What a Life!

You don’t have to spend much time in the knitting world to hear someone mention their stash. Stash would be yarn purchased but not yet knit, of course. And it doesn’t matter what your hobby is – scrapbooking, sewing, cooking – hobbies seem to bring with them a collection of materials used to carry out the favored activity.

I have friends who say they could fill an entire room from floor to ceiling with their yarn. There are people on Ravelry (a database of yarn, patterns and projects for knitters) who have in excess of 100 miles of yarn. To put this in perspective, one mile of yarn (1760 yards) is enough to knit an average long-sleeved adult sweater, give or take.

Some people try to rationalize it and say that they collect yarn, like one might collect stamps. Then there are online groups devoted to knitting from the stash. In those groups, you’ll find knitters committed to a “yarn diet” where they are not buying any new yarn and only knitting from their stash for a specified amount of time. There are even podcasts – such as Stash and Burn – devoted to the knitting life and climbing out from under the weight of the stash.

My stash fits into three drawers of an antique dresser I inherited from my grandmother, which means it is quite modest indeed. Still, I, too, found myself groaning under the weight of the stash. During the month of May, while everything was up in the air, I took charge of what I could control and decided to regain mastery over my stash.

My approach, however, seems to be unique. [At least I have yet to hear anyone professing the same theory.] It is simply this: yarn is purchased with anticipation. Anticipation of the wonderful things you’ll be making with it and the wonderful time you’ll have making those things. But as yarn sits in your stash rather than being knit up, it turns stale and morphs into guilt rather than anticipation. Guilt is not fun.

Therefore, the objective would be to reconnect the purchase of the yarn with the knitting of the yarn and the completion of the project. No yarn diets. No collecting. Just loving yarn in the way it is best loved – knitting it and enjoying finished projects.

So buy the yarn. Display and admire it for a few days. Then cast on and enjoy knitting it. When the project is finished, display and admire it for a few days. Take pictures. Blog about it. Then use it and love it, or give it to the intended recipient to use and love. Very simple indeed.

The key to success? Good project management. To be continued…