You know how it is!
You begin your crochet adventure with a ball or two of yarn. The things have a bad habit of multiplying, overnight . Its like buying a guinea pig or hampster. You start out with two and while I am not sure what happens with those little creatures during the night, before you know it your house is overrun with them.
Yes, there are the few people with amazing skills, who only purchase enough yarn for each individual project. I do question this. Surely they end up with part balls, or may over estimate by one, or two, or three, as to how much they will need! Maybe they are yarn hoarders in secret, hiding the truth from the world.
Of course having a huge stash does have its benefits! During the covid period of past few years, with random lockdowns and not being able to physically shop, I didn’t have to stress that my yarn fetish would need to be placed in check. The lockdowns could have lasted till the next decade at least, before it would have become an issue for me.
I have tried to downsize my stash by giving away bags full of skeins that I knew I would never use, to those who crochet for charity, BUT to the untrained eye and on viewing my stash, one would refute this claim.
The struggle is most definately real!
I do blame the yarn for creating the problem.
How can the yarn be the problem, you ask? Well it goes a little like this:
I decide to sort my yarn and downsize. I begin sorting through the containers, drawers and various other places that store this.
There is that gorgeous yarn that has been discontinued. One day I will surely find a design that requires just that amount. If only I had at least one more ball of it. Best thing to do is stop for just a minute and see if anyone online is now destashing any!
Nope, no one has any but I did manage to purchase a dozen skeins of this gorgeous purple angora that I just know I will use.
Back to the downsizing of the yarn stash!
Half an hour later.
Mmmm I have a few of these and really must use them. They are the perfect colour but I don’t much like working in that yarn. But the best course of action is to keep them, as they should be used. I don’t want to be wasteful!
Oh my, this is so soft. Wish it wasn’t in variegated colours, as I seldom work in that. I will use this, for sure.
30, 31, 32, 33…………………. gee I do have quite a lot of Stylecraft Special Dk. I don’t work in that all that often , so how did that happen. Oh, yeah, I bought that lot to design a blanket and then didn’t. This lot was supposed to be a shawl that I never got around to. Oh well, I will use this one day! I had best get a couple more in several of the shades to be sure I have enough!
Oh, 2 cakes of Whirl in Tangerine! Woo Hoo ! I forgot I had this. Oh, I wish I had remembered. I just did a blanket in oranges in Hobbii Sultan. Probably shouldn’t do orange again for at least a few months. Best remember where this is. for later
Maybe I should sort the yarn in colours! What a great idea. I will just start sorting again.
Owwhhh, how yummy is this hand dyed skein. I wonder what hook I should use for that? It will only take a minute to make a crochet square and test this gorgeous yarn out. Oops, I made five!
And as the sun begins to set………..
Where did that time go?
The yarn stash really doesn’t seem to have diminished at all.
Oh, well, tomorrow is another day! Perhaps I will downsize tomorrow!
I am a yarn hoarder and it has been 0 days since I last purchased yarn! But today it was only 4 balls of Bendigo Woollen Mill Luxury and my need was great!
Just for fun!
I have published this before, but here it is again!
A helpful guide to managing your yarn stash Hobby/addiction/disorder/problem!
And so the journey begins!
You decide to take up a hobby and get creative! Crochet sounds good, doesn't it? You begin to search online for helpful tutorials and join a group of like minded beings who can guide you on this wonderous journey.
DAY 1: THE CHANGE BEGINS. After reading up on what you need to begin, you head to your LYS and frugally select a ball of yarn and a hook.
Day 3: After a couple of hours spent with your new hobby you decide that you don't have the necessary supplies in order to continue on this wonderful JOURNEY! Heading back to the yarn store you decide to treat yourself to several balls of yarn in several different colours. These will be all you need!
Day 13: By now you are feeling a bit masterful of this new hobby and feel that you need to expand your knowledge further. New stitches must be tried. None of the yarn you have is going to work. Back to the LYS you go and spend 2 hours fondling the yarn and exclaiming how wonderous it is. You end up selecting a trolley full of the wonderous fibre. You also stop and buy a number of storage containers to keep these treasures safe.
Day 21: You now belong to at least a dozen online groups for crochet. You have started trawling marketplace web groups and find several posts about private yarn sales which you feel you must attend. You rush to the address and manage to beat an elderly woman in a walking frame to the huge yarn collection and even though she is crying you know your need is greater. You also spot a tasteful yarn tote (which you ripped from the grip of the previously mentioned old ladies fragile grasp) so you can now take your crochet with you wherever you go.
Day 25: Today is dedicated to ensuring your yarn pattern library is equal to the yarn stash and 5000 patterns is NOT too much. You also managed a few hours of crochet and taught the whole family to NEVER, NEVER speak when you are counting.
Day 28: The last stage of metamorphosis. A few days back you discovered online yarn stores and very sensibly took out a loan from the bank to purchase while the yarn happened to be on sale. The truck arrived today with all your yarn. The metaphorphis is now complete.
Disclaimer: No elderly ladies with fragile hands were harmed in this journey, although some harrassment of yarn delivery drivers did occur!