2007 Summer Stash Out

For those of you that would like to continue with the summer of stash. You can go to the new 2007 Summer Stash Out blog at: http://2007summerstashout.blogspot.com/

Everyone is welcome looking forward to having a great time this year like we did with our hostess last year. I changed it up abit but the concept is still the same.

Happy Knitting!

SoSKAL 2007 - New Hosts?

Calling all knitters desperate to Knit their Stash in Summer 2007:

The knitters at Crossroad Knits are looking for another knitblogger to host the SoSKAL for 2007. We are planning on buying yarn this summer!

If you are interested in hosting the Summer of Stash 2007, let me know. I can delete this blog, pass the admin duties onto someone else, or keep the blog active and someone else can start a SoSKAL 2007.

Have a great summer, y'all!

I'm Up for It

Just wanted to post and say that if we go for this another summer, I'm in!

It would be cool to have an annual SOS to get ready for winter and holiday knitting (by stash diving!)

Its May is there another SOS

Its May 2nd is there going to be another SOS? I enjoyed the last one alot.

What was your reward?

Last June I saw sock yarn for $2 a skein...I tried talking my daughter into getting it for me before the sale went off...but she didn't want me to break my diet. (You all know the logic I used on her, as I wasn't the one purchasing the yarn ;~) ] Anyway, as I waited for my son's to come back to the apartment so that we could carpool home, I went back to the online store and saw I was still able to get that cool yarn! Not only that, I picked up some yarn for a multidirectional scarf and a pair of socks for my hubby's Christmas present. I am so thrilled I was able to make it through the summer, and I learned I have a lot of great yarn I can use.

Thank you for the challenge!
dobarah

More yarn!

I thought of some other small businesses:

Lisa Souza
Crown Mountain Farms

I did it!!

Hello all!
I survived the Summer of Stash!

I've posted the details on my blog, The Crafty Weasel, come take a look!
Claudia.

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!

Go me! I cant' believe I didn't buy any yarn from Memorial Day to Labor Day!

I think the most shocking part of participating in this event is the fact that not only did I not buy any yarn for three months but the size of my stash hasn't decreased one bit. Yep, I spent the last three months attempting a Saunshine jewel vest which saw little progress and evetually got completely frogged. Then I toyed with idea of making a sock, uh-huh, that's right, just one. But it's not working out either.

Actually I don't think I finished anything in the last three months? Hmmm, we'll blame that on moving and setting up house for the last two of them.

So, I must say that I proud of myself for keeping my commitment. I am also quite happy that at the same time I was participating in this fine event I was also participating in Secret Pal 8, this way I managed to received new yarn every month without spending any on myself!

Good for me!

Baa Baa Black Sheep Have you Any Wool?

Yes Sir, Yes Sir, A Garden Tub Full

Well, despite hitting the 50 FO mark, my stash is still huge. I'd really hoped to get it at least level with the top of the tub. (It would have helped if I'd made more sweaters and less hats.) There are improvements. If you check out the pics from my first entry, you'll see that there is no longer a pile on the floor, and the yarn isn't spilling out of the tub. The FO list-

21 Critter Knitter Blankets

An Ab Fab Afghan

25 Hats

A pair of baby socks

An Afghan for my son

A Sweater for my daughter

back from holidays

Well I did make a dent into the stash but unfortunately I added to it as well. I did take back 800grams of yarn that I know I wouldn't use. But here is what I made in the last 10 days:

1 scarf - in browns, libra and aquarius yarns
2 figure eight dishcloths in dark and multi colour yarn
1 baby blue mini cable dish cloth
1 lilac dishcloth - not sure of the name of it
6 (3 orange and 2 in playtime, 1 in creamcicle) trefoil dishcloth. Only need 20/25more.

Mostly bought the orange, playtime and creamcicle yarns for Brownie washcloths/dishcloths. I always like making or doing something special for the girls (sparks, got painted little clay pots and flowers, and their names on ornaments).

Well I have had fun and will try to work on this stash. I am going to do an inventory and see what I have and arrange it by type and weight an such as someone else has set up. Great idea! Thanks for sharing.

Leigh Ann

Summer of Stash

I did it - I did it - I did it did it did it! I am so unbelievably freaked out that I made it. And while technically I used both of my exceptions, I don't yet actually have the yarn from exception number 2, so the amount of yarn in the house is definitely less than it was at the beginning of the summer. I have really just stayed out of the yarn stores, and once when I threatened to cave (and even had my daughter's agreement to go along), I managed not to go. And when I said to her, "It's not like I'm going to run out of yarn any time soon", she just laughed her butt off, and agreed. But - both of the large yarn stash containers close much more easily than they did at the beginning of the summer.

I just counted, and other than exception #1, it has been 115 days since my last yarn purchase. These were my goals:

1. Finish at least 4 pair of socks, not including those currently OTN. DONE - 4 pair + 1 baby sock + 1 pair of "half socks" + 2 pair about to be finished.
2. Finish ArtFibers sweater currently OTN. NOT EVEN CLOSE - hasn't been touched in months.
3. Knit tank for OtherMom - promised for Mother's Day - 2/3 DONE - I'm on the plain stockinette top right now.
4. Find a pattern for and start LL sweater. NOT EVEN CLOSE - HAVEN'T EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT IT.
5. Knit at least one purse from stash - either Manos del Uruguay or something else that's laying around! - NOT EVEN CONSIDERED!

I also completed a fair isle hat that was started in March. All in all it's been a great summer, and I'm so glad I participated.

What I've learned:
1. I can live without buying yarn (needles and books don't count, right?).
2. I have enough yarn to last me at least a few years, even if I didn't buy more.
3. I can even live without a trip to the brand new yarn store in town.
4. The people at my other LYS know me well, and tempt me too much! I really didnt' NEED to know that they thought of me when they got new sock yarn in!
5. Even when I don't buy yarn, people will buy it for me!
6. I don't knit nearly as fast as I think I do.
7. I am much less tempted if I ignore the yarn emails I get almost daily.
8. I can look at yarn online without buying, and will not die. I can even look at it in a store (though only somewhere like AC Moore, where I'm not all that tempted).
9. I don't need yarn from the dollar store just because it's so cheap.

Now Go Buy Some Yarn!

Hi SoS-ers!

I wanted to thank everyone for participating in the Summer of Stash. What began as a simple idea to try to focus more on knitting and less on acquiring more yarn has become a chance to read a lot of new blogs and learn a lot from my fellow knitters.

I have loved reading these last posts where everyone has been sharing their successes, their disappointments and the lessons they learned from taking a break from knitting. I love how each of you have taken away something different from the SoS.

Something that I learned is that things out here in the blogosphere sometimes grow bigger than you expect. I am very new to blogging, having just started my blog in January. I certainly did not expect for this KAL to have over 100 participants, and at no time did I ever encourage others to get on any bandwagon.

I think one thing that we have all learned is to be a little more choosy with our yarn budgets. Many people talked about buying yarn with a purpose, and not just because it was one sale, clearance, or being discontinued.

With that said, I want all of you SoS-KAL-ers to consider supporting an independent yarn producer now that the Summer is over. The 100 or so of us taking the summer off from buying yarn certainly did not hurt the mega-marts, craft centers, large yarn companies, or even the bottom line of your local yarn shop. But please consider the impact that your yarn purchasing dollar has on an independent yarn producer. There are a lot of incredible yarn dyers and spinners out there making a beautiful product.

Here are a few that I could think of, in no particular order. If you have more to add, please post them in the next day or so, and please, support one of these small businesses if you can.

Sundara Yarn
Knitterly Things (the home of Vesper Sock Yarn)
Black Bunny Fibers
Sunshine Yarns
Sweet Georgia Yarns
Scout's Swag
Mama-E's C*EYE*Ber Fiber
Yarntini

Thanks to everyone for participating.

NOW GO BUY SOME YARN!

End of SOS--The After Stash Picture

End of SOS
Originally uploaded by wavybrains.

Click the Picture and you can see my Stash on the first day of SOS. It IS smaller, despite a few additions. But, most importanly, I now feel it is much better edited, reflecting projects I really want to finish, yarns I enjoy working with, and the kind of knitting I enjoy.

I have enjoyed SOS so much! I have found many new blogs to read, learned alot about fibers and projects and the risks of becoming SABLE, and discovered a lot about myself in the process.

I'd do an SOS again, especially a Jan. 1st SOS--New Year, No Yarn?

Happy Knitting everyone :)

Please stop by www.wavybrains.com/auntie_esq/

The effects of stashbusting

I didn't knit up a lot of things because I'm just not a fast knitter. But I did re-evaluate my stash and found a lot of stuff that I felt I didn't really need to hang onto. So I priced it, put it up on the Destash For Cash blog and made a healthy $50. That's more than enough for some really good yarn. Except I don't have an appetite for yarn at the moment. Stashbusting has also gotten me feeling I really ought to knit up what I have before indulging in fiber lust. Besides, spinning's where it's really at these days. ;)

And as Manda said, I really ought not to buy more than I have pretty immediate plans for, otherwise I'm overwhelmed, like a hungry diner at a large buffet.

So, many thanks for the SOS, it was appreciated. Good luck all on your seasonal knitting, it's starting to cool off out there!