Obviously, if you’re going to have a craft, you need to have the relevant supplies. The only way to get these is to gradually built them up. When I started knitting I did it with just a few small balls of wool which my Nan had given me. As I got the hang of things I picked up some massive balls of wool from Aldi and then from a sale at a local shop and then from eBay and then from a not so local shop and… well, you get the idea.
It has resulted in a stash of epic proportions. And I continued to add to it. You’d see a good offer online, or you’d be knitting a toy and need a particular colour (for about three rows but obviously you have to buy a 100g ball, just in case), or you’d fall in love with a particular type of yarn (hello variegated yarn).
This led to the above challenge: to pick a project and then buy yarn to actually make it.
I have gotten better about only buying yarn when I really need it. With the exception of just a couple of times (this year, when I bought yarn in Hobbycraft and in Oban at my birthday) when I wanted to play with something a little bit different to what I had in my stash. And I do have an idea of what project I’m going to use it for, I just have to find the perfect pattern.
Technically though, I have completed this challenge. When I made Mr Click his temperature scarf last year I did have a couple of the colours that I would need (black, dark green and dark red) everything else had to be ordered specially. I class this as buying yarn with a project in mind because even with a stash as big as mine, I’ve not got every colour in the quantities this project called for.
Of course, because I wasn’t clear on the quantities I would need I went with a ‘less is more’ approach. I bought several 500g balls of yarn and then didn’t really make a dent in them. So now these take up quite a lot of room in my stash. I’ll be using them up for quite a while but at least I shouldn’t have to buy more for a while.
In theory…
Sometimes it's fun to go through your stash and find yarn to make a project. Search Ravelry for a pattern when you already have the yarn. Of course, it's easier to buy new...
ReplyDeleteRavelry will be the death of me. So many patterns, so little time!
DeleteI need to get more organised about keeping track of what yarn I have in my stash, it would make searching for patterns a lot easier!
I admire your creativity and your yarn stash is so familiar! I love yarn--the colors, textures, fibers--but I'm terrible at actually knitting! Good luck with your knitting projects!
ReplyDeleteThank you, that's quite an old picture, I must take a new one showing everything have but I'd best wait til my husband isn't around because it'll give him a heart attack.
DeleteThese colours go really well together so it should be quite easy to find another project that would use up your spare supplies. I too have to admit I see wool and just have to buy it especially if it is on special offer at a never to be repeated price!!
ReplyDeleteThis is just a small sample of my stash but you've given me the idea to try organising it by colour, that would make it easier to find suitable projects. ;-)
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