Oh, I just love it when I get yarn boxes from the UPS guy. (Although it has proven to be VERY hazardous to my own personal stash levels.) Today we got more Claudia Hand Painted. Have I told you how much I love that yarn? Just love it. So new at The Loopy Ewe: Wisteria (the most wonderful colors of periwinkle), Carribean Blue (blues, teals, greens, heading into my own stash post haste), Sante Fe (the perfect autumn yarn, and I love the deep blue that runs through it) and Pink Dot (which actually has quite a bit of purple in it, too.) These were backorders from my original order with them. I also ordered MORE colors of Claudia Hand Painted just yesterday, which they promised to ship right out. Today, I ordered more Cherry Tree colors – and those will ship to me on Monday. (I also ordered another WONDERFUL yarn that my new friend in Japan, Susan, clued me in to. Thanks Susan!! I will wait to announce that until I have get a shipping estimate from them.) So – keep checking back, as we have new things arriving weekly. Remember, we only show things on the website that are currently in stock – and the website automatically updates our quantities as people order. So if you see it on the website, you can order it and not worry about it being backordered.
So – onto today’s post. This thing called stash? I tried to avoid it. I tried to be “mature” and only buy up one project ahead. That meant that as soon as I started in on knitting one project, I could go shopping and have another project “in the wings” – but no more than that. (I know – what a novice knitter…..) That worked for …. oh, about a month. I think this plan came about because of the unbelievable cache of counted cross-stitch books that are boxed up in my basement. We don’t talk about the fact that most have never been used, and I haven’t cross-stitched in years. I had good intentions when I bought them all. And all that cross-stitch fabric, too. So I was trying to put a good lesson into practice – don’t buy more than you will use. This new, mature purchasing plan worked until the next time I visited my LYS and there were too many new projects that I needed to take home with me. They practically jumped into my basket. It really wasn’t my fault. I checked out with them and bought a plastic under-the-bed storage container on my way home and I officially had “stash”.
I might point out that at that point, I was buying specific yarn for specific projects – so it still seemed a bit mature. I had a plan for them all. Soon I went to yet another LYS. I found this wonderful moss green yarn that I just loved. 
I picked it up, walked around with it, and then put it back down. After all, I had no idea what I’d do with it. None. I have way too many scarves and had moved on to bigger and better knitting projects. (Not that there’s anything wrong with scarves. I love having a whole wardrobe of them to choose from.) So I said to myself, “Hmmm. I have no idea what I’d do with this yarn. I’m not buying it.” In the back of my head, I started hearing voices. It was all of those knitting blogs that I had been reading, where the authors talked about their stash, and having far more yarn than they could knit in their lifetime. Did that stop them from buying more? Of course not. I’m pretty sure that they have yarn that is not designated for a specific project. I’m pretty sure that one of the definitions of “stash” is “I have no idea what I’ll use it for but if I don’t buy it now it will be gone when I think of something to use it for and come back to buy it later.” So of course that moss green yarn made its way back into my basket and is now in my stash. I have no idea what I’m going to use it for. I’m just happy it’s there.
Sheri howmuchofYOURstashisyarnthathasnoknownpurposeyet?
I’m a little afraid of my yarn that has no known purpose yet. I can’t figure out what to do with it! Sock yarn doesn’t count, of course. I can always make plain-vanilla socks. But 2 skeins of ribbon yarn, and some other lovely stuff I bought with no pattern in mind… I’ve had this stuff for at least a year, and I’m still puzzling over it. Most of my stash (other than the sock yarn) was purchased for specific projects. Unfortunately, some of it has been around so long, I wonder what appealed to me about the pattern! I figure I started stashing about 12 years ago, though I have been knitting for about 32 years.
I, too, was once like you: buying yarn for specific projects (silly us!). I quickly learned it didn’t always work because I often changed my mind about the project (after I got the yarn unfortunately) and didn’t want the yarn anymore for “that” project – and sometimes not for any project! I now buy yarn just because I like it and, of course, for projects. I am going to purge out the yarn I will never, ever use so I’ll have room for more yarn. No sense hanging onto what I should never have bought! I don’t count sock yarn as actual stash because the yarn will be socks, and I can always squeeze in a hank of sock yarn somewhere! (p.s. Got my order today. Great service and I love my items! Thanks so much!! I’ll be back!)
OH, have you seen the claudia’s linen or mohair yarn?? I LOVE her colorways. I am more of a santa fe type of gal.
re the yarn stash??ya,I am trying to figure out what I can do w/myself… I want to NOT add to it, but hard w/the fall yarns coming out..
I believe that the only stash yarn I have with a purpose is my sock yarn. All other, especially those bought while “on sale,” have no purpose. They sure do look pretty sitting in their baskets. I swear, if I had more knitting time, I would not have this problem. 🙂
I am a NEW lurker (which didn’t last long – someone on another blog mentioned that a lot of yarn that calls to us is just so beautiful/original/great texture that it’s okay if you never knit. BTW – just found your store today too – love it – can’t wait to get my order.
Hmmm – as a matter of fact, some of the yarn in my stash was bought for a project that was never done, not because I found it particularly “alluring”.