some of my other WIP's. Honestly, without all of you to keep my honest, I would have probably come home with an armful of lace weight and sock yarn today.

Sign-Ups Closing Monday, June 5th!

I have been a bit overwhelmed by the response to my little idea (but isn't that the way in blog-land - there's always more people reading than you think!) but my, we do have quite a few SoS-er's don't we?

Since the general idea of the SoSKAL is to not buy yarn from Memorial Day to Labor Day, I will be closing sign-ups after this weekend.

I will also be out of town this weekend, so I will not be able to add new members between Friday morning and Sunday night. I will, however, add any new members up to Monday night.

After that, knitters can join the Stashalong if they want a community to support their de-stashing.

Also, a gentle note about exceptions: please remember the point is to not buy yarn this summer, not devise ways to get around the KAL! If you must buy yarn, then try to keep the purchases small. Let's have a goal of smaller stashes by September!

In that spirit, here is my first true de-stashing post:

Those oddballs of yarn, those leftovers from projects really seem to bug me more than "project-designated" stash. A sweater's worth of yarn, hanks of sock yarn: the potential is obvious. They are just waiting their turn at-bat. For me, it is the two balls here and one skein there that really bother me -- what will I do with this?

So when fellow SoSKAL-er Lolly challenged knitters to stretch their creativity and try something new through Project Spectrum I decided my plan was to bust through some of these balls and knit stuff for charity. I knitted a bunch of hats for Dulaan with stash yarn but had no green wooly yarn for hats for cold Mongolians. So I had to get more creative, and stumbled upon Papa's Quilt.

Subtract two balls of Debbie Bliss Cathay from my stash!

Three quilt squares for a comfort blanket.

Who can you help with your stash??

Jenn's Confession

Hello, my name is Jenn and I’m a fiber-a-holic. SoS is going to be tough but good for me. I have a pretty good stash so I should be able to make it through the summer but I’ll be looking to all of you for support during those rough patches.

My exceptions are:
1. Anything bought on my honeymoon, of course that doesn’t count. We're going to Scandinavia!
2. Any emergency gift projects that come up where I absolutely can’t use anything from my stash.

My Challenges:
1. Finish my mom’s sweater.
2. Start another sweater using yarn from my extensive Rowan Summer Tweed Collection.
3. Knit socks using any of the pounds of sock yarn I’ve dyed recently.

My Reward:
Oh yeah! I respond really well to rewards. My reward is that I get to buy as much Koigu as I need to make the skirt from the cover of Vogue. This is perfect! It’s Koigu and a skirt.

Now that we've saved all that yarn money...

...how about donating it to a good cause?

Cara of January One is currently hosting a Heifer International donation drive (associated with Spin Out 2006) which is a jolly good way of spending that saved yarn money. Go on! Buy a goat! A sheep! A llama! Or just a piece of one! and help someone who needs it.

(The fact that there's a prize draw for the donors and that the prizes are pretty much all fiber will not, of course, influence our decision to donate.)

Temptation!

So this is what happens. I will be idly reading a knitting blog and someone will mention a pattern that he or she is madly in love with and dying to knit. Simply out of curiosity I will google that pattern and eyeball the picture. Sometimes (rarely) I think, nice, but not my style. Sometimes (even more rarely) I think, ew and I am momentarily safe. Mostly I think, oooooh aaaaaah and make plans to knit it. Which, naturally means buying the right yarn and acquiring the pattern and... and...

You think I would be safe at a knit-up-yer-stash blog.

Har har.

So I was idly reading our little blog here, and Rycraft started talking about Raspy, which I then googled. And googled. And ogled. And ooogled. And found nice yarn for here. And found the pattern book here.

I have not succumbed. I will not succumb. Although I notice that someone else is also having Elann-induced heart failure (which I've now caught) for the Elann version of Fixation because I've been thinking of designing a cute little summer tank based on the Zaftig pattern at Knitty, to console me for the absolute failure of the Ribbon X-back earlier this summer, and I need me a Fixation Fix.

I am not going to succumb. Raspy will wait. Zaftig will wait. So will I. Solidarity.

Auuuugh!!!!

No sooner do I make the promise not to buy any more yarn, than Elann.com sends me their newsletter, and this lovely stuff is on sale in it!

*breathes* I imagine though that they always have this stuff, and I can wait to buy it until I have something to actually make out of it.

My Stash Confession

Well, compared to some, my stash may not be ridiculous, but it's overflowing the bins at the top of my closet, and that's just not acceptible. Since that picture in January, I've added enough yarn for three more sweaters, along with an assortment of sock and lace yarn. Don't get me wrong, I've been knitting, too, but . . . I need a reason to put on the brakes, so here I am.

I don't have any specific projects in mind for this stuff. I need to finish up the items in my knitting bag . . . I do knit more than one thing at a time, but usually only have one of each "type" going at once--one pair of socks, one lace project, one sweater. So, while I'm going to try not to buy yarn until Labor Day, there's nothing in my stash that I plan on touching first.

I also went through this weekend and weeded out some really nice lace and sock yarn--just because--which I plan on sending out as gifts. Spreading stash through giving!

My exceptions?

1. I'm going to allow myself--if I just can't stand it--one yarn purchase each month. Just in case the temptation is too strong, or the sale price too good. I'm hoping I won't need to, but consider it a safety net!

2. I've got a baby to knit for, due in October. I bought yarn for a blanket months ago, but if I decide to make those baby Ugg Booties in addition, well, buying yarn for a Gift has to be an exception.

3. Oh, and I am a member of Sundara's Petals sock club, so that yarn will be coming, but it's pre-ordered and pre-paid, and so it doesn't really count!

My reward? It'll be one of the many St*rmore kits from Virtual Yarns that I've been eyeing for so long . . .

Deb
www.chappysmom.typepad.com

Saun's Confession

Hi. My name is Saun and I am a yarn addict. It's been 3 days since my last purchase.

It all started with a Jaeger and Rowan odd lots sale last April. I didn't have much before that but I bought $150 worth of yarn ,which I have yet to use. Slowly things grew and I bought a large rubbermaid bin to keep my books and yarn in. Then I had to remove the books to make more room for yarn. Then there was the "Cotton-Ease Scare of 2005". I went to every store in the area. I've only used 1 ball of the 35 I bought. I know, I know. The shame of it all. Now my floor is covered in random shopping bags and there is no room to sit on my futon. I need help and admitting you have a problem is the first step. I made my last purchase on Friday and I will now brace myself for the withdrawl. I'm sure the ladies at the LYS' will miss me. I'll miss them too.

I only have 2 exceptions.
1. I can buy yarn only if I need it to finish a project.
2. Only if it is used for a pattern submission.

I shall not be tempted by a big sale or traveling to a new LYS. This is what got me in trouble in the first place. Now to just get people to stop mentioning fibery new goodness on their blogs.

I don't really have a list of things I want to work on. When the mood strikes me for an outfit I'll just have to shop from stash to do it.

New SOS-er

Confession:
I have actually not bought yarn for just over a month. I tested myself to see if I could do it, as I'm earning an intern's stipend and will be moving in a couple months. I think to make it through the whole summer though, I'll need you guys. :)
I don't have a huge stash either, compared to some I saw on Flash-Your-Stash day (some people have more sock yarn than I have total yarn!) but I'm a slow knitter with not much free time, so what I have could stay with me forever. I'm also doing this to help me finish WIPs. WIPs and saving money are the main reasons I'm doing this.
I will also be Amazing Lace-ing with stash yarn. Yay lace socks!
Here is a post of mine that talks about what yarn I have planned for what projects.

Exceptions:
a) I've been planning on making Raspy for about two months now. I have the book, but no yarn yet. I am going to make Tubey out of stash yarn, and when Tubey is done, I'm going to order the Raspy yarn (from elann, so it'll be cheaper than Rowan), no matter what month it is (although it'll probably be December by the time I finish a sweater).
(b) I've been searching since I started knitting for Crystal Palace Cotton Chennille, and I finally found it in a physical store. I want to by two skeins (well really I want to buy one of each colour, but let's not go there), but as this is a yarn diet challenge, I'm not going to do it until I have finished an old WIP. Let's say the thrummed mittens.

Reward:
Yarn (and book) for Crinkle from Rowan 39!

My blog is here.

My Name is The Crafty Weasel

and I am addicted to yarn...

Thus, I am beginning a Self-Imposed Yarn Purchase Moratorium. I joined StashAlong and Summer of Stash. I will be strong, I will, I know I will. [sigh]

My goal:
Starting yesterday and for the next three months, until September 4th, I am to decrease substantially my stash. I plan to knit at least four pairs of socks and at least 2 sweaters, maybe start a third. Please my blog for further details, in the next few days.

My exception:

Option 1 of the StashAlong KAL - "Option 1: If you choose to Stashalong for 2 months or more, you can allow yourself ONE(1) day off per month for stash enhancement. The days off are not cumulative--use 'em or lose 'em."

My reward:

The 1st Step

My name is Dani, and I love fiber! While my stash may not be of the monumental proportions of others, I do need to work thru some of it before I can purchase more with anything even close to a clear conscience.

I have made the decision to join the SOS and go with out new yarn purchases this summer to see how much of a dent I can put into my stash (which will, in effect, make room for new stuff!) and to save some cash for some of the yarns I have been drooling over. I also want to prove my hubby wrong - while he doesn't give me grief for the money I spend on knitting, he laughed when I told him I was going to go all summer without buying any new yarn. That, my friends, was the proverbial gauntlet being thrown down ;-) I can't let him be right, can I? LOL

My goals for this summer aren't as exact as the others, in that I haven't defined a set # of FOs I need to finish, or X balls of yarn I need to knit thru. I don't want to put any pressure on that will detract from the knitting for the love of knitting, or that will send me rebelling against the SOS. I have plenty of variety in my stash that I shouldn't be bored, or run out of things to knit!

My 2 exceptions? Easy! 1 is a trip to Ohio to visit my aunt (who happens to lives about 1hr 30 minutes from Threadbare *s*) And the second will be an online shopping trip with Scout - I have fallen in serious love with more than a few of her colors!)

And as for my reward? Saving some money, and clearing out room for more (new!) yarn is reward enough for me (OK, proving hubby wrong wouldn't be awful LOL)

Looking forward to seeing everyone's creative ways of working thru the buying urges!

-=Dani

PS - My blog isn't on Blogger - you can find my actual blog here)

The politics of stash

Warning: political rant ahead. If you have strong feelings about Middle East politics, you might want to beware.

My stash really isn't that bad. It all fits neatly into a corner. And stash acquistion, aside from a few giant leaps, doesn't happen -- too expensive to get yarn shipped here, and there's no local 100% wools.

So why do I need SoS?

Politics.

In my country's misguided attempt to make peace by bringing enemy rocket launchers closer and closer in to the centers of population and its questionable attempt to set borders by giving away everything that's up for negotiation before the negotiations even begin, I'm probably going to be forcibly resettled. Based on the experiences of those who were forcibly resettled last year, it means moving into a little hut in the middle of the desert with no plumbing and running sewage in the streets. My possesions will be packed up by the people who will be taking over my town; half of them won't even make it into the storage facility, and the rest will probably be ruined by sitting for months in metal containers under the desert sun. (Temperatures in the containers reached 200 degrees Farenheit. At what temperature does acrylic melt and does wool combust?) What does survive will have to be paid for dearly--over $200 a month storage fees for a 40 cubic foot container.

I have to start looking at my stash and saying "Is it worth it?" And really, as dedicated a knitter as I am--no. So not. But things I've crafted, sweated over, cursed at (yes, mohair lace, I'm talkin' to you) -- oh, yeah. Worth taking.

So, before I get my eviction notice (do you know they don't let you bring knitting to jail, even if you're in the political prisoners' wing for protesting your own imminent refugee status?) I've got to get some of this stash converted to FOs and decide what of the stash, if worst comes to worst, won't come with me.

My goals:
I've been doing well on destashing--as of later today, my stash will have slimmed down 2.5 kilo since January 1. I want to continue this trend by reducing it another 1.25 kilo (even counting exceptions in) by finishing all WIPs, knitting a huge lace shawl as my Amazing Lace team partner, and getting a good start in on The Oldest Teen's Skully sweater (see below, "My exceptions").

My exceptions:
1. A Knitpicks order I will be making in about two weeks. I promised my son a sweater for the fall and I have no manly colors of wool in quantities sufficient, and I need a new pair of knee socks, and have no sock yarn sufficient (but I will try to find another ball of a sock yarn I already have, so I need only buy one instead of three).
2. I will be hitting a few thrift stores in search of other things, and if a particularly good deal on quality yarn falls into my lap, I may let it follow me home.

My reward:
If, by the time SoS is over I'm not yet packing to start life as a refugee, I will buy myself something pretty and multi-functional in which to store the remainders of the stash.

There must be a 12 step program for this...

I was inspired by Lolly to organize (contain) and assess the stash. Oh boy...

We're looking at 102,289 yards, which is equal to 58.12 miles! (There are three more tubs--smaller ones--that I forgot to photograph. And there are some things that didn't get counted--items in the frog pile--which I'm guessing add another mile or two!) I am going to do some de-stashing and list a few things on eBay although I really didn't find much in the stash that I disliked.

Goals:
1. I'm not going to put any undue pressure on myself to make a certain number of items or use a specific number of yards. I'm just going to concentrate on using what I have or finding projects to match the stash.

2. I will commit to no online yarn shopping through the summer. No exceptions. (Gulp--that's a tough one.)

Exceptions:
I will be attending Stitches Midwest and the Michigan Fiber Fest. I will allow myself to make purchases at both venues. I will attempt to purchase only unique items--things that cannot be readily found at LYSs or on the web.

I didn't realize how much yarn I had until it was all in one place.

This is our master bathroom garden tub.
That's not even all of it; some had to be stacked on the floor.


My plan of attack is to have 50 FOs before Labor Day. A lot of these will probably be Critter Knitter blankets for The Basil and Abner Critter Charity Drive. My husband very firmly feels that I shouldn't have any exceptions to my yarn fast, and it's hard to argue when your tub is overflowing with stash. If I need yarn to finish a WIP, I can wait until September to finish that project. If I can do this, then I'll be rewarded with two armchairs for a cozy knitting nook in front of the fireplace.

Hi I'm Marceline, And I'm a Yarn Junkie

How do everyone??

With all the browsing that one can do on the internet these days, it's rare that you just "end up" somewhere that is completely appropropriate and so well timed. My budget and I are thrilled to be joining this SoSKAL (thanks to Lolly for the linkage and info!)

Stash Confession:

I was so excited about this last night, I was in my spare room at midnight adding up yardage and skeins, etc.

I currently have:
*15, 247 yards of yarn that is actually labeled - soon I will post this in a miles left to knit ticker on my blog
*approximately anther 1,000 yards of natural fiber and blended yarns with no yardage listed
*about 25 skeins of Red Heart, Lion Brand, and TLC acrylic yarn (no yardage shown on those labels either. Seriously...what is up with that?)

Exceptions to the Stash Rule:
I am currently part of a few swaps and have committed to buying yarn for the following:

*My secret pal for the Knitting Help forum Great Yarn Swap, once in June, and again in July. I will most likely combine this to one purchase to ease the pain and temptation.
*My One Skein secret Pal (although I haven't received a name/info yet, so I may have been fated to get out of this one with the balance sheet intact)
*Stitches Midwest is coming in August - never been to this, but I'm thinking convention center, meeting fellow KH members (enablers), far from home and winter approaching...yeah. I'll probably buy some yarn. Or maybe what I get from the Swap will carry me through. We'll see.

Reward
This part is really tough. I'm trying to think of a reward that doesn't involve just going out and spending the $$ I wil have saved, but what pampering worth it's salt doesn't cost a little cash?? If I end up using more than 50% of the stash because of this though, I probably will just end up buying more yarn, who am I kidding really??

I'm going to ponder this reward business some more and maybe get some great reward ideas from you my fellow SoSKALers?

Oh! I started stash busting today by breaking into that acrylic yarn pile. In a matter of 24 hours, I am no longer a wanna-be yarn snob. If it's knittable, it's coming off the shelf and going on the needles, so help me SoS.

Good luck all!

Wavybrains' Confession

Yarn Store Close up 2
Originally uploaded by wavybrains.

I used the motivation of Summer of Stash to organize my stash this weekend. I organized my stash similar to how my favorite yarn store stores the yarns--the better for fondling my yarns. This pic is my yarn "store" annotated with little "notes" so you can better oogle my yarns.

I also organized my knitting tools in a nifty little take along bag.

I thought I had way too much yarn until I read everyone else's postings. 498 balls of yarn! Enough yarn for over a 100 pairs of socks?? I am so green with envy! I must get shopping! Really though, I don't want a huge stash--I want to feel free to buy for new projects and finish what I do have. While I don't have a huge stash, I do have a lot of crappy yarns whose existence prevents me from buying more of the good stuff and adding to the stash.

My plan for the summer is to get rid of the stash by:
1) Finishing WIP's and other planned projects from the stash
2) GIVE IT AWAY either to my SnB group or by shipping it to my mother.

I started by sending 8 balls of Paton's Divine Cr*p to my mother. I tried valiantly to convince this yarn to be a poncho, then a sweater, then a wrap, but every test swatch looked so fugly I gave up in dispair. Good ridance to bad yarn!

My exceptions for the summer are:
1) Reward Scarfs for my students--I teach community college and I give scarfs (or hats or mittens or other one skein knits) as rewards for review games. I'll try to use the stash but if they pick a different color . . . . This shouldn't be more than a few skeins over the course of the summer in any event.
2) Black Sheep Gathering! Jen G, maybe I will see you there???? This is my first time to this festival and I figure it deserves some souveiner skeins.

My reward for using up as much of the stash as possible is three-fold:
1) I will have completed a ton of christmas knitting early
2) I can start my first aran knit and other big projects without the stash mocking me
3) I will design and make a felted bag for me--a true reward since 98% of my knitting is for gifts

I am hoping that summer of stash teaches me to be more picky about my yarns in the future! Beware the lone skeins in the clearance bin, the super sales, the mystery bags, the yarn swaps . . . . . . . In the future, I will remember that bargain is only a bargain if I LOVE knitting with it and have a use for the yarn!

My Confession

Hi all, my name is Lu and I have 498 balls of yarn.

Rule #2 troubles me. Do you have any idea how much damage I can do in one sitting? And I get two!

Here is my plan:

1. Finish my WIPs - yarn consumption: about 20 balls
2. FBS with Claudia Handpainted for The Amazing Lace - yarn consumption: 5 balls
3. Keep making dishcloths - yarn consumption: up to all the Sugar'n Cream I have
4. Logcabin blanket from Mason-Dixon - yarn consumption: how much Karabella Aurora 8 I have?
5. If in doubt, choose something from here.

My Confession

My name is Casey and I am a 29 yr old SAHM to Mikey (3) and Danielle (1/1/2). I just finished my Masters in Curriculum assessment and I am knitting addicted. I have a habit of buying just to buy and I need to stop this.

My Goals:

TO Finish up at least 10 things from my stash. I am currently knitting for charity and I have 3 sweaters and bag going

Exceptions
1. I am going to stitches in August
2. I am particpating in One Skein exchange and need to buy for my Secret PAL but that is it.

Reward:
If I can go all summer without yarn buying than I will reward myself by buying this really expensive yarn from School house press to make an EZ jacket I have dying to attempt.

Thanks for letting me join

Jen G's confession

Hi, I'm Jen and I'm a fiber addict (hi Jen!). I'm also a mom, to a little guy named Andy (but I call him BoogerMonkey) who's 6 months old today, a graduate student studying magazine at the University of Oregon, wife to George (also called LlamaFace, slave to Radio Shack), and a total nerd.

I use words like "androgynous" (sp?) in every day speech, confusing a lot of people around me. I knit, I crochet, I sew, I make cards, I want to scrapbook but never have the time, I cook, I make stitch markers, I dye my own yarn with kool-aid (though that takes a GIANT leap of faith for me, so it happens rarely), and I want to learn how to spin.

Lately, I've been on a toy-making binge, I'm nearly done with a monkey for a friend of a friend's baby, just sent off a doll to a friend who's expecting any day now, have created what I call "grabby loop" knit blankies, and am about to embark on a felted "fruit" experiment. Purses are also fun. I have yet to finish a sweater or a pair of socks in any adult size, so those are summer goals (sweater for Mom, socks for Little Brother).

I didn't realize how much yarn I had until I purchased bins to put it all in when we moved into a new shoebox apartment, and filled four 32-quart bins with yarn, plus another 18-quart bin, plus all my needles and notions. I've put myself on a yarn-buying hiatus anyway, so when I found SoSKAL through Lolly, I figured why not join?

My exception(s) are thus: buying specific yarn for a specific commissioned project, if I don't have the necessary yarn in my stash already (which is unlikely) and the Black Sheep Gathering, which is coming up soon. Last year, somehow, I got out of the BSG with only one hank (or was it two?) of superwash merino sportweight from where I don't recall (but the colorway is "once in a blue moon" and it's autumnal and gorgeous) and it's just sitting in the stash waiting for the perfect project to come along.

I haven't decided my reward yet. I rarely buy yarn to make stuff for myself, so maybe that'll be it: make something for myself. I really like Tempting II from Knitty, but I'm not sure yet.

Oh yeah: my blog is here, though it'll be moving here once my internet guru guy gets the wordpress database all set up. I'll be sure to post when that happens.

Happy Stashbusting!

What have I done????!!!!!

Ok, I am fairly new at blogging but have been knitting for almost 20 years (wow, has it been that long?)
I joined this intrepid journey because for that 20 years I probably have completed maybe 30 items. I keep casting on, knitting for a bit and then setting the project aside to cast on again. Meanwhile the stash has multiplied, grown and taken over the house from the knitting room to the basement.

My Goals
1. No buying of any fiber except for my 1 exception.
2. Finish or frog any started project as of 5/29/06.
3. Start any new projects with stash yarn, donate stash yarn, and organize stash yarn.
4. Finish at least 10 projects this summer.
5. Get more proficient at using my knitting machines.

Exceptions
1. If ABSOLUTELY needed (as in not found in stash on hand), buy yarn only for any projects my Wednesday night knit group starts.
2. No other exceptions allowed. (AT ALL!)

My Reward
1. SHOPPING! at A Wool Gathering in September hopefully for a spinning wheel.

Good luck to everyone as we start this fateful voyage and hopefully we will all end up in a bed of sunflowers.

Eeep!

Thanks for the invite!

My Stash Confession: My husband thinks that I never buy yarn without having a distinct purpose in mind. And I started out that way, honest. But lately, my purchases have become more along the lines of 'I can find something to do with this later .. it's fabulous!' And I already can't fit my stash in one huge Rubbermaid tote. It's got to get cut down before the fall .. fall is when I like to spoil myself.

Another confession is that I have way more WIP's than I'd like. I have a friend who's having a baby in August and I've not finished one single thing for her! I'm getting close to finishing the towel, but that's it! Ack! I need to use this time to knit what I have, and not start new projects because I get bored.


Exceptions:

• I am allowed to purchase yarn for new projects for the aforementioned friend with a new baby, providing I continue working on and finish the projects I already have yarn for.
  
• I am allowed to purchase souvenir yarn from a location more than 200 miles from my home, or from a business that makes their own, ie: a sheep/llama farm even if it's closer than 200 miles. But I have to actually VISIT them .. no mail order purchases.

Goals:

• Finish cotton baby towel #1.
  
• Begin and finish baby towel #2.
  
• Begin and finish mitred square baby blanket.
  
• Make assorted discloths to use up Sugar & Cream stash.
  
• Make knitted market bag with cone of Sugar & Cream I bought for that purpose.
  
• Use up fuscia/grey-brown wool by making a Booga .. or two.
  
• Use up random odds&ends of yarn for charity projects.

Planned Reward:
My plan is to save up enough money to buy myself an umbrella swift and a ball winder .. I would easily spend enough for those in a season on yarn, so I can treat myself when this is over.

Some Notes from the Host

Greetings, SoS-ers! I have returned from my weekend away to find over 40 stash-enthusiasts had requested to join our adventure here at Summer of Stash. I think I have sent everyone the invitation from Blogger, but if you have not received one, please re-send me another e-mail, and I will add you ASAP. Thanks to everyone for your patience with sign-ups.

Also, thanks to Ann and Francesca, who designed the banner and buttons on the sidebar. Go ahead and add to your blogs at will, but please please please do not steal our bandwidth!!! If you need help with this process, let me know.

I am really looking forward to participating this summer with each of you. I am loyal readers of many of the bloggers who are participating, so it is a special thrill for me to be co-blogging with some of my favorites!

Stash-busting officially begins now!

Let the Temptation Begin ...

So one of my first thoughts this morning, the first morning of the SoS, was how am I going to get that skein of silk yarn for my mom's b-day present in August? I was panic-stricken. Does the SoS start today? Or is it between the holidays? ... thus making tomorrow the first day and today a sort of Fat Monday for Yarn Lent ...

I worried about this for a while, worried about which yarn store would be open today, worried about why I was taking this all so seriously, when it hit me -- my exceptions! I could buy my mother's yarn during our trip to the Northwest! Hurray, souvenir yarn and birthday present rolled into one, problem solved!

This is going to be a long summer I fear ...

Help! Help! cried the voice of Stuntmother from under the pile of yarn

A little while ago, around the Flash Your Stash thing, I realized with some horror that I don't like having a stash. This is, I know, a sort of semi-heretical statement. I am a devoted knitter. A passionate, productive knitter. A knitter in love with yarn and all its wonder. But a large stash feels like a towering to do list, rather than a resource. So this summer I am going to sink that stash! It will be liberating. Amazing. Rewarding!

So - I pledge that from Memorial Day to Labor Day I will knit only from stash. I will knit unseasonal projects without flinching (since most of the stash is wool). I will not cast anything on until several things are cast off. I will whittle down my enormous list of planned projects for which I have yarn already and some of which are already cast on, including:

• Ene's Shawl
• thrummed mittens
• Landscape shawl
  
• malabrigo wrap sweater
• Daniel's planet sweater
• KSH sweater
• Helena's pink wrap cardigan
• Wrapped in Tradition

Furthermore, I will knit at least two pairs of socks, not including the two which are already on the needles.

I am reserving my exceptions because I am hoping to get away without any exception but, knowing that might not be possible, I am waiting to see what extremity I might be pushed to.

My reward will be twofold: one will be being able to open the bedroom door without having to shove back the yarn pile. The second will be a visit to Loop AND a visit to the Tangled Web, since I have my 20% ready to go and it will spread out the joy. Malabrigo will be fondled, and probably purchased.

I am already feeling the stash shrink. Which makes me think I could quickly run to...

no no. That's what got me in this mess in the first place.

Kerry's Confession

I have got to start something that will hold me accountable. I am S.A.B.L.E (stash approaching beyond life expectancy) I currently have enough sock yarn to knit 123 pairs of socks. Yes, I have a problem.

My Exceptions :
* I am a member of both the Blue Moon STR sock club and also Sundara's Petals club, both of which were purchased and paid for before SOS was born. I am not to be held accountable for past sins.
* I will be getting my (late) B-day the first part of June due to the onslaught of may bdays and mother's day and financial gift giving obligations. I will be buying enough yarn from Blue Moon to make a Log Cabin blanket from the Mason Dixon book.

My Challenges :
* to actually stick with this. I will not buy yarn just because I am bored
* To finish any UFO that has lingered longer than a year or Frog It!!

My Reward :
* A weekend at the coast, Which I will pay for with my "yarn allowance" that I will have Saved!!

Amy's Confession

I have crocheted off and on for many years and just in the past year has my passion for knitting taken off. With that passion has come a new awareness of yarn shops and natural fibers. Unfortunately, with that awareness comes stockpiling the stash. Sock fever has hit so I have around 10 different balls of sock yarn around the house so I can cast on a pair when the urge hits (three more balls are coming for socks for my dad for Father's day - there is no way I'm finishing more than one pair). Tuesday Morning had a sale and I found lots of wool and mohair blends. Our LYS has a clearance room that I can't pass up. Between that and spinning (which I also do, the sickness knows no bounds), I have WAY too much yarn and wool around the house.

So my goal for this Summer of Stash is the following:

I will not by yarn this summer except in the following circumstances:

1. If I run short on any current WIP's or UFO's (which will become WIP's this summer). I don't foresee this happening.

2. A catastrophic event wipes out every inch of fiber in my house/purse/car. Once again, I don't forsee this happening (God forbid it happen).

If I can do this, I will reward myself with a skein winder and ball winder in the fall. I've been coveting them and I just can't justify the cost. But I have purchased over $100 of yarn in one fell swoop (it was on SALE!).

In fact, I am going to try to use up the leftover odds and ends and maybe make some rugs or scrap blankets or something.

We can do this!

Teresa's confession

Hi my name is Teresa and I am a yarnaholic. I must admit I don’t have a large stash, but I do know I can buy yarn faster than I can knit it up. Also for Christmas I was given enough yarn for 7 pairs of socks and um ... I have knit one pair from this yarn. I think my total sock stash is for 10-12 pairs of socks. I am on a budget so I am trying not to buy yarn anyway and this will help me through until Rhinebeck in the fall. I also have a sweater to finish, yarn for some gifts that will remain unmentioned until given, and some other yarn for yet to be determined patterns. I cannot give a complete and accurate count of my stash since it is spread between two countries. (That is correct even though I said I don’t have much stash one country is not larger enough to contain it.) I’ll post some pics after I get it all in one country.

I will not buy yarn this summer except for the following exceptions:

1) I need 2 skeins of hemp to finish a bag. I wasn’t sure how much I needed or if it would work when I first purchased this in December, and haven’t had a chance to go back and purchase more since I decided I liked the idea in March.

2) I need another skein of wool for a purse for my SIL. I haven’t completely figured out what felted purse I want to make her, so have postponed getting more yarn for this project. I have a skein of milk chocolate brown wool currently for this project. Her birthday is in August and the purse needs to be done for then.

Reward:
That is tough, I am not good at rewarding myself. I always end up not seeing anything I like and the reward doesn’t get used. My birthday is also the week after the finish of this challenge. Maybe I will get a swift, maybe some long coveted books… I’ll decide a reward later.

Ann's Confession

I've only been knitting for two years now. I really don't think I have a stash problem per se. But I am losing control of it a bit. Here is my basket for yarn:

Here's what falls out after the basket gets taken out of the closet:

And then I see this lurking around the AC ductwork:

And then this from down by the guitar (that we never play btw):

And then this bag is full of yarn as well:

I'm afraid to look any further. So okay, maybe I need to get a handle on things.

My Exceptions:
1. I can buy souvenir yarn on our family trips: the Seattle/Vancouver Island area and Vermont.

2. I will be knitting small items for sale for my daughter's Waldorf School booth at the Farmer's Market this summer. I can buy a skein a month for these small projects.

Challenges:

1. I will knit an aran sweater for myself from the stash.

2. I will knit a fair isle hat from the stash for a friend.

3. I will use up odd balls and randomness on small projects for the Waldorf booth.

I am going out with a bang this weekend! I have no sock yarn in the stash since I'm just finishing my first pair, so this will be a pre-SoS priority. I am going to sit down and plan some other projects as well so that I don't get caught short on stash!

Liz's Stash Confession

Liz's Confession: I recently moved from Richmond, VA to Philadelphia, PA, and there are a lot of yarn shops to visit! At each yarn shop, I end up buying something (usually sock yarn). I have also in the last year become involved in the knitting blogosphere, and am overwhelmed with information about projects, new yarns, ideas, etc.

Thus, my stash has grown exponentially in the last year, and it has become a huge distraction from actually finishing projects. I have at least 20 designated projects in my stash, never mind many odd balls and random bits of yarn. It has all become TOO MUCH!

Exceptions:
1> Trip to Sheep Farm in New Jersey. Must buy yarn -- as a souvenir, at the very least!
2> I will be receiving Sundara's Petals Collection Sock Yarn once a month. I purchased it previous to the start date, but will have a monthly infusion of yarn to tide me over.

Great Reward: A September shopping spree at Loop. Lorna's Laces is likely to be involved.

My Goals:
1> reduce sock yarn stash -- I will be participating in Trek Along With Me KAL, and will be knitting other socks this summer as well
2> complete one sweater project for me, Orangina.
3> participate in the Amazing Lace using stash yarn (probably Diamond Fantasy Shawl in Koigu KPPPM)
4> donate crap yarns and knit oddballs for charity projects
5> re-purpose, re-cycle, and rip out unworn or long UFOs
6> tackle small design projects with stash

(Perhaps here you see the problem. Doesn't this seem a little ambitious for one season of knitting?)

I am so excited to have a support group like this one to get me through the summer!

Summer of Stash 2006

Welcome to the Summer of Stash!

On this blog, SoS-ers will support one another through a Summer with no yarn purchases. Here are the rules:

1. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, no yarn purchases allowed. You must knit only from stash.
2. Each SoS team member may have up to two exceptions to their rule this summer. For example, if you find us after Memorial Day, you are welcome to join later, and simply designate a later start date as your exception.
3. Challenge yourself to reduce your stash in creative or generous ways. Share your projects and ideas with other SoS-ers.
4. Rules apply only to yarn purchases. Books, patterns, and needles/notions needed to complete projects are allowed and encouraged if it gets you through the summer.
5. Plan and post about special Post-Labor Day Reward.

To become an Official SoS-er, please send an e-mail (be sure to include your e-mail) to your host, Liz K, to receive an invitation. I will add you to the sidebar as I receive names. Once you have been approved for membership, please post a Stash Confession with your Exceptions and Planned Reward as an introduction to the other team members.

Have a great Summer of Stash!

Note: Please be patient with sign-ups to the SoSKAL. I will be traveling without my computer over the Memorial Day weekend.

Note 2: Any SoSKAL-er interested in designing a banner & button for us?