Stash Monster

People of earth: I have not abandonned you for Tumbler, I promise. Upon further reflection I decided that Tumblr was the lazy-man's way out and have chosen to renew my commitment to this here tried-and-true blog. I mean who am I kidding, I can ramble on about nothing with the best of folk. Just photos?! But then who would hear about all my pithy knitting-related musings? Oh right, just my husband and he DOES NOT want that... (seriously I think I need to find some real-life friends that are knitters, my bench is not very deep as they say).

Blogging about knitting would obviously be a lot less overwhelming for me if I didn't let the F.O's pile up to the point that they become a daunting Tsunami of things to talk about. (I know I know, better an F.O than a U.F.O at least--whoa knitter-speak whaaa?), so with that in mind I am going to do something I haven't done in a while and post about some current projects.

If you've been here before you know I am always talking about stash-busting, but the reality is that compared to most knitters, my stash is pretty small. At this point I can fit it all into one large rubbermaid container. Just one! That's pretty good I'd venture, but I have this dream about having NONE. I want to have none.

Does that make me weird? I know that this is likely an impossibility. There will always be scraps kicking around, and I am definitely someone who has been known to throw out yarn that I am just plain sick of looking at. (gasp!). But I still envision it all being gone one day and then being able to buy only new (or new-to-me) (and glorious) yarns for projects as they arise on a need-to-knit-asap basis.

I think I fell into that "new knitter" trap several years ago...where you are just buying yarn wherever/whenever you can in a desperate attempt to have.a.stash. And as such, that very stash is what I still appear to be left with to this day...mostly workhorse yarns or one-off skeins that I bought that I couldn't afford in "whole-sweater" amounts. You find yourself wanting a piece of the glory, but then you are stuck with a stash full of random incompleteness.

There has been the odd new-yarn here or there, but new yarn is only bought with an immediate project in mind, so it generally gets used up right away.

And I may have stumbled upon my most epic stash-eater to date: the Kiki-Mariko felted rug.

I cast-on additional stitches (I think it calls for maybe 118 and I did 154?) and off I went.



In no time I had blown through all of the remaining Cascade 220 I had leftover from the Missoni-Inspired blanket as well as most of the Patons Classic I had in my stash and I wasn't even half done!

I tried desperately not to care about my colour flow and pressed on grabbing whatever random colours I had available (it is more difficult to make "old gold" work with other colours than you would think --why did I buy 5 balls of that?! oh right--because it was discontinued that's why, and my love of seventies mustard colours is totally irrational). But then I stopped to actually take a look at what I was doing and knew I couldn't go any further.

I like to think I am somebody who can "just let it go" if there's a boo-boo or something I don't like, but the sad reality is: I am not that person. My colour combos looked like ass together. (those are conveniently not pictured here)

So I tore back and then yesterday went out and bought.more.yarn. Not only that, but more workhorse yarns (i.e the Cascade and Patons that I was TRYING TO PURGE IN THE FIRST PLACE). And in the same colours that I also would have never chosen in the first place if I was starting this project "new". GAH.

So, that in a nutshell is my current saga.

But I refuse to lose sight of my ultimate de-stashing goal, even though I am clearly the problem in this whole situation.

Another example of this: I knit a project and don't like the finished result. Instead of just donating the offensive garment to someone else that might actually appreciate it, back into the stash it goes. I need to learn to just get rid of these things and be done with them, regardless of whether I have additional amounts of leftover yarn to go with it.

and that is SO NOT what I did here:



(yes, more mustard --but I can't be faulted for knitting with mustard in the FALL right? right?!). Still I am actually excited about this knit, it's been a while since I've tried my hand at a lace project, and 9000 other knitters can't be wrong about the Swallowtail shawl so it's time I joined that club anyway.

Also from the DEPTHS of my stash:



Why yes that is the hottest-retina-melting-pink that you have ever seen.
Honestly, was this a thing I was into for a while? HOT pink? I think this was another situation where Rowan-yarn-was-being-discontinued-at-my-lys-so-I'd-better-buy-(only)two-balls-for-some-stupid-reason!

Guess it's a good thing neon has kind of come around again.

Also from deep stash:



I bought all that grey DK merino when Knit 2 together was a revolutionary new book from Tracey Ullman and I just had-to-have that shrug in there stat!

Now here we are 6 years later and you pretty much couldn't PAY me to knit anything in that book yet I still have all the original yarn to show for it. But wait a minute, those are some too-harsh words...it's actually a great book, just you know, much like the yarn presently in my stash-- I am totally bored with it.

So I'm thinking about using up said yarn for this November sweater. Yes, even though I know I VERY RECENTLY OPINED: "no more sweaters".

What can I say, I'm an enigma.
(and also apparently, a liar)