Need Some Help
Hi Everyone...
I have not made much progress on stash busting but I have myself not purchased any yarn (my son bought me 4 skeins of eyelash to make a bear for his half brother and 1 lone skein of baby yarn.)
However, the Dayton Knitting Guild is having their indoor picnic and yarn-over sale. I have started rounding up some yarn to take to sell or trade for patterns but I have no idea what to ask for it. Most of it is Red Heart 8oz skeins acrylic but I have some other skeins and fancy yarn too. I really need some help in trying to come up with asking prices. Also, how does everyone decide what they will never use, I am having stash anxiety right now, but I really really need to thin this mess out. I could really use a professional organizer to hold my hand. Please take a look at my blog (it may take a little bit as I still have to put up pictures) and check out the battle against the stash I am fighting.
Thanking everyone in advance for their ideas.
Katherine
I have not made much progress on stash busting but I have myself not purchased any yarn (my son bought me 4 skeins of eyelash to make a bear for his half brother and 1 lone skein of baby yarn.)
However, the Dayton Knitting Guild is having their indoor picnic and yarn-over sale. I have started rounding up some yarn to take to sell or trade for patterns but I have no idea what to ask for it. Most of it is Red Heart 8oz skeins acrylic but I have some other skeins and fancy yarn too. I really need some help in trying to come up with asking prices. Also, how does everyone decide what they will never use, I am having stash anxiety right now, but I really really need to thin this mess out. I could really use a professional organizer to hold my hand. Please take a look at my blog (it may take a little bit as I still have to put up pictures) and check out the battle against the stash I am fighting.
Thanking everyone in advance for their ideas.
Katherine
posted by kifknits at 11:13 AM
5 Comments:
OMG, you DO have a ton of stash. :) I think the knitting guild swap is a great idea. Since you asked, Here are my suggestions:
1) Think about what you LOVE to knit with, what fibers, weights, and types of yarn make you the happiest to knit with. List these.
2) Then think about what you HATE to knit with, what you have sworn to never use again, what yarns have caused you the most grief. List these.
3) next think about the type of projects that you love to work on the most. It looks like you do a lot of gift knitting as well. Think about what fibers and projects your recipents usually love. List these.
Using this list, then attack the stash:
1) if you love working with the yarn and it fits the project/recipent list, then it is a definete keeper
2) if you dislike working with the yarn and it does not have a project/recipent type match, it is a goner
3) if you dislike working with the yarn, but it fits the type match, then it is a maybe. Same goes for if you love it, but it doesn't match your usual projects/recipents, it is a "Maybe". Select the best of the maybe pile to keep. Maybe give yourself an allotment or pretend you are shopping the maybe pile fresh in the store: what would you be willing to buy again.
As you sort, keep the "A" yarns you love to knit with organized in a way that suits your style: by project type, amount, recipent, fiber etc. Try to assign "working" projects (even if just a vague idea "hat" "mittens" etc) to keep you honest if an "A" yarn is really just a really great "B" oddment. Of the "B" or "maybe yarns", organize as well, but make it easier on yourself to cull the herd every so often by keeping them accessible and visible. Perhaps keep an inventory going as you sort. You can use this inventory when you vist LYS in the future and at the swap to ensure that you only get "A" yarns in the future.
On your list, as you organize, you should note if you need:
Needles for that yarn
Patterns for that amount/type/project
Embellishments/tools/etc for that project/yarn
Things to make organizing/using yarn easier: ball winders, swifts, etc
You can use this list to swap for things at the swap. Be generous. If you really need that pattern book and they need your yarn, then don't worry about exact trades. If yarn was marked as a goner--do not bring it back home! Donate it to others, make it free, drop it off at goodwill, or package it up for charity on your way home.
As for prices, this is just me, but I would start with 1/2 of what you think you paid for the yarn. If you are over priced compared to others, you can adjust on the spot with a simple "% off sign".
If I lived closer, I would totally help you organize. I enjoy sorting things. If you get overwhelmed, use flylady (flylady.net) techniques: set your timer for 15 minutes. Attack just what you can then. Take a break. Do another 15 minutes. Only handle things once--have boxes ready to sort into, trust your snap decisions, and don't pull out too much at once.
Breathe and remember, if you don't love it, and don't find it useful, you are freeing yourself for new and wonderful things in the future and you are ensuring that future projects are even more full of love.
I hope this helps!
Whoa- a fellow FlyBaby! Greetings, Wavybrains.
Holy guacamole, Kif, you do have a major stash. *Moment of complete and total jealousy*
Wavy is right- 15 minutes at a time is the best way to attack almost any problem.
Regarding pricing the yarn, what I would do is to start from the price I would be willing to pay for it given the current state of my stash (for you, that's probably pretty low because you have enough yarn for just about anything you might want to knit). Then I'd think about the value, to me, of having the yarn cleared out of my house -- the extra space in the craft room, the time saved not having to dig through these skeins while looking for others, and so on -- and I'd subtract that value from the amount I'd be willing to pay for the yarn.
The resulting number would be pretty low, I'm sure, but if my primary purpose is to make some space/sanity for myself, then it's not about the money, it's about clearing out the yarn -- and the lower price is more likely to accomplish that.
Bottom line? I'd probably wind up somewhere around 25 to 50 cents a skein. Obviously, though, your mileage may vary.
Hope this helps! (and, like the others, I can attest to the value of flylady)
Thank you everyone for the comments, ideas and support. Right now I have two full containers (the large ones in the picture) full, three bags, 1 box of duplicate magazines I am taking. I am not going to bring any of this home as whatever doesn't sell will be donated to the guild as the members have many charitable projects that they work on. This was the first sorting through I have done, and although hard to do, I do feel better, but also know this was the first step.
Go you! You are going to feel so great when it is all sorted and organized!!!
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