The past few months can best be characterized by the term yarn gluttony. I am one of those people who feels guilt over the size of my yarn stash… I try to be a minimalist and lessen my consumerism in many other areas of my life, why not do it with my yarn as well?
I think I talk myself into it by saying “oh, it is my vacation”, or “this only happens once a year”. I have to make a pact with myself – knit only from stash yarns. I have SO much to work from – and I can promise that about 80% of my yarns have assigned projects! I already know what I am going to make with it, so why not work with it?
I would only buy new yarn for the most special of occasions. I am giving myself one free pass: some luxurious alpaca from Peru during my August trip. (I mean, honestly, I can’t go to Peru and not get alpaca, you realize that, right Erin?)
It’s time for another yarn diet. Starting now, and ending when I feel like it. I am going to use this time to fall in love with the yarns in my stash all over again. I have some works in progress to finish up, but in the mean time, my mind is already thinking about my next big project…
A few of my plans…
The Von tunic, the middle sweater, is probably on the top of my list. I love the shape, and I have the beautiful Peace Fleece yarn just waiting to go on the needles. I bought this yarn at this year’s Sheep and Wool festival.
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Since it is kind of red and kind of purple, it would fit in well with the next two color triads for Project Spectrum! With all of that stockinette, I am estimating it to take awhile anyway…
Nordic Memories, the first sweater, is from an old Interweave Knits – Winter 2004, I think – and always caught me eye. I liked the little bits of stranded colorwork. I am planning to make it in similar colors: dark brown, with ecru and a violet for the trim. All of the colors are Jo Sharp’s DK Wool. I bought this yarn at my local yarn shop’s fall sale – it was all 40% off!
You may remember the final sweater – Aftur, the yoked Icelandic pulli – last year and really fell in love with the pattern. When I was in North Carolina visiting my sisters, I bought the yarn for it at the yarn shop in her town.
…and that is just some the sweaters I have planned during my stash reduction…
it doesn’t count all of the socks!
This seems to hit me every year after the Festival – and this year, I am going to make a dent in the stash!
Does anyone ever just knit from the stash? How boring! I think that a knitting obsession goes hand in hand with a yarn acquisition obsession – researching new designs, trying out new yarns, matching the right yarn with the next project vision. Don’t feel bad. You’ve got your whole life to knit it!
Way to go losing all that weight while being a knitter (not such an active hobby). You inspire me!
Good luck with the stashbusting. I need to get knitting on some of my sock yarn, which constitutes the bulk of my stash.
good luck on the stashbusting! I’m right there with you.
I knit my rogue in that color of Peace Fleeve (Moldova Burgundy). It really is a gorgeous color (okay, so I am biased!). I think it will look great as the Von tunic, though the sleeves probably won’t drape the same way.
i understand. i am so frugal in all the other aspects of my life that if i have the money, i will inevitably, spend it on yarn. and sometimes, my stash size freaks me out a bit. but i love it!
wow … you’re already thinking about the fall! i’m on a crazy sock kick right now. i thought i was going to knit a bunch of tanks for the summer … but … i’m still knitting socks. hmmm ….
ps. that colorway of trekking in the bottom right is delicious.
You know, I have the same problem as you. This sale only happens once a year, or, oh, this is so unique, or oh, I have to have the yarn for this new pattern. What I’ve ended up with is a stash of epic proportions, almost all of which has an assigned purpose, but which is way more than I can ever hope to knit through, especially since there are always new projects cropping up. It’s funny too, because I still like the old ideas for the stash yarn, so I’m not overly keen on making something else with yarn that had a different original project. So the old projects get pushed out of the way for new ones, which then need new yarn, since I can’t use the old yarn! It is a vicious cycle I tell you! I’ve been on a yarn fast since New Year’s, but I allowed myself a couple of exception days, where chaos reigned. However, for the most part I’ve been good, and it’s been somewhat liberating to look at the stash and realize that I have to knit from it – almost like my own private yarn shop, with only things I really love! Good luck in your quest – my fast was initially ending in June but I think I’m going to continue a bit longer along with you!
Love your sweater plans, by the way…
Beautiful yarn! You have some excellent projects planned too. Good luck on your yarn diet! And you should definitely get some alpaca and/or wool in Peru. Peru has such a fabulous knitting history. I have a friend who knit a sweater from beautiful royal blue wool she bought on vacation in New Zealand. She likes that she could knit her “souvenir” and wear it.
But buying yarn from small businesses and fiber craftswomen(and men) is supporting local economies and those that share our passion for fiber,buying thier yarn supports THIER fiber addiction. If you were buying bushels of Lion’s brand as opposed to stuff like Lopi-lite and Peace Fleece, consumption may be an issue. But you aren’t! And you are making things that will last (except for socks anyways) longer than you interest in the item , or even longer that you. Knits can become hand me downs, gifts, heirlooms… yarn consumption builds community, art and family ties! Knits can also be repurposed and reused and recycled. (How’s that for justification.=) )
Good luck on your yarn diet–you already have some lovely things lined up. I love the way the Von tunic looks; I look forward to the finished piece:)
I love the colorway of the trekking you showed. What number is that(if you don’t mind my asking)?
Ohh, I love that plum colored yarn! It will make a gorgeous sweater!
I admire your braveness to only knit from the stash, I haven’t been able to commit to a statement like that. I really can not resist a sale!
The only problem with you showing all the beautiful yarn from your stash that you’re planning to use up is that it makes ME want to go out and buy some just like it!!!
So many beautiful yarns. Good luck on the stash busting!
I’ve been trying so hard to knit only from my stash, it seems to be working, as I don’t have a very big one. Only thing, I just found out there’s a sale at the LYS, and it’s only 5 minutes away form work…
Your timing is perfect on this subject! I have the same problem! Went on a “LYS Tour” last weekend (20 stores over 3 days!) I bought way more than I should have. You’d think I had never seen yarn before! I had to wait a couple of days before I could take it all out and gather it in one pile because of my over-consuming guilt! Eeeek! I’m sorta thinking that maybe if I buy shelves with cubby-holes in them and put my stash in, I can pretend I’m shopping at my home and stop buying so much yarn!! I’m really committed to trying to knit up a bunch of what I bought this summer, but I’m a slow knitter. I’m also a little scared because I’m going on vacation in a couple of weeks, and yarn is usually my souvenirs! Maybe I need a good hypnotist…
After spending my birthday loot on an unnecessary amount of yarn, I too am feeling the pinch of yarn gluttony. I am going to try not to purchase any yarn till Rhinebeck…unless I am on vacation and see a yarn shop…you know how it is…
i really like nordic memories. i wish there were more of them on the blogs to see different combinations.
good luck knititng through more of your stash. i’m feeling similarly about my sock yarn. i think i only bought enough for 2 pairs this year.
Actually I’m feeling a bit of the same. I had the opportunity while visiting a friend in Boston to go to the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Festival, so I went. And I bought. While I didn’t buy huge amounts of yarn, I still brought home a total of yarn for 7 pairs of socks and one lace shawl (from Sea Silk, no less). And then a friend gifted me with some Rowan Linen Drape the other day, enough for a tank, so I’ve got some work to do.
To each his own.
I noticed that a yarn diet wasn’t good for my knitting mojo. So, I scrapped that and now I have to declare myself proud of my own stash. :-p
You can do it! If I had sweater quantities of yarn I would do it too. But unfortunately, that is the area of my stash that is lacking.
I feel guilty too, when I acquire new yarn and think of all the stash that’s just laying around waiting to be used. I love the projects you have picked out, especially the Icelandic pullover – it’s such a beautiful pattern!
it’s the post festival guilt setting in. I get it too…..Nordic Memories is on my list also, but I’m not sure I want a fully stranded sweater – I may go for something more like the Lopi one – stranded at the neck only….
I wish you luck with your stashbusting. But I’m sticking to my “yarn bought on vacation doesn’t count” mantra since I’m going away at the end of the week.
An admirable sentiment, Lolly! The last time my mother was in Peru, she brought back two kilos (!) of hand raised, hand spun, hand dyed Alpaca for $25. The woman couldn’t understand why she just wanted the yarn; “Don’t you want to buy something already made?” I wish you the same fabulous fortune!
I hear you; I feel like a bad person sometimes because my stash is so out of control….good luck!
Lolly, you’re so right about vacation purchases! This year’s SeaSocks cruise led me to several wonderful yarn stores, and I made the most of them. My “excuse” (if one were needed) was that the yarns I was buying (Fleece Artist, HandMaiden) are brands that aren’t carried in my LYS. Now comes the hard part: deciding which of them to cast on first.
We all have high hopes of using up stash and not adding to it…but it just never happens. I’m learning to be good with that;-)
That sweater on the left was one of the first sweaters i was ever DYING to make. Sadly, I haven’t done it yet. Maybe someday…
I need to stashbust too! Yarn is so tempting though.
That Von Tunic is gorgeous and oh so flattering. I love the Peace Fleece colours too. You have some great sweaters in the works.
Your socks are looking like they are going to be a great bit of colour and richness too.
Your weekend looks like it was a blast and warm.
Good luck – I am in the middle of a yarn diet right now, and it definitely takes willpower. But hopefully I should have some really nice finished projects at the end of it.
you are inspiring me to endeavor to make a dent in my own stash! the von tunic is just gorgeous.
My stash is down to tiny little balls that I can’t do a thing with. and after some not so heavy convincing hubby bought me 2 skeins of yarn so I could make my mom a tote bag. Which will be yellow and green
Yeah, don’t mind having a few sweater’s worth of yarn around, but it’s all the little odd balls that are driving me crazy! The Jo Sharp DK brown yarn is gorgeous!
Don’t worry, Lolly, you can do it! I have been knitting from my stash (well, mostly!) for a while now and I don’t have too much left. Especially when you love the yarn in your stash and have projects picked out for it, it’s easy to start knitting from it. (It’s the impulse skeins and the inherited yarn that are harder to use up, I think.)
I can’t wait to see all of those beautiful sweaters, and if it helps in the slimming down process, I’ll be happy to remind you how much I admire your taste: “Lolly, how’s that Lopi coming along? Will you show us the tunic today? How about that stranded Interweave sweater?”
All the best, you continue to inspire!
A yarn diet. Urp! say it ain’t so. Okay, maybe it is so. Besides you have some lovely stash to bust.
As wonderful as your plans sound…well, I hate to break it to you, but stash reduction often follows with a serious backlash where you feel the need to fill that “empty void” that is now showing in your stash. Best of luck anyway.
Oh well….talking from my own experience here. I’ve been knitting from my stash too, but my “income” is times more than the “outcome”. Because when you’re being a good girl you deserve some candies, right???
Yaaay! Stash busting! I’m knitting from my stash, but only because I need the money for gas. Woo.
Good luck with the stash reduction! I know you will get through a lot of it- those projects look great!
So much beautiful pink sock yarn! I’m trying to knit from my stash right now, too, but I might not be able to resist a few more purchases to make summery tops…
I have the same issue! I am going on a June fiber fast — nothing — no yarn/fiber/patterns/books. Nada for June.
I like the idea of falling in love with one’s stash all over again
The Aftur in that blue will make you look like an Emily, if you know what I mean. It will be striking on you. I like the tunic, as well. I can’t tell much about the Nordic Memories from the picture but the brown and violet sound interesting together, and I don’t mean “interesting” in Sici’s way.
No doubt, you will be busy with your projects. I put all my lovlies in a moth-free storage bin and was taken by the beauty of the colors. I need help with ideas, my Lolly-doll! XXOO
I’ve been thinking about my stash lately too. Actually, I haven’t added to it in awhile and have been knitting away at it. It kind of hit me that I’m 3 projects (or so) away from knitting the bulk of my stash! I have sock yarn, but even that will get knit up fairly quickly, since socks go pretty quick. It kind of makes me feel weird. Like I’m losing my security blanket or something
. I don’t think I’ll be adding much to it since I’m trying to save my money. Maybe I’ll spin the yarn I need for future projects…
sweetie, you don’t have to answer to me about your stash! love it no matter how large it is. i am definitely eager to see you knit up some of the lovely yarns we’ve seen you add to your stash, however, so I fully support the yarn diet.
Yeah, I’m pretty disgusted with my stash right now. It’s pretty sick! I have everything to make a large village entire wardrobes and then some! I do plan on knitting only from my stash for a LONG time, unless I need some yarn to make cute baby things for my baby girl who is due in September! But other than that, I am cut off!
I’ve also loved Nordic Memories since I first saw it. Maybe seeing you work on one will inspire me to cast one on myself!
Ooh, I like the colours you picked for Aftur! I did mine in purples and teal/turquoise. I can’t wait to see yours in progress!
[...] yarn diets and pledge to knit only from their stashes – such as this one, this one, and that one. Lolly recently shared her stash stories, and Kelly catalogued her enviably color-coordinated stash. [...]