stash reorganization

A couple weeks ago, I decided the stash needed a good toss (and a serious culling). My intention for awhile now has been to get my stash down to just what would fit into my vintage steamer trunk. This is what I started with:

Lots of plastic bins full of yarn!

This is where it ended up:

The bag is sock yarn. Sock yarn doesn't count, right? lol

Wanna see inside? The bottom layer is all wool and wool blends, mostly in sweater quantities:

The next layer is smaller amounts of wool, alpaca and a bit of cashmere, surrounded by smaller bags of linen, cotton and bamboo:

Then, I filled out the top with more cotton and linen and sock yarn in larger quantities:

The top tray now holds my needles, hooks, a styrofoam head for blocking hats, purse handles, my ball winder and some cotton blends perfect for baby items:

Sadly, my swift is about an inch too long to fit in the trunk in the tray. I might have someone cut it down jsut a bit though so it will. I love having it all in one spot like this. =) As I work on a design for a tiny house, I'm keeping this trunk in mind. I'll have to work it in somehow.

I've sold a good chunk of the yarn I culled, but still have some to go. I don't mind holding on to some of the wools since I can overdye some and use those, but most of the acrylics are going one way or another. If they don't sell soon, I'll be donating those. I have nothing against acrylic, I just don't really enjoy using most of them and I have too much great yarn to waste space on the cheap stuff. =)

Yarny Organization

When I was in Portland a few weeks ago, I (of course) spent some time browsing in IKEA. There isn't one even in my state, much less close by, so the only chance I get to go is when I'm traveling (for now, anyway). It's always so much fun wandering through and seeing what there is to see. I've been wanting this glass-front bookcase for ages now. I think it'll be perfect for yarn storage, keeping it visible yet safe from the critters and their floaty fur.

Ignore that high price - that's for the multi-piece setup covering the whole wall. It comes in a nice black/brown that I love. This, or something similar, would be perfect for my stash. =) I'll definitely be on the lookout for marked down pieces in this line once I move... whenever that is.

I decided which yarn I'll use for my Saroyan. After looking through my stash on Ravelry and looking through a few bins, I settled on the one I'd first thought of for this pattern.

I wound up the yarn late Saturday night and it's now in a bag with the pattern. BTW - the bag? It's from IKEA too. heh $6 for a set of two - the smaller perfect for a sock in progress and the larger easily holds these two 220yd skeins with room to spare for the WIP. The bottoms are flat so they stand up on their own and there are even pockets (and a zippered pocket inside the larger size) perfect for corralling necessary notions/ball bands. =) I discovered these in the bathroom section of the store - sold as toiletry bags - so they're even water resistant. Much nicer than the ziplocs I've been using to contain my projects in the larger knitting bag and I won't have to keep replacing them since needles won't be poking through. I'm thinking I might add a small piece of the yarn from each project to the zipper pull so I'll know at a glance which project is which... I purchased two sets of the bags and have all four project bags in my larger bag now. lol Could be fun sitting down to knit and just grabbing a mystery project to work on though, huh? =)

(I'm not loving what blogger is doing to my photos. These are just quick shots from my point&shoot, but they're nowhere near that blurry when I upload them. I'll have to start uploading to flickr and see if that helps.)

Circular Storage

I've been planning to sew up a simple solution for my circular needles with some fabric I rescued from a bag to be donated by my mom - free is the best way to shop, don't you know. =) Anyhoo, someone on Ravelry posted this pattern, made from a pair of old jeans so I went that route instead. The pockets are a nice addition. Great place for the set of interchangable needles I have and a needle sizer and tape measure.

Not quite convinced I love it yet. The needles are a bit crazy. Maybe if they were all shorter cables? Ah, well. It was free to make and for now, it works and doesn't take much space.