Knitting Daily Shop | Help / Customer Service

Are You A Yarn Collector?

Apr 21, 2008 by KD Sandi

There comes a time when every knitter has to face the reality of The Stash. This spring has been that time for me, and I tell you, it's been quite the experience. I learned a lot about myself in the process, to whit: Some people collect little figurines of cats, some collect shoes, some collect baseball stats. I collect yarn.


Yarn or Art?

Seriously. My stash is a Yarn Collection. All it needs are little frames around each skein, with a light shining on the yarn and a printed card off to the side: "Yarn. 100% silk. Hand-dyed by artisans in Nova Scotia, Canada. Private collection."

I buy skeins of yarn as though they were little works of art. Do I buy practical yarns, yarns that would make good sweaters? No. I buy the unusual, the special, the pretty. When I find a yarn I love, do I buy enough to make a sweater someday? No. I buy onesies and twosies, sometimes even foursies, but I do not buy the tensies or twelvesies required to actually make something for myself to wear.

Just as all collectors do, I specialize in certain types of collectibles. First of all, there is the obvious Purple Yarn. When I survey my stash, it is a bit embarrassing how much purple there is. Oh, sure, there is green and blue and pink (which is dangerously close to purple in the spectrum) and rose and mint and lavender and lilac. There are no yellows in Sandi's Stash, no beiges, no reds. Teal is a kind of blue, so it is well represented. The only orange in sight is the skein left over from my Tomato, which, if you recall, was knitted in orange and teal somewhat on a dare.

The other type of yarn I specialize in is From Plant or Beastie. I'm warning you: Do not get between me and the silk shelf in the local yarn shop. Also do not bother me when I am fondling hemp, linen, tencel, bamboo, cashmere or anything that once had a relationship with a sheep or a camelid of any kind. I touched buffalo fiber once. I had to withdraw my hand quickly, because it was very, very lovely, and very, very expensive. (If you don't try the drug, you can't get addicted, right?)

This is all very interesting, but it means I have a Problem. When it comes time to knit a sweater, I cannot knit from my stash, because there literally isn't enough yarn there to make one. This is a somewhat laughable statement to my husband, who, when I explain that I have to buy yet MORE yarn to make a sweater, looks at the bins of yarn that represent Sandi's Stash with raised eyebrows. I suppose I could knit a truly unusual work of art out of several different purple yarns...but sometimes a knitter just wants to make a sweater, for Pete's sake.

This got me to thinking: How do other folks buy yarn? Do you buy it for specific projects? Do you buy it because you love it, on the theory you'll figure out what to do with it later? Are you a yarn collector, who buys lovely yarns knowing full well you will never use it all? Do you buy in small quantities, like me, or when you find a great yarn, do you buy a sweater's worth of it, knowing that someday the perfect pattern for that yarn will appear?

I'm curious. I'm also hoping that it would make my husband feel better if he knew his wife's behavior was somewhat normal amongst her fellow knitters.

So, confess: What are your Yarn Acquisition Habits? Inquiring minds and all that. Leave a comment, because it's Monday, and we all would rather be talking about yarn than doing Monday things, right?

Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.

What's on Sandi's needles? A bit more past the hem of the New Skinnier Gathered Pullover.

Filed under:
Related Posts
+ Add a comment

Comments

 
EmegaMart20 wrote
on Nov 5, 2011 7:03 AM

great!!!!!!!

I am also starting the same project and your post helpful for me.....

www.stethoscopesreviews.com

wmldswlxh wrote
on Jan 8, 2011 12:09 AM

Thank you very much !! You have shared very good information with us. I will also tell about it to my friends also in fact all the people known to me.

<a href="www.refershoes.com/.../6-Cheap-Jordans-Sale-Shop">Cheap Jordans</a>

wmldswlxh wrote
on Jan 8, 2011 12:06 AM

thanks for that posts. it is very useful.I like it very much.

<a href="www.refershoes.com/.../6-Cheap-Jordans-Sale-Shop">Cheap Jordans</a> <a href="www.nikejordanssale.com/214-women-air-max-95">Women Air Max 95</a>

      <a href="www.nikejordanssale.com/215-women-air-max-classic-bw">Women Air Max Classic BW</a>

      <a href="www.refershoes.com/47-air-force-ones">Air Force Ones</a>

      <a href="www.refershoes.com/50-air-force-1-women">Air Force 1 Women</a>

halensmith01 wrote
on Apr 15, 2010 3:45 AM

This is one of the best post that I have ever read. You have provided a great piece of information. I will definitely share it with my other friends. Keep up the good work, I would to stay in contact with your posts.

<a href="ezinearticles.com berry</a>

<a href="http://www.hilarysweightloss.com">Weight Loss Supplements </a>

JulieB wrote
on Jan 12, 2009 2:02 PM
I am a fairly new knitter, since October 2008, so you would think that I don't have too much of a yarn stash problem. HAH! I discovered a lovely yarn shop with equally lovely yarns I never even knew existed and I fell in love....with ALL of it! Yarn has such life waiting to be born out of it, and I love to look and touch, especially to rub the skein or hank on my cheek. SO, I have quite a stash of many skeins of yarn for stylish knit and crochet cardigans (I have crocheted most of my life, but never a sweater!) filling the dresser and nightstand drawers that were used by my two adult children, whose bedrooms have been turned into guest bedrooms. Heaven forbid anyone would need to put clothes in those drawers! I am a sixth grade teacher (in my 28th year) and knitting and crocheting are DEFINITELY my stress-relievers! I'm busy with baby sweaters right now because the teachers at school keep having babies. I set a precedent 2 years ago by crocheting sweaters for 2 teachers, and now all the new moms want one! At least they managed to space out their due dates reasonably for me! Anyways, I love yarn, crocheting, and knitting...I'm "hooked" and "needled", and have the stash to keep me busy for many years to come. Oh, yes...I will continue to buy those yarn pretties that just HAVE to come home with me!
carmel71 wrote
on Jan 7, 2009 8:07 PM
As I was reading, I realized I had to add some things to my comment. Every time I look at my stash, I start a new project. Currently, I have four on needles almost done. I make time for working on each one while curled up on the couch with my little doggie and hubby in front of the TV. Last month, I made so many things, they haven't even been used yet. Dog sweaters, dishcloths, hoodies(my favorite), bags upon bags, scarves, hats, mittens, and of course, socks.
carmel71 wrote
on Jan 7, 2009 7:48 PM
OMG You guys!!! I have been crocheting since before I could read, learned to knit shortly after. Can you imagine my yarn stash? My patterns and books are outrageous too. Years ago, I started to design my own patterns, so, binders of my stuff are everywhere. I always buy when I see a new color, or fiber. If I buy for a specific project, I buy extra. I love to look at my yarn all the time. So, when my grown sons were in high school, they built me a "bookshelf" with cubbies to store and view my yarn. It has grown beyond that, even after I donated some to children I have taught. To me, its not collecting yarn, its adopting and giving it all a home!! I live, eat, sleep, drink and love YARN!! Anyone who hasn't caught the bug, doesn't know what they are missing. I have gained about 60 pounds from sitting at home just "playing" with my yarn. Its sick, I tell you. Now, its time for me to go workout.
ritarazzle wrote
on Jan 5, 2009 3:32 PM
I had plastic grocery bags, drawers and baskets full. 30+ years worth. I put them all together in a 17 G. container just 3 days ago. I needed another one so I went out and bought two! I went to Michaels (because they had a sale) and ordered 4 skeins on line later that day. Why? Because I had more room! When my guy asked me why I am still buying more yarn I simply said “I don't have that color!” I crochet mostly scarfs, doilies and afghans
Helen1969 wrote
on Jan 5, 2009 2:45 PM
I'm a self confessed yarn collector always have been. I come from a long line of yarn collectors. Although I think I've broken the record as currently I have 400 kgs of yarn and fleece in various stages. (blush) Yet still if you put me near any yarn or fleece and I'll drool over it and have to bring some home - I don't know why yarn brings this out in me almost like the love one would have for a husband. Ha ha ha maybe that is why i'm single as my heart belongs to my yarn. (lucky thought as I think a husband wouldn't tollerate my addiction). Glad I'm not the only one.
Irene@4 wrote
on Jan 5, 2009 1:43 PM
OMG! Am I a yarn collector? How could I not be! today went shopping and got wool yarn 50% off. Now how could you not buy that! I am starting to collect totes to put my yarn in. The problem is in my head I have knitted everything in site. Oh and what about the books! I can't seem to keep my hands off them. Pretty soon I think I may have to sneak into the house with them before my husband sends me to a looney doctor. But hey! I'm getting pretty good now, I'm only down to 2 projects...so proud of myself....lolol
MonicaB wrote
on May 7, 2008 9:32 PM
SABLE-Stash Acquistion Beyond Lifetime Expectancy; that's how I've heard it described. Limited storage in my small apartment keeps my stash somewhat limited. I do buy with projects in mind--great at starting, horrible about finishing; but I also buy single skeins because they look good or feel good. I also tat & have quite a stash of thread for that (Majestic 80 count thread is so very soft & lovely). Patterns are also hard to pass up. When I retire I'll start/finish all the knitting, tatting, sewing projects and read all the books I've collected (yeah, right...)
JeanH wrote
on May 4, 2008 3:26 AM
I once owned a yarn store, and when the time came(due to health reasons)to liquidate my yarn,it was almost like I was expected to give away 'my children', it was so hard to do. I kept some of almost everything! Some that I kept was enough to complete the type of project I had in mind for it - however, a lot of it was the last few (2 or 3)balls of a certain kind or colour that the buyer didn't really want and I couldn't just give or toss away, because 'it may come in handy, some day'! Consequently, I have boxes of yarn, but when I see something new that I like, or have a good idea for - then it's more yarn, some knit or crocheted with, the rest in more boxes, because 'my eyes are bigger than the hours I have to use it all'!

One concellation, when I had a yarn store, I found out I was not the only one, but that it seemed to be a trait of those who knit and crochet.
Laura@2 wrote
on May 3, 2008 12:09 PM
One of Michelangelo's famous quotes is "I hope that I may always aspire to do more than I can ever accomplish" Michelangelo. I hope this too, but I hope that I never run out of money to add more yarn to my stash; since, obviously, more yarn is always going to be perfected and invented! And, it is also for that reason that some of the things I have not yet given away (although those are many) are not yet finished!!! -- so that I may try out new patterns as they come along!
JulieM@2 wrote
on May 1, 2008 3:25 PM
oh god! Both yarn AND patterns. I tell myself that I'm being careful with my money by just buying one of each skein, that I'll go home and swatch and THEN decide if and what to knit. And that I can order the 14 skeins for that cable sweater online cheaper. But now I have all of these single skeins .... And I blame the Interweave online store for my collection of downloaded patterns -- "but it's just $4.50." There aren't TOO many "what was I thinking?!" mistakes, but it's obvious to everyone but me that I'll never get to all of the projects.
KarenP@6 wrote
on May 1, 2008 9:29 AM
LOVE ALL THE COMMENTS ON YARN COLLECTORS---I DO EVERYTHING BUT SMELL IT!!

K PAGE-DENVER
Marleesi wrote
on May 1, 2008 4:59 AM
Hmm... It?s so nice to know that women everywhere share this collecting-material-for-everything- feature. I think it may have started in the beginning of times, when women had to take care of their family with whatever they could gather from the surroundings of their living places.
I have bought one skeins thet are so gorgeous that I just could not walk out without them, and also kilos of yarn that was not mae any more, so I was afraid that I would never get it if I didn?t get right then... and everything else in between. In result I have yarn older than my marriage (33 years) and same goes for sewing materials. So, I have a room for my hobbies, but it?s so full of materials that I really don?t have room to actually make anything. Luckily I also have a daughter, who knits and makes her own clothes, so I?m getting rid of something sometimes.
I always think that when I retire from my work, I?ll move to the country and start knitting in earnest!
Marja-Leena
Robing34 wrote
on Apr 30, 2008 6:57 PM
I'm just like Sandi - one skein of simply gorgeous yarns because I had to. So I generally look for patterns that involve lots of colors. I've got a relatively old Vogue knitting pattern for a circular shrug that I should be making up one of these days, but instead went out and bought enough yarn for a diagonally-knit top from The Ultimate T-Shirt (or some title like that, Barry Klein is one of the co-authors.
NancyG wrote
on Apr 30, 2008 5:52 PM
I usually make scarves to gift to family and friends so I usually buy two skeins of a fun fur, or other novelty yarn. I pair two strands of the fun stuff with a base yarn and knit up a simple scarf. Each and every one looks completly different from another one. But in the process of making sure I have enough of the fun stuff, I found myself buying two skeins of every type I came across. Thank goodness for Big Lots - they sell lots of fun furs and other novelty yarns for a buck or two a skein; also an online yarn site has sales. I have enough skeins to make scarves for a small town by now - LOL. I have a Barrister's bookcase with glass shelves that open 'up' and have my yarns stashed there so I can see them, or take them out and move them around figuring what colors I want to go for the next scarf. Nancy G. in Florida
MargaretC@2 wrote
on Apr 30, 2008 6:45 AM
Hello Knitters, I am a medical student, mom to a toddler and wife. I don't knit very often as you can imagine, so I, regretfully, don't purchase yarn very often either. :( In fact, right now, I don't even go to the yarn store for fear of buying what I cannot use. In a previous life, I would buy practical yarn while longing to buy beautiful, blissful, gorgeous yarn I doubted I would use. The practical, wool yarn (I live in Wisconsin) was put to use making sweaters that have never been blocked or stitched together. Margaret C.
J.T wrote
on Apr 29, 2008 6:47 PM
You won't believe this but I used my stash yarn as part of my recovery from outpatient surgery. I had my daughter bring it all into my bedroom and put it where I could see it. She said "Mom, you're still too woozy to knit anything!" I was, but seeing the ziploc bags full of multi-colored confections made me feel better!
J.T wrote
on Apr 29, 2008 6:45 PM
Bins and boxes and bags, oh my! Besides having 5 works-in-progress on needles. My family is trying to find a 12-step program for yarnaholics to enroll me in! Just yesterday I bought several skeins of lovely sock yarn because I was afraid it would be gone if I waited. So glad I'm not alone in my never-ending quest to own yarn.
LeiaW wrote
on Apr 28, 2008 11:52 PM
I buy for certain projects. Some of which are still waiting to be knitted! Other times I will just see a yarn I have to have. Its color(s) or the texture, whatever draws me to it, makes me buy it! My husband is, fortunately, very understanding of my "addiction". I have XXL size
Hefty bags full of yarn in the garage, the back of walk in closet is full of bags, under the bed, behind "my" chair and numerous other places! Yet, I can't seem to stop myself from buying more!
I just love to knit and crochet. I learned as a little girl from my grandma and came back to it as an adult. I've made so many items I can't keep track, but I do try to photograph major projects. Thanks for all the info in your emails. Leia Wright
CherylH@4 wrote
on Apr 28, 2008 9:51 PM
I have two types of yarn stash. The first one is the collection of yarn bought for spacific projects that are as yet not on the needles. This yarn takes up space in 3 rooms of my home, and my never be knit up as there are many more projects than time left in my life. The second stash is the hidden stash--it is the yarn that was just too yummy to pass up. I may never knit this yarn. It is there for me on sad days, or happy days. I love to run my fingers over it and feel the different textures. This stash is mostly pink with a little of cream, and purple thrown in. It is my happy place.
BarbieM wrote
on Apr 28, 2008 2:55 PM
Well, not having a lot of money to spend on yarn, or a lot of space to stash what I buy, my purchases are all geared toward specific projects. The problem is that I also have very little time and tend to be optimistic about what I can complete! So I have a nice stash. A new problem is that I've become better at understanding the amount of yarn needed for particular kinds of projects--so I can buy the yarn without knowing EXACTLY which project I will use it for. I know I'm buying for a short-sleeved sweater or a lace stole or...and so I know how much to buy in an appropriate gauge to be sure I have enough. And the stash continues to grow! Mine is most heavily blues and naturals.
JamieH wrote
on Apr 28, 2008 2:01 PM
Yarn collector???!!! Of course! And pattern collector! I see a pattern I love, and immediately buy it, thinking I will someday go back and buy the yarn to match! Or, if I find a yard I love, I buy enough to make a sweater- and use the same pattern every time! Never do I go back to my bottomless book of patterns! I love yarn, can't get enough of it. And my husband thinks I'm nuts when I say "I have to go to the yarn store" because he knows I will be coming home with a bag full of yarn that I really don't need! But, it's fun to collect yarn that you know you will someday get back to and knit up into something wonderful!
KraftyAnne wrote
on Apr 28, 2008 12:49 PM
I buy yarn that is on sale, enough to make a sweater each time. 2 Christmas' ago I had enough yarn in my stash to make 6 afghans for my grand children. all differnt patterns and colors.
I love yarn of all kinds
Barb in the Burbs wrote
on Apr 28, 2008 9:21 AM
Oh my, I could have written your comments on stash. Those ones and twos are pieces of art, maybe we should frame them? Barb from the Burbs
SallyS@2 wrote
on Apr 28, 2008 6:20 AM
Well I have 2 stashes, my own personal, oooh I gotta have this and the hhmmm this would make a nice...something..I could make and sell.
SusanK wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 4:45 PM
Ok... YOU HAVE TO WRITE A BOOK containing all these responses!!! and what a GREAT title too
"Secrets of The Yarn Collectors" OMG.... u just HAVE TO!!!!!

as far as my "secret stash".... mine has come out of the closet....into my livingroom, onto the new shelves that i put up to show off my "collection" of yarns and antique craft items... and it's about time!!!! i can now actually see what i have and can actually use some of it because it's not hidden behind closed doors and boxes!!! (but my secret is that a lot of it is STILL hidden.... LOL !!!!!!!!!)

a fellow yarn stasher.... Susan from Long Island NY
sassygirlknits wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 4:07 PM
I forgot to mention that I do also use my yarn stash as inspiration for the next item I want to make. I really enjoy going over the yarn I have and planning for something that is still in the dream stage.
Anonymous wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 4:06 PM
I know this is almost a week late but I'm catching up with my email. I love finding yarn on road trips or vacations - particularly local handmade yarns from small individual owners. When I was in Prince Edward Island a couple of years ago, I found an alpaca farm where the owner also has her fleeces spun and/or dyed by Belfast Mini Mills, a family operated mill with scaled-down machinery that was designed and built by the mill family men. The alpaca lady invited me into the barn and actually asked me if I wanted to hug an alpaca! Well duh! So I did of course. Then I bought enough alpaca yarn to make a sweater some day (sometimes I buy small amounts too). The yarn has the name(s) of the animals on the yarn label. Cool, huh? Then we went to the mill and got a tour of it by one of the twin sisters that runs it, with a detailed explanation as to what goes into getting from fleece to yarn - carding, cleaning, spinning, dyeing, etc. Then there's the shop afterwards, of course. :) I'll always treasure memories of that trip when I where that sweater (some day).
BarbC@2 wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 12:47 PM
yep, you're normal. and yes, so am I! Boxes of yarns, but all (ok, almost all) paired with patterns. So many, I can't imagine what year I will still be knitting them! lol I categorize them, re-arrange them, and yes, touch them. Sometimes, I just sit and stare at them. Quite an investment, but cheap therapy. :)
JeanS wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 11:37 AM
I am just lerning to crochet and have found I am starting to collect pretty yarns as well. I am now looking for one and two ball projects. Jean
JenniferT@3 wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 9:01 AM
Out of this yarn collecting addiction my site "Yarnaholic Confessions" was born. In the 9 years that the site has been online, I've received a lot of stories either in the guestbook or by email. This post and these wonderful comments were a huge reaffirmation that as long as there will be knitters, there will be yarn collectors. (Personally, after nearly 28 years knitting and collecting, I can now say I'm a rehabilitated yarnaholic.)
CarolS@6 wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 7:23 AM
I am a collector, because its pretty, because its on sale, whatever, so I can make whatever w/o paying full price...but never buy enough so I have go buy more.I have a closet full and more in bins. I have gone so far as tell the clerks the I am in "yarn rehab" ......but they sell it to me anyway. I vow not to buy another skein,ball,or hank and am back at it the next day. Glad to know that I'm not alone!!!!!!!!
carol in AL.
CarolS@6 wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 7:19 AM
I too am a yarn collector, what relief to hear someone has the same addiction.
I have done both, usually buy whatever the local shops have on sale, the "yarn shops" in my area,Mobile Al., since the Yarn Haus closed, amount to Hobby Lobby,Michael's , or Joann's Fabric. I buy because it's pretty, and .........well if I want to make something I already have the yarn and I got it on sale.
.....but I never buy enough so as you say ya'gotta go buy more......I have a formally unused closet the I put those hanging ,fabric type sweater shelf thingies
..good idea but it only held half my yarn. My husband screamed when he opened the door!
I vow not to buy another hank of yarn, next day it's in my hand , in my cart ..out the door.
I even told the clerk , "I am in yarn rehab, you should not be selling me these 12 skeins of yarn, but she did it anyway.
I'm leaving for a vaca , to NYC,
ELAINEW wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 12:35 AM
A stash is a magnificent rainbow of color, texture and yearnings. It is the hope of creating a beautiful piece to wear or share. It is a future burst of energy for someone you love. A true knitter must have a group of yarns for security in the event that sheep stop growing wool or silk worms stop spinning, or a catastrophic event closes all yarn shops. I submit that you are not a true knitter if you have used all the yarn you purchased.
ELAINEW wrote
on Apr 27, 2008 12:35 AM
A stash is a magnificent rainbow of color, texture and yearnings. It is the hope of creating a beautiful piece to wear or share. It is a future burst of energy for someone you love. A true knitter must have a group of yarns for security in the event that sheep stop growing wool or silk worms stop spinning, or a catastrophic event closes all yarn shops. I submit that you are not a true knitter if you have used all the yarn you purchased.
PhoebeW wrote
on Apr 26, 2008 10:24 PM
Being a student, I don't have a large budget for yarn, but I found that this seeming limitation in fact forced me to be more inventive. My best thrift store finds include a big leftover cone of aran (with a ?1.20 tag dangling from it- I live in Vancouver), mohair, and discontinued buffalo unspun. When I travel, I buy yarn in lieu of souvenirs. It's amazing to me that no matter how out-of-the-way or small a town seems, there will be at least one lovely, unexplored yarn store! I always pick through the bargain shelves, but make a point to buy one item that hasn't been marked down. I get onto the email lists of my favourite LYS so that I'm informed ahead of time of sales! Hmm, I wonder if this in fact makes me spend more because if I hadn't known about the sale, I wouldn't feel obliged to visit! I started out buying only a skein (sometimes that was all that was left) but over the years I've learnt to buy at least 2, or for a specific project. I love to use singles for a pair of wristwarmers, hat or scarf for a gift. I think that's the best savings- being able to handmake a gift instead of buying them! Someday, I will make these items all year round, and kill two birds with one stone- have an excuse to buy more yarn, as well as to avoid the mall!
AnnW wrote
on Apr 26, 2008 2:58 PM
Yes, I too collect small amouts of wonderful and beautiful yarns (exotics are a thrill). I do use them to make tiny sweaters and scarves for the one of a kind Mohair teddy bears that I make. Ann
PamB wrote
on Apr 26, 2008 2:25 PM
Oh, yes, I am a shameless yarn junkie. If I could line everywall with bins, like my own yarn store, I would love it. And yes, when its time to actually knit something, I have to go buy more yarn. Isn't it wonderful?
LillianH wrote
on Apr 26, 2008 11:30 AM
I love to collect yarn and sometimes do 1 or 2 skeins,also, but my weakness is going to sheep and wool shows and seeing the beautiful hand-dyed skeins that somehow end up going home with me! Lillian
NoviaC wrote
on Apr 26, 2008 8:21 AM
You can see 75% of my stash on Ravelry. I'm 2muchyarn. I buy because my husband entices me to seek out yarn stores on the weekend (because he knows it makes me happy), because we go on vacation and yarn is what I buy instead of souvenirs, because my local yarn store needs me, because I have never met a natural fiber that I do not like. My favorite is cashmere but I have managed to avoid purchasing it because I always buy in larger quantities and I can't aford to do that with cashmere. I'm a slow knitter so I tend to get bored with my projects and look for that satisfaction that one feels when a project has been completed by purchasing new yarn. It works! It feels almost as good. Ravelry has really helped me at least to begin to see how much yarn I have. It hasn't stopped me from buying though. I just don't leave my house quite as often. Help me! Oh and I took up spinning last year so now I have fiber everywhere too! :-)
Lainyg wrote
on Apr 26, 2008 2:03 AM
I'd say there should be a 12 step program for those of us with "stash issues", but I come by my yarn addiction honestly. My stash is off limits...protected, even! I have some beautiful yarns...some I bought with projects in mind, some I bought because they were oh so pretty, some because it was on sale and too good a deal to pass up. But the best part of my stash came from my mother. When she passed away, my stash doubled! There are even duplicates because we often shopped together! Some day, I hope to finish off her UFOs for her...but until I do, it's mine and my mom's...and no one can say "boo" about it.
ElenaF wrote
on Apr 25, 2008 1:15 PM
I am also a Yarn Collector. As a matter of fact I have been collecting yarns for the past twenty five years. Always keeping in mind that maybe when I retired I would have enough yarn around to keep me busy. I am now retired and low and behold, I hope I get enough time in this earth to be able to use up all the yarn I have accumulated. I have various closets full of bins and boxes of yarns. If I ever leave this earth before my husband, I am pretty sure I will not be able to rest in peace because of his comments.
Elena, theknittinglady, Miami
NancyB@3 wrote
on Apr 25, 2008 12:42 PM
As I was reading the posts, I found it ironic that one evening this week my husband invited me to the barn to see his stash. He collects fiber, too; the wood kind. His hobby is wood turning. He showed me all the great chunks of wood he had bought. I was delighted to see the price tags on his stash. He paid $30 and $40 for pieces of wood (with no real project in mind for most of them). Then he showed me the boxes of local wood, all labled: red oak, white oak, maple, hickory, tulip. It was great! We don't share the same hobby, but we are both passionate about our own, and respectfull of each other's stash.
JanetH wrote
on Apr 25, 2008 9:28 AM
As a needleworker interested in many techniques, among them quilting, crazy quilting, embroidery and knitting, I find there's a big difference in how I go about buying supplies. Building a yarn stash has a completely different mindset attached to it than say building a quilt fabric stash. Unlike fabric, where you can easily incorporate a fat quarter or remnant into a project, if your goal is a sweater, you can't just buy one skein of yarn. If a particular yarn would make a great sweater, then you need to get enough of it, all from the same dye lot, to do the whole sweater. While this doesn't hold for lace yarns or sock yarn (which I often use for lace projects), there's nothing worse than being one ball short, several months after a yarn is discontinued or out of season. This often serves to curb my yarn purchases, since it doesn't seem very practical to me to buy just one ball, simply because I love the yarn.

Working in a yarn store, I would say my purchase habits are roughly similar to our customer base. They want to get enough yarn for the whole project, all at once. This is also how I sell the yarn, because I don't want them back in the store a few months later looking for one more ball of a yarn that is sold out. If there are only one or two balls left of the yarn in question, I often put it aside until the customer finishes her project.

My goal for myself and my customers is to avoid the "oh no, I ran out of yarn" heartbreak whenever possible.

Janet
MarilynW wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:34 PM
I believe I wrote this article myself. It is exactly how I buy yarn....because it is beautiful in itself not because I have a plan for it. I am always going back to the yarn shop to buy quantities of yarn later for a project and leave my beautiful "stash" sitting under the pool table.
BarbaraB@18 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 8:08 PM
I can relate.....oh yea. I have more yarn that, that will be great for one of the granddaughters then they grow and so dose my stash. Promlem solved I joined a community kniting group that makes hats, sweaters for less fortunate children. It has helped, but then those "sales" and I just have to have that new yarn.and all those new shops. Yes it is addictive, but there are worse things
HelgaA wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 6:34 PM
Hi Sandi
Thank you so much for telling us about your yarn stash. I have yarn from 15 years ago, and I just look at it all of the time, and think that some day I will use the yarn for that great Knit Project!But right now I love to look at the colors,I love to feel the texture of the yarn, and most of all I love the fact that I purchased all of my beautiful yarn at the end of the season sales from various yarn stores. I can't go to a yarn sale and not buy more yarn, especially the hand-dyed yarn. After a long day, I go home and look at my beautiful yarn and think that maybe some day soon I will use it! But for now??????
Helga,Chicago,IL
LizL wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 6:13 PM
Sandi....
I see no problem. A problem would be something that either does harm to you or to someone you love. You on the other hand, have a deep seeded love for yarn in its truest form. You don't need fancy stitches or elaborate patterns. It doesn't have to be jeweled or have expensive fasteners to go with it. It doesn't have to be knitted into a particular garment. You just love your yarn for the character it has; all by itself. I applaud you for your fiber morals! I myself, love sock yarn. I own more than I will ever be able to knit before I die. But that's OK! When my knitting friend,(the one that turned me on to socks) has a bad day or feels really down I let her come over and "Shop" from my stash. When you have a better selection that the local yarn shop, you know your ADDICTED. Welcome to the Dark Side!!!!

Liz in Delaware
ElizabethP wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 5:54 PM
I am addicted to lace-weight mohair. Luckily a little bit goes a long way, and I can always make a skarf if not a whole shawl with one or two skeins of this. But I'm trying to broaden my horizons. Hence I am creating "kitchen sink" shawls with bands from many yarn types and colors. Another new obsession is collecting patterns of wristlets and other single-skein delights. At the heart of the stash/space problem? Every ball IS a work of art, and sometimes it is hard to let go of them and use them. This is insane, of course, but it is time to admit that I am hoarding. But to someone else I would say in polite, soothing tones, "Think of yourself as a collector."
SharonF@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 3:45 PM
I am a yarn collector, so much so my family turns and runs when we see a yarn shop. I just can't help myself, so much yarn so little time! a true yarnohlic
RhondaM wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 3:36 PM
'Yarn Connoisseur' sounds a tad nicer than 'Yarn Collector' but both are far better than 'Fiber Addict' which I must confess is closer to what I am. Even though I have a flock of 30 sheep and llamas of my own to supply me with a source of fiber to spin then knit and weave with, I find myself unable to resist the allure of the local yarn shop or the shelves of yarn at the local craft shop. For the past few years my 2 yr old grandson has provided me with a ready made excuse to bring home storebought yarns of cotton, linen, acrylics, and silks to make him sweaters, socks, and blankets and now that my son and his wife have announced that they are now 'trying to start their family' I am busy knitting baby blankets in the colors my daughter-in-law loves. This means that the number of skeins needed for projects typically number from 2-4 but since I hate to run out of yarn for a project I typically buy a couple of extra skeins just in case I want to make something else to match. These are the practical yarns in my stash. There are also many single skeins in my treasure trove of yarns that were purchased just for the sheer enjoyment of their color or texture that will never make it into a knitted item. There is a quiet pleasure in imagining what you could turn a yarn into that is only possible when it is in its unchanged state.
RoK wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 3:21 PM
I still find it hard to believe that there are people out there like me. Last year a friend bought a single skein of alpaca for me that I take out now and then just to touch. Non- knitting friends think I'm nuts but they don't get on my knitting gifts list either. I think the essentila problem is that not only am I in love with yarn, I am in love with patterns!! My growing stash is now organized by Projects on Needles (I refuse to call them UFOS) Projects with Yarn and Pattern, and the scary one, Yarn looking for Projects.
Lynn G. wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:59 PM
I didn't used to be a stasher...just had leftovers from finished projects and a couple of UFO's...but then I started up a charitable effort that is still waiting for the recruitment of tons of local volunteer knitters and crocheters, so I justify my current large stash with the idea that it is all just "visiting me" and eventually it will all be used to raise money for local nonprofits. Please pray with me that my project gets off the ground very soon because I do not believe in waste of any kind. A little bit of lovely yarn for comfort, art, and pleasure, sure, but not roomfuls just to be hoarded...in this current global crisis, I feel as if I need to examine any hoarding tendencies. But I darn well do enjoy the yarn that is visiting me and finding it at good prices! Trying to buy as much eco-friendly, fair-trade, natural fiber yarn as possible, too.
VivianC wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:20 PM
I do the same thing and I also have an abundance of little left over balls that have their own basket and this year I started using them to make preemie hat, so every time I make something I donate.
VivianC wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:20 PM
I do the same thing and I also have an abundance of little left over balls that have their own basket and this year I started using them to make preemie hat, so every time I make something I donate.
VivianC wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:20 PM
I do the same thing and I also have an abundance of little left over balls that have their own basket and this year I started using them to make preemie hat, so every time I make something I donate.
VivianC wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:20 PM
I do the same thing and I also have an abundance of little left over balls that have their own basket and this year I started using them to make preemie hat, so every time I make something I donate.
VivianC wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:20 PM
I do the same thing and I also have an abundance of little left over balls that have their own basket and this year I started using them to make preemie hat, so every time I make something I donate.
VivianC wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:19 PM
I do the same thing and I also have an abundance of little left over balls that have their own basket and this year I started using them to make preemie hat, so every time I make something I donate.
VivianC wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:19 PM
I do the same thing and I also have an abundance of little left over balls that have their own basket and this year I started using them to make preemie hat, so every time I make something I donate.
DianeS@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:14 PM
Oh it's absolutely wonderful to read about you all!!! I have a roomful too, all kinds. And some skeins have no apparent use that I can see, they're just fun to look at. I love the colors. The trick when shopping is---if you came back later and it was gone, how would you feel? If devastated, then grab it now, figure out what to do with it later. And the books! Oh such wonderful ideas! I have managed to pass on the love of yarn, fibers and fabrics to all 3 daughters. I think it's inherited genetics---those who were able to clothe their families well survived better. After all, this tremendous cheap commercial availability of clothes hasn't been around all that long. They keep finding remains of people further and further back, incomprehensible numbers of years, and they all had fiber arts of some kind. It's a hardwired survival thing. And such an enjoyable one!
Diane the Fuzz and Fabric Queen
KAT@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 1:37 PM
Guess I just don't understand the concept. I have a couple of bags that hold enough yarn for the sweater that's in the bag with them. Also 2 baskets of sock yarn that I got on sale. Other than that, my stash pretty much consists of left overs. And, for the most part, that means partial balls. I have decided my ball bag is full enough, so I am in the process of crocheting granny squares until it's empty. These will be attached together with the rest of the ends that are too small to granny, and the resulting afghans will be donated to a couple of annual charity auctions in the area.
But to buy something without a specific purpose, I can't even fathom the idea.
KAT
JaniceG wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 1:02 PM
Every trip away from home is an excuse to visit a new yarn store. I try to buy enough for a sweater but often I fall short. It goes into my Stash.
SherriW wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 12:35 PM
Don't we all collect yarn. I figure if you have more than a couple different sizes of needles - you collect yarn. My collection is mostly what is given to me from friends who's Mom's no longer knit. Projects that have never been finished etc. I also go to a truly grand sale every year - "The Tent Sale in a small town of Listowell, Ontario at the Spinrite Factory. I usually bring home the BIG leaf size garbage bag filled with wool for about $60.00. Enough for the year. But don't let that make you think I stop there. During the balance of the year I do pick up onesies and twosies of special, lets make that fabulous yarns. My latest purchase was of Baby Monkey - one lonely ball but I am sure I am going to sleep with it. OK I have a confession My Husband swears we are going to insulate the basement walls with my stash.
I am knitting furiously with what I have but I am sure I will never catch up and all the new wools are calling my name. Smiles from Sherri
AntoinetteP wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 12:15 PM
I have to admit I read this thread backwards. I read the second post before this one and had to share it, it was so funny.

I am moving and a friend who was helping me pack threatened me if I brought any more yarn into the house. Good thing he wasn't with me two days later in JoAnn Fabrics! He just doesn't understand! I too am usually a small quantity collector. My passion is unusual or different colors or baby yarns. I like to look for things that I can combine together. If I only buy two or three skeins of a sport weight or baby yarn I can pretend that someday I will make a couple of pairs of booties or a hat out of it, but come on who am I kidding? My biggest stash purchase was a huge quantity of a wonderful emerald green silk/cotton blend. I told myself I was buying it for a specific project in order to justify the expense. Guess what, it's sitting in my apart-ment winking at me to this day. But it is so pretty and feels so soft how could I get rid of it? So yarn collectors of the world unite.
Toni Ponzo
JeaneC wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 11:33 AM
Thank you for a truly enjoyable post. I, too, am a yarn collector but I have a loving husband of 40 years who enocourages it. I am supposed to buy what I like whenever I find it and then we'll figure out where to put it. He watches for sales at the stores I frequent and makes me take a look even when I am telling him I don't want any more. I prefer to store my yarn by fabric type sorted by colors. When we travel, we try to find a LYS for I have found they all carry different types of yarn that I must feel before I make a purchase. Therefore I don't purchase online or buy mail and I always try to buy 10 skeins or more. I love all colors so it makes a pretty display in its clear drawers stacked to the ceiling my room of inspiration.
jerilynnstitches wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 10:54 AM
LOVE your posts! They are always the first messages I open! I just returned to knitting when my 1st grandbaby was born in August. So my "stash" is baby sized (SORRY!) So far I just buy for my next project, but seem to always have several on my needles at once! Maybe THAT could be another survey! HOW MANY projects do you work on at once? THANK YOU Sandi!
JayelF wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 10:34 AM
I enjoyed Sandi's instructions on how to stash (love the photo!), but felt I needed to write another post to address the dark side of stashing. As some posters have said, stashing can truly be an addiction. Knitting and crochet can be seen as a ?positive? compulsion, but stashing can cross the line from supply and inspiration to hoarding. We may laugh at SIELE (stash in excess of life expectancy), but it?s no laughing matter when one buys cashmerino with the rent money or stash takes over living space. Be a knitting friend, and don?t wheedle others to buy yarn when they are trying to resist.
Gina@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 10:10 AM
Yes, I am a yarn collector. It all started as a tender teenager who asked for routine acrylic for Christmas so I could knit an afghan. Then came some trips overseas that addicted me to needles and introduced me to good quality yarn. With the introduction to the internet and ebay, the stash really took off. At first, I was not picky as to content. When others learned of my addiction, they always had a second cousin of their aunts grandmothers former mother-in-laws dogsitter who had a bunch of yarn that they no longer wanted. So they fed my addiction. Now, no yarn sale within easy access is safe, no clearance aisle of yarn safe from my roving. One year it was felting, then next lace, but nothing to make a real project with. It is all just pretty stuff in bins in the craft room. But yes, I am a yarn collector. One day maybe I will knit it all up or use it as a slingshot to help the cow over the moon.....
MaryS@6 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:50 AM
I am a knitter... a yarn collector... and a full-time RV'er. The last creates issues with the first two. On the positive side I get to seek out and explore all sorts of LYS's all across the country. On the down side... have you ever tried to "stash" in an RV? Compare this to trying to fit any substantial amount of anything (other than paperclips) in to a shoe box and you will come close to my dilems. I admit, therefore, that I usually "buy for the project" although I do have a few that were bought because they felt so nice. As my extremely understanding significant other says "the adict will always find their supplier". Love all the LYS out there!!!
EllenB wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:46 AM
See, my yarn stash used to be a problem. We have limited cupboard space in our flat, and one of the cupboards was my yarn cupboard.
But I have the answer, if you just aren't going to knit it all- I know I'm not. Well, not this year anyway.

Emigrate!

I recently spent two weeks putting things into boxes to send to New Zealand, where I shall be moving next year. My yarn (well, a lot of it. Not all of it, that would be wrong) made an excellent padding material to protect plates and things. Of course I also included things to protect the yarn...

I will confess to buying just one or two balls of different yarns. Though it's not *just* me- I get given small amounts of yarn as presents by people. I can't help being a yarn collector when my friends and family are enablers, can I?
JayelF wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:32 AM
My stash = reveling in abundance + anxiety over too much. I am a cheapskate with a passion for bargains on luxury yarn; LYS, festival, Web store, eBay, yarn swap junkie. Alpaca-silk blend makes me swoon. Love to dye my own yarn. One to 6-fers 65% of stash, 10-16fers, 35%. Yarn closet near overflowing (wire shelves bending from weight of YARN!); I?m knitting down stash. I now have enough purple/teal/blue/green yarn for an oddball sweater. Hoping to reduce stash so I can buy per project w/o guilt.
DeborahK@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:31 AM
I try to buy yarn only for specific projects. This kind of works. I now have a huge stash of yarn -- all connected to patterns. At this point, I have enough projects for the next decade -- and yet, I keep finding more patterns I HAVE to have!
StephanieW@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:29 AM
I do ?yarn rescue?. I collect orphan scraps of yarn ? partial skeins leftover from projects, stash from basements, attics and under beds, dozens of balls ranging from golf ball to softball size in every color imaginable, including long-forgotten colors from the 60s and 70s.
I am ?the yarn whisperer?. I hear the yarn speak. Some balls are wound so tightly, they cry out ?Knit me and let me breathe!? Other tangled messes beg, ?Free me!?
What do I do with all this yarn? I crochet it into colorful granny squares, assemble the squares into shawls, and donate them to nursing homes. The residents love their warmth and cheerfulness, and the yarn loves being free, having life and having a purpose.
Even a piece just six feet long is enough to do the center of a granny square. There?s no such thing as useless yarn, only yarn that hasn?t been given its chance to shine!
KymD wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:18 AM
With all the new yarns to choose from, and the world wide web in which to order from anytime, day or night, 800 times a day, a knitter cannot help but become a "yarn collector"! Oh, and by the way, I love how you used the lovely words "yarn collector" to describe what we all know is actually.... well, I hate to say this for fear of jarring all of us into a harsh reality and send most of us screaming to their next therapy session with the owner of their LYS, BUT, ladies , we nust face facts...this is not just "collecting"... this is...."HARDCORE ADDICTION"!!!Can I just say 3 words, HandMaiden Sea Silk! It calls to me (screams my name) so frequently during the day that I just cannot resist the URGE TO BUY MORE! Hey, my justification is that one skein gets lonely and according to my YARN PHILSOPHY, 3 SKIENS DO NOT MAKE A CROWD! One look inside my HUGE walk-in closet, that no longer is used to hang clothes in or stock shoes, (previous addiction)! I just keep hoping that my "tiny collection" will, like little rabbits,quickly regenerate itself and one day I'll wake up with Sea Silk and all of the other yarns I've "scored"...I mean "collected" so that there will be no room in my house, not filled to the brim with the HEAVENLY STUFF! There is a house for sale next door, YOU KNOW WHAT I AM THINKING, DON'T YOU!?!
BernieH wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:16 AM
I so enjoyed this post. I too am a yarn collector - what a nice way to phrase my obsession! I forwarded the post to my husband and 2 college children and they all wondered if I had written it. This has encouraged me to enjoy my collecting rather than feel guilty about it. Thank you.
GeorgiaP wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:11 AM
Yes I collect...lol. It started in a basket, moved to an eight drawer chest , then 2 chest, now it has devoured a bedroom and is working on the den..lol. I recommend opaque large containers with lids. Number the sides and keep a list of what is in which container. If hubby balks he gets a loooong talk on how certain fibers are good for some projects and not others...lol. He tunes out about the time I start talking about how wool from different breeds of sheep is for different things. You havent talked about the co-addiction to yarn collecting...internet pattern collecting. I have 3G of patterns downloaded and saved all free by the way. Why? the internet is a funny place the pattern could be here today and gone tomorrow...so I NEED to save it...lol.
IsobelW wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:09 AM
Are you sure you don't live in my basement? I was even wondering if I had written this article in my sleep. And as for purple - well - what other colour is there?

I buy for art, future possible projects, but mainly 'just because'! I'll never use up all my stash but at least my family will be able to sell it off when I'm gone - it's their inheritance!
LynneW@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 9:08 AM
I have a room full of yarns, sorted by colour. Shelves line the walls from floor to ceiling. It is all visible when I sit there and feeds my soul with colours and textures. I don't spend money on paintings or other works of art: I spend it on yarn. No guilt.

Sock yarn (I have 5 drawers full, all stacked on end so I can see the colours at a glance)is like groceries - practical. When your shelves are overfull, you need to eat, um, I mean knit some up before buying more. That's just common sense, right? ... Lynne
JenniferB@4 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 8:49 AM
FOR the love of yarn stashers everywhere. GOD bless you all. I too have yarn stashed , and have somehow passed this trait on to my 17 year old daughter, whos says "mom I need more yarn."She has just learned to crochet about a year now and has made at least 15 granny aphghans and gave them away as gifts.Yarn to us is like getting 1 more snowman or frog(we collect)YA just cant have enough.My bedroom has got at least 15 boxes of yarn plus I have a hope chest filled with various threads.My dear husband tells me"Get rid of this crapp you don't need all that,can't even move around in here."But I asure him that I will need all this beautiful yarn one day for something, then he laughs and goes about his business until he trips over the next box of my wonderful treasures of rainbows,andsoft clouds..MY YARN STASH.from amlekalo@yahoo.com
TinaL@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 8:48 AM
OMG!! You're hysterical!! I thought I was reading about my life, especially when I came to the part about the buffalo. After I wiped a tear from my eye, I remember when I mentioned to my boyfriend that THAT would make a GREAT Xmas gift, he just grunted, then slowly said,uh, no. I have a "WOOL" room, with an antique pasta drying rack on the wall "displaying" my artful yarn, with what else? Purple "MANOS" yarn, and many other handspuns I found lovely at the time but that have no matches but are just so beautiful in their singularity. Along the same wall is an auction bought old dresser that I painted sleek black then hand stenciled on the drawers, wool, alpaca, mohair and cotton and each drawer is filled with the corresponding yarn. So, no Dear Husband, your wife, Sandy is not nuts, but completely Fiber Fabulous!! With affection, Tina Lape
Kzbugg wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 8:43 AM
I enjoy your newsletter more than any other knitting one that I receive. Thanks.
About stash.....my stash....do we really have to talk about it? We live in a warm climate and my husband insists that my 'yarn' would make wonderful insulation for our house. The only thing that you and I do not agree about: I don't limit my shopping sprees to one or two skeins. I see a yarn that I like and have to have and then calculate how much I would need to make a sweater plus a skein or two. And if the yarn is discontinued then I must get all that I can. Is there any hope for me? I have had this crazy habit for over 40 years now. I have my own yarn shop (just for me) including needles of all descriptions.
Kay
SondraH wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 8:15 AM
I have found that the best way to stop purchasing yarn is to take up spinning the yarn yourself! I haven't purchased any yarn (except for sock yarn, which we all know doesn't count! and yarn from a LYS that was closing, so everything had to go!) in the past year. When you spin your own yarn you get so many choices for types of fibers and colors that you don't necessarily get in store bought yarn, or it would be cost prohibitive to purchase the same amount of yarn in some of the more exotic fibers. That doesn't mean that I don't have a lot of yarn that I have bought over the years previously, just that I now have a lot of unspun fiber and homespun yarn to go with it.
FionaMcPhersonGrant wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 8:05 AM
With me it is not just the yarn - i have shelves and shelves of knitting books and patterns too...that is my true weakness.
Last year my New Years Resolution was to knit only from my stash for a whole year..it did!!! ...and it barely made a dent!
SueB wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 7:32 AM
My stash contains some onesies and twosies, but usually I buy a sweater's worth, or a lace shawl's worth. If it is very expensive I might get enough for a tank top (singlet) versus a long sleeved sweater. It is so much fun to play in the stash when I can choose patterns and knit something.
DeborahP wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 6:50 AM
i suppose it depends on how much the yarn cost, if it is expensive then i only buy 1 or 2 and maybe 1 day i will knit it into a glorious scarf or something. but for now, just give it a little stroke and smile with the pleasure of it.
other yarns that are less expensive i do buy in 10s or 15s, i usually have a specific pattern in mind when i chose the yarn but this can change when i actually get round to knitting it.
VickiW wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 6:45 AM
Yes, I love yarn, and almost all of my yarn is wool or wool blend, because I do so love the feel of wool. I have slightly over 116 miles of yarn, according to my Ravelry stash spread sheet. Yes, even I will admit it is really too much, but here is how I have tried to justify my stash.
1. Yarn prices are going up and up. Even Knit Picks' prices have increased. In a few years, I may not be able to afford good quality yarn.
One popular indie dyer has raised her prices for 4oz sock yarn by 4.50 per skein in less than a year and a half. At no time in my life has my income increased that fast. I see the same pattern in other dyers.
2. If I am ever housebound for whatever reason, I will never lack something useful to do.
3. Since I also knit for several wool-loving charities, I will never lack recipients for my creations.
4. The touch and sight of good yarn delights the senses and comforts the soul in times of sorrow and pain.
5. Other reason which would put me over the 500 character limit.


Marilyn wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 6:31 AM
I too buy in small batches. I love blues and greens and browns. There's something wonderful about those sheep and alpacas that aren't white to begin with. Lace yarns and fingerling weights are so fun to have and to hold but I rarely make lace. I too must buy yarn in quantities specifically for a sweater; only thing is I must wait for the right time to make it so I do have a sweater's worth in my stash too. Marilyn
AnneB@3 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 5:53 AM
I bought a garbage can which I keep in the basement so I can hide my overflow of yarn.I told my husband it I put the winter blankets in it.I keep other yarn in baskets in the bedroom closets.I think I have become a yarnalochic.Someday I might get to all those projects I printed or copied from the computer and books. Anne
LynnM@4 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:14 AM
Oh dear....you have started something now! My daughters and I are new to the knitting bug (found you while looking for a simple pattern to use at the community outreach centre)and I can just see how this is going to develop! We live in South Africa so we don't get as much variety as you do, but I think there are probably some secret suppliers lurking here....
Fliss wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 2:13 AM
We've just been having a discussion on the Angel Yarns forum about the lengths stashers go to. This started when I listed all my yarns in a fit of efficiency, multiplying no of skeins by length of skein and happened to total that column. I though I was bad with 22,000+ yards - then one poster confessed to over 40 miles of stash! Then someone came in at 71 miles - breathtaking stashaskills! Fliss
JodiW@2 wrote
on Apr 24, 2008 12:48 AM
My problem is I collect both yarn and fabrics fortunately I have the space at the moment the fabric stash is 20 years old and the yarn is only 12months old. Until I went on a trip to Toronto where I got introduced teo some really cool yarns and then my LYS started to stock cool stuff I only bought yarn as needed, now I do buy on speck enough for a sweater or scarf if it's real fancy stuff that is more ornamental
MeganH wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 11:46 PM
My problem is that I am not so much a yarn collector anymore as a fleece collector, which has a whole other set of storage problems. I *used* to be a yarn collector, collected by colour, need (really perceived need), function and feel. But then I bought a spinning wheel and all my commercial yarns have been given away. Instead I have bags of unprocessed fleece that I am working my way through, and not just from sheep. Dog and alpaca have joined the fray, and I am thinking about yak, muskox and bison (Christmas suggestions to my somewhat bewildered family). And then there is the pre-dyed top from the wool shop. I *used* to have a craft room. Bit more of a wool warehouse these days. LOL.
DawnJ wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:50 PM
Yarn Collector, I like that. My collection is taking over home. Some of my "collection" is in my 19 year old son's closet ... Shhh, don't tell him he hasn't noticed yet! I justify my collection, I own it ... my husband only rents his beer for a short time!
RonneeA wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:13 PM
I have the same problem --one day when someone is ill however I always find some yarn to make a scarf etc.it helps me through the difficult times
KaylaS wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:55 PM
i have been knitting for three years. withen the first six months of learning i aquired a respectful stash (ten scans...just because) now i am nearly broke trying to purchase more yarns. its gotten to the point that i went on a yarn boycott for two months. i amnow considering getting a job (trust me, for a teenager that is a huge commitment to the craft). however, not to worry. my l.y.s. says they are willing to hire me to knit sample swatches. sound like a dream job? fo sho!
JenniferB wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:45 PM
I love to collect yarn. But since my Dh has caught on to me, when we go to Wal-marts and I say oh lets go down this aisle (knowing full well where I am going), I have began to collect my yarn from different sources on-line. Hoping when that package of wonderful soft yarn arrives,that he will be else where so I can hide it before he finds out..Eventually he does, but thank goodness he is a sweet heart about it..He just mumbles under his breath..I don't know what my wife needs with more yarn, she's got enough in there to make something for everyone in La. Btw love the article about other yarn collectors..too funny..A great read!
SandraM wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:37 PM
Wow, do I have a stash! I buy for a number of reasons - for a particular project, just because I like the yarn or the colour, and always in amounts for either a jumper, cardigan/jacket or vest. Occasionally, if there are only a few balls left of a discontinued, beautiful yarn, I will buy them and decide what to do with them later....just have to have them!!!
LauraM@3 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:36 PM
Well, it all started with just one skein of yarn, and then it grew, and grew, and grew...."the stash" has taken over my house...therefore, my wonderful husband just purchased a 35' camper trailer to move my "stash" into. Isn't he wonderful?? =) I think so too. It's a great idea for the yarn collector that just can't stop stashing. It really is an addiction. I'm just happy that all of my wonderful skeins of yarn have a new home. =) Laura in NC
LindaO@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:19 PM
I knit lace shawls and I buy yarn for many reasons. If I buy a great book like Victorian Lace, I will buy yarn to make at least 5 shawls in the book. If I see a gorgeous yarn in a yarn shop or a fiber event, I will buy the yarn hoping that I have a pattern to match. If not, I will buy a new pattern to match the yarn!
AliceM wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:03 PM
Yes! I am a collector and I alternate between feeling guilt and joy. I was so excited to read this post and feel validated! I don't have a stash -- I have a hoard, spilling out of bags, boxes, bins, more bags, baskets, etc. I visit and survey it frequently, always looking for the right combination of patter and yarn, then there's another yarn sale... I think I have visited over 26 yarn shops in the New England area and have also done mail order. There's a sheep festival this Saturday -- can't wait!
JanineW wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:51 PM
Thankyou for a title that I can relate to my stash and wear with pride, yarn collector.

Having recently moved house I was made incredibly aware of just how much yarn I have. I have the clear plastic tubs of yarn, the 4 drawer filing cabinet full of yarn, the striped bags of yarn, all located in my hobby room. In the garage, there is at least one more movers box of wishful knitting. And then, hidden away to prevent accidental discovery, is the secret "treasure trove" of Filatura and Anny Blatt. Not even the movers knew about that box. A week before moving house, while my husband was out, I delicately extricated it to my car, where it remained hidden until I could relocate into the new house without being observed. Its a small treasure trove. Just 24 skeins. And they were all on sale. I swear!

My collection started small, I would buy baby yarn. Its cheap, and quick and easy to knit, so an extra ball or two cant hurt. Isn't that how every addiction starts? just a little, no-one will notice.... hmmm

I too seek out yarn stores on any holiday, including my honeymoon in Vegas, Memphis, LA. Just one ball, just gotta get one more ball, thats all, I can make a honeymoon memory scarf, and I swear I will honey.

I have my local websites where I peruse seeking new pretty things to seek out and add to the collection. I have the US websites where I dream of yarns I can never find here. I am certain there are stores where I am watched closely due to my fondness for fondling the yarn. Instead of Yarn rehab, I have decide to seek out patterns so that I can work through my stash. While searching for patterns, its not unreasonable for me to acquire an extra ball or two is it?
AnnaM@3 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:42 PM
Holy camolly. So manyy confessions. It will take me a week to read all these submissions. I don't really like to knit that much as my Lyme arthritis makes it hard to sit long enough and there is too much time to think. But I love yarn insanely so I must do something with it. I have a huge collection of Nancy Finn/ Chasing Rainbows sock yarn, wool/ silk yarn, spinning batts, etc. I have many projects started which I wasn't brave enough to confess to back then. I spin and I LOVE making fabulous battr of mixes of angora/ cashmere/ silk etc. and dyeing them. I can usually remember what I pllnned to make with yarn and locate the pattern and often complete projects within 5 years. My house looks like Abby Franquemont's. What did she call herself? A yarn Evangelist. I don't know if it saves my life or ruins it and I need an intervention. My dear husband is tolerant and a dedicated enabler.Sometimes I just think of them as my pets and stoke them and admire them, particularly the silk when I get depressed. One thing for sure- I can't quit! Anna McCarthy
CarolinaR wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:40 PM
Thank you! I am so happy that so many share the need to stash yarn. Oh lovely yarn in boxes, bags, baskets, mostly hidden from view for fear of what others may think. Often, when I am alone, I pull it all out, organize sometimes by color others by fiber and plan for their future. However, if I do want to embark on a specific project, of course I need to buy more yarn. Thankfully, my yarn shop is over an hour away! Thanks for helping ease my guilt - it is wonderful to know that I am not alone. Carolina in Arizona
BettyW@3 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:32 PM
I find I like kits, with pattern and wool combined. Love the item at the time and buy the kit and put it away. Always sure I am going to get to it next, after I've finished the project I am on. But find my kits are mounting up, and as the warmer weather is here those kits will still be there for the cooler days.
LesleyP wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:56 PM
I too have a garaage full of yarn. It starts with a pattern for which I do not have the right color or weight or texture of yarn already. So, I go looking and buy in excess. I also have a stash of yarn with pattern which I have ordered over the internet. I could make at least 200 afghans with what I have already and I have yet to complete the original pattern for which I got the yarn. Lesley P 4/23/2008
Jayess58 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:51 PM
Boy, could I relate!!! I always buy 1 or 2 skeins, never a bunch (on the theory that I would never finish a whole sweater, so why buy a huge amount of yarn for a sweater). You may think this sounds really practical, but I have bought yarn for really strange reasons like the name of the yarn is my grandmother's name (who has recently passed away) or because it's buy one get one for half-price. But it's usually because it feels REALLY soft. I knew an elderly woman who was blind and couldn't do needlework anymore, but kept a skein or two by her chair to just sit and fondle. Sounds great to me!!! I'm glad I'm not the only yarn stasher!!! (but can't explain to my husband)
Jayess58 - Seattle
CarolM@4 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:09 PM
You know, it never occurred to me to call it a collection. You're a genius! Thank you:) I've always directed my husband's attention to how much yarn others have~deflects attention away from mine.
NancyB wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:03 PM
Oh, yes, I forgot to mention my predominant color - green. Sage, forest, solid, heathered, tweed, it matters not. I walk into the yarn shop and am drawn to any display featuring something green.
NancyB wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:59 PM
I am a collector, too. Oh my goodness - I learned I was not alone reading one of the Yarn Harlot books, but I never realized how NOT alone! I buy sweaters' worth, though. I was in Ireland a couple of years ago and bought beautiful forest green aran wool. I love to knit aran sweaters more than any other thing in the world. But, here I am with this wonderful yarn, thinking that I must find THE PERFECT THING to do with it, so it is in the closet with the rest of the "collection". (I do protect it from moths, at least!) I often tell myself that I can buy no more yarn til I knit at least some of the yarn in the closet, but then some pattern comes along, and I find just the perfect yarn, so all my good intentions go right down the drain. I am currently knitting the sweetest baby girl sweater in bamboo. It's so silky!

I have bought myself a couple of those hanging shoe storage things for the yarn closet - each space is about the right size for an adult sweater's worth of yarn!

I also confess to collecting needles - well some, anyway. I have bought myself several pairs of hand carved square needles. At least they are different sizes. I am thinking that I should get some square double pointed ones, too, for socks! But I have argued back and forth about it because I just learned how to make both socks at once on circular needles...
Beth@6 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:52 PM
I but sock yarn in a rate of about 3-5 pairs worth for every pair I finish. But I also have several garments worth and a ton of singles and small quantities. I tend to just buy what I like and figure out projects later. It's definitely a collection though as it's taken over several bookcases and a good portion of my guest room.
MaroH wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:51 PM
I don't have much of a stash. I've got a few balls that I don't know what to do with, all of which were given to me. Otherwise, I usually buy just for a project. There are definitely some gorgeous yarns out there that I would love. But, I really need a project to go with the yarn. My worry ? what if I buy some yarn that I love and don't have a project for it. Then I find a project, perfect for the yarn, but not enough of the yarn! That is just devastating to me. So, I don't buy the yarn. Hopefully I can find a pattern first...
SheriDH wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:39 PM
Yes, I'm a yarn collector - much as I am a fabricaholic.

I've convinced myself that I only need a skein and can always make a scarf!
reed10 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:32 PM
My stash is not terribly big yet.... I tend to obsess on whatever I'm doing. Hence, my fabric stash is huge and I fully expect my yarn stash to get there too... Of course, I justify it by calling it my "Retirement Fund".
DeborahS@3 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:13 PM
I buy yarn when I find pretty colors (mostly in the blue family, although I do try to branch out to other colors), and I generally buy enough for a shawl - somewhere in the 1000-1200 yards, depending on the weight. I am also addicted to sock yarn. I have a cabinet with glass doors so I can admire and drool over my stash (although there is too much sock yarn to fit there, so that is in a drawer!
Naomi Handelman wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:09 PM
I have a small internet business making skull caps and have branched out to scarves, hats and baby clothes and toys.I buy yarn at garage and estate sales so there are always odd amounts and partial skeins. Then I try to figure out how to use them up. Sock yarn is great for yarmulkahs but also for baby sweaters and stuffed toys. I also make wine charms and book marks from fun yarns. I designed a baby proof necklace made from metallic yarn that slips over the head, has no dangerous beads, can't be broken and is quite attractive. My grand daughter loves hers but haven't sold many yet but people always say, What a great, cute idea!
carolinka wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 5:39 PM
I have lived overseas for the last five years, and started knitting three years ago. I travel a LOT, and I tend to seek out yarn shops when I travel. I feel bad visiting a shop and not buying anything, so I've started to pick up sock yarn, locally made yarns, specially dyed yarns, or yarn for a specific project (which I then forget I bought and can't figure out what I wanted to use it for when I find it again). I think I have enough sock yarn to have a different pair to wear every day for at least a month (and that's not counting the dozen or more pairs I already own). Then, when shopping here, I feel yarn and buy it....or see a new type of Noro and buy it (I live in Japan)....or find a new project and buy yarn for it....I also discovered a great sock yarn on Etsy, and bought five skeins in the last month.
I'm moving this June, and my shipment left. I had a HUGE trunk full of yarn, and at least two more boxes. I have enough left to fill half a big suitcase (just in case I ran out of projects, I kept a lot of yarn). Yes, I have a problem....and I'm moving to Cairo!
CatherineM@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 5:36 PM
OHMYGOD! I think I've found my long lost twin! :)
DeloresN wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 5:34 PM
Had to check my stash for predominate colors...green, purple, burgandy-ishes; but some of everything. I try to buy with at least some kind of project in mind. Sweater amounts are hard to predict, though...in my adult life I've gone from a size 5 to a 16 to a 10 to a 2x and am currently an 18 and hoping to lose some more. Sale bins and bargains carch me...my onesies and twosies are usually from there, except for sock yarn. I only wear my own handknit socks now! My husband keeps me busy making gifts for coworkers and our friends...haven't made anything for myself this year. (Oops..there was an afgan the cats LOVED so I kept it and made another for the intended recipient.)
SusanG wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 5:23 PM
Problem is, I've never met a yarn I didn't like! My significant other thinks I'm nuts so when yarn arrives in the mail, I hide it. There's the rub! I hide it, then forget it, then find it, then I've forgotten what I project I ordered it for, then I have to search in my myriads of knitting magazines for the right pattern with the right gauge. So while I'm searching for the perfect pattern for the yarn I just found, I find other things that I just have to knit. So the cycle begins again! Perhaps I've solved the problem by keeping a note book listing who I called, what I ordered and for what project in what magazine. Then I have to be really careful not to put the magazine back in the pile. So it goes - on and on and on. But it could be worse - someone please tell me how!!!

Susan G.
RoxannG wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 5:08 PM
I'm a stash collecter also...I have anywhere from one to ten skeins of each color depending on the sale if some was really cheap i will buy all of it..then other days i just buy one skein at a time. When I want to make a sweater or an afghan i have to go buy more as i don't ever have the color i want and husband lets me do it and all he will say is I know you will use it go ahead and get it.
Roxann from Nebraska
LethaD wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 4:52 PM
O, yarn, yarn, glorious yarn! I, too, fall in love with the skein and buy "just a couple," because I can afford "just a couple." Now, years later, what can I make? Sometimes these treasures are used, but most often, not. Sigh. You won't be surprised to know I also have a fabric addiction. Similar problem. And, guess what? My family simply does NOT understand me! Thanks for all the empathy out there. Happy textures to you!
BettyH wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 4:26 PM
I have a love affair with sock yarns so I always buy enough for a pair. So I have a plan but it is a matter of getting to it because I keep buying more. I have a pair of socks in the works at all times.
HeatherS@6 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 4:22 PM
When I find a good yarn on sale, I buy a bunch. Then I stick it on a shelf for when I find the right pattern, or am in the mood to knit something new. I have 2 bookshelves full of yarn waiting to be knit, or crocheted. When I'm ready for a new project, I look at what yarns I have, then scour my patterns till I find a match that I like.
LaurieP@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 4:20 PM
My method of choosing yarn...
"OOHHH! Pretty colors. Soft! I WANT IT!". Then I buy 1 so it can be adored. I can always make socks, right? Or, I buy 10 because that's what I need for a sweater...with no particular sweater in mind. Then it gets its own section in the stash room. More adoring and fondling occurs.- Laurie
Anonymous wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 3:47 PM
I LOVE yarn, all the textures it comes in and all the sizes. I learned the hard way to buy at least three skeins of any yarn I fall in love with. I have gotten control over the buy, buy, buy urge. Lucky for me my favorite shop has all these bargin yarns... three of those, three of these, oh, look they have eight skiens of superwash! Yes, yes, it is a golden yellow, I'll find a pattern, or maybe boot sox...
Karen
IsabeauM wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 2:23 PM
I am a sock knitter, therefore my stash consists of little leftovers. I am a one or 2 ball person and you would be amazed what one can do with so little. The other day I scared my local shop owner by buying 8 balls. The special sweater required 10, but it was on sale and who can pass up a sale? She kept asking "are you sure?", I kept saying yes, yes, yes. You see it was lavender w/little specks of color and would go with anything. I also have a 30 something daughter and daughter-in-law, bet you can't guess their favorite color! I am a toucher too, but only natures best. No plastic! Recycled or otherwise. Tell your husband to get over it,mine did. In fact he became a knitter so he could understand, and never says a word about my yarn investments, just smiles or asks if I can make him another pair of socks. He must have twenty pair. I like to ask the men how many tools they have in the garage, and if they collect just for the sake of it. The usual response if "POINT WELL TAKEN" Isabeau, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho mittandracos@gmail.com
LindaP@10 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 2:19 PM
I thought I was alone with my stash! I buy the unusual, the special, the pretty too. I like to buy variegated/self striping yarn because I like how it looks in the skein. But I usually don't make anything with it because I almost never like how it crochet/swatches up. I buy what jumps out of the bin and into my basket because "we must go home with you!"
Linda P
GloriaG wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 2:05 PM
I'm just learning to knit...love doing dish cloths. Now I am trying the Knitting Needle Knitting Bag and I'm confused about the (k1, p1, k1) in next st...where can I find a video/directions as to how to do this
messim@parl.gc.ca wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 1:42 PM
I make sure I buy enough to complete whatever project I have in mind. My problem? I will invariably have something else in mind by the time I get around to knitting the latest acquisition. As a result I may, or may not, have purchased enough. Other than buying ten balls of each and every yummy yarn I come across, how does one solve this dilemma?
PhyllisD wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 1:27 PM
Usually the yarn that draws my is stunning, rare and expensive. I tend to buy single skeins, but I always believe I will find a use for them someday. However, when I do figure out a creative use, I always need to buy more yarn to carry out my idea. Also the words "on sale" and "discontinued" seem to have a fatal attraction for me, leading me to buy whatever amnount is left--almoist never enough for a whole sweater.
LoisW wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 1:23 PM
It is so nice to know I am not crazy. I started knitting just this past year--due to an illness I had attack of shigles. Knitting helped me so much with the pain. Like the rest of you I have a "small" stash of pretty yarn grape,blue,pink of course not enought for a sweater for a person maybe something for my cat? What do you all think orange cat in a grape sweater? They all look so pretty so soft an maybe I will think of something to make of them...... Lois|23 April 2008
shereenstuff wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 1:18 PM
Oh yes I'm a collector as well, and can sometimes be caught just standing near my yarn stash rubbing a single skien of something lovely aganst my cheek, knowing I will probably never wear it aganst my skin because there is not enough of it. I do try to vindicate my single skien purchases with the occasional headband or purse or mittens. But realy, I buy it because I want it, I want to look at it and touch it , plain and simple!
KimL wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 1:08 PM
Sandi-
You are not alone.. My husband asks why i want to buy a certain skein of yarn..my reply, because it is soft and pretty. I hope one of my kids pick up knitting or when I die, he won't know what to do with my yarn.
Kim, Denver
KatarinaH wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 1:05 PM
I'm a yarn collector, indeed! I not only buy enough yarn for any thinkable XXXL project, I buy more of it. Because, well ... because my knitting friend might like it too. Or the project might be XXXXXXL and I don't want to run short of yarn... But there are some extremely beautiful and expensive yarns which I can't afford to buy more than one skein. Just to admire and touch and fondle it once in a while, time and again. I own a huge (!) stash of yarns of any kind, after all. And I'm knitting a lot, too. I just love buying (and spinning) yarn ;-)
KayW wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 1:04 PM
Yes, I will admit to being a yarn collector. I always buy enough for a project. The project could be socks or a sweater. I usually buy the pattern too if I find a sweater I love then both go in the basket. There is a reason I am one of the top customers in at least 3 yarn shops and one of them is about 1300 miles away!
Janice MW wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 12:59 PM
I have a closet built especially for my yarn stash. It was on the house plans as a storage closet in the garage, but I had it put inot the wall of the 3rd betroom I use as an office instead. In it are plastic tubs full of yarn on the floor and two shelves.The yarn is sorted by type,I.e. fingering, worsted, silk, cotton, etc. It is stuffed so I can make small items whenever I want, but have a few with enough for a sweater.I am on a self no purchase mode for now!
FLORENCEF wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 12:53 PM
I usually buy for a project. I think knitting sox is great because you can plan a finished object without investing in a trunkload of yarn.
Cindisue wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 12:51 PM
I mostly buy yarn for projects, but there is the occassional yarn I can't avoid. However, I do buy enough of it to do something with. I can't afford not to :) Cindi Perron
ElizabethH. wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 12:18 PM
I buy mostly fingering and sport weight yarn, in 2's, 3's, or 4's. I keep telling myself it's enough for a shawl! I also have enough sock yarn to knit my entire house a sock!
KarenC@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 12:04 PM
I'm a beginning knitter, so I mainly buy for projects. I have started accumulating a little bit of yarn because I sometimes bought yarn that wasn't quite right for a project and then bought something else instead. I have recently started buying yarn for "future projects" which probably will account for my "stash" in a few years. But I put the pattern I was thinking of with the yarn in a zip-lock baggie or see-through container, so that I'll remember what I thought I would use it for...I guess I can always change that if the yarn will work for something else too! I think my husband would disown me if I really accumulated more yarn just because it was pretty (but I secretly wish I could)!
NancyS@7 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 11:54 AM
I am a yarn collector, which the purpose of knitting small projects most of the time, but like you I like purple (orchid). I bought some yarn recently and want to knit a simple v-neck vest for myself. Of course, one of the purple shading. Also, like to use yarn in needlework on canvas, esp. pillows. My older yarns I have been knitting a sweater for my man. The shade is not available now, but thought to get enough for the project at that time. Going out of business sale. I am a bargain hunter, too.
Anonymous wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 11:38 AM
I commented on April 21 and here it is the 23rd and I just read all the comments! Thanks to this post I see I'm not alone and it feels wonderful that there are hundreds of ladies out there who are just like me! Thank you Sandi for letting us all know that knitters are the same!
TheresaH wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 11:37 AM
Thank you GOD!!! I have found a home!!! There are others like me....Just like me!!!
BethJ wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 11:11 AM
I'm with you, Sandi--yarns just call out to me. I love their colors and the feel. I usually buy 3 skeins, and then use my 1- or 2-skein books or accessory books to find a use for these little gems. . . or at least that is the plan. At least it is a harmless addiction. - Beth Jinkerson, Oak Ridge TN
JulieD wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:57 AM
I have worked in a yarn shop for a year now and have not seen a check yet! I do both I buy some yarn with a project in mind but sometime you just have to pick up those that maybe someday you will find the perfect project for. I'm up to about eight boxes full and still buying.
NicolaD wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:52 AM
I knitted a pair of socks from all of my leftover multicoloured bits and they are actually really cool! Various textures and colours but because they fit around the foot they stretch and fit properly without shrinking or spreading too much in other places. I gave them to my hippie funky cousin for a birthday present and she loves to slide around the house in them!
SandraG wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:45 AM
I am totally additicted. I'll buy 18 skeins, then hope I can find a pattern to use it with. Thank goodness for socks - you can buy 2 skeins and know you'll have enough if the lucky day ever comes to use it
SharonS@8 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:43 AM
When my daughters were growing up and wanted me to sew them original clothing, I learned the joy of choosing the pattern first and then designing by purchasing interesting fabrics. So now, as a chronic knitter, I always have a pattern for each sack of lovely, stashed yarn. Excepted for sock yarn, of course. This also makes it easier to choose a project for special people.
Grandma Honey; soon to be 75!
DebbieB@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:38 AM
I have been reading the comments by other yarn collectors, and I must say I'm a bit confused! I had no idea that one was supposed to have a project in mind to buy yarn. My craft room looks like a yarn shop. A skein here, 2 skeins there, fuzzy yarn, bumpy yarn, sparkly yarn. I have tons of patterns, both in book form and downloaded from free pattern sites. When I find a pattern I 'must' make, I look for any yarns that will 'go' together from my stash and knit away.
I love to buy yarn and I love to knit, but I will never buy enough yarn to complete an entire project. It is soooo much more fun combining yarns into unique items!
PhyllisC wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:36 AM
If the yarn is on sale, I usually buy a LOT of it -- at least enough to make an afghan. I also have several skeins of speciality yarns that I thought were just "pretty" or unusual and had to have them.
PhylisSBB wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:34 AM
I'm always looking for yarn sales. I am a collector but I do purchase enough to make a sweater, afgan, shawl or other project that the yarn suggests to me. When I built my house several years ago, I included a yarn closet. Now, when my daughter moves out on May 1st to her new apartment, I'm taking over her closets for my yarn collection.
AnnH wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:29 AM
Yarn or art? Does it matter? With a stash like yours, if you have an attack of guilt or run out of room you can always knit up a hat, scarf, or a pair of socks and call it gauge researcj. You can give it away--repurpose, recycle, reuse. Be grateful that you are not the sort of stash builder who buys whole projects that now languish. Maybe collecting skeins of yarn is like raking leaves in the fall--when the pile gets big enough you can just throw yourself on it and be blissfully happy.
DonnaS@7 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:27 AM
I must admit that I am a yarn collector. I buy yarns in quantities of 4-6 skeins with the intention of finding the perfect pattern. Most of the colors, blends, and types of yarn (all put together) would have someone believe I was either color blind or on drugs (lol) when I decided to mix and mingle yarns. I know we have all seen those patterns for "scrap yarns" yeah, uhhh... I guess the yarns used would have to be reasonably the same, I mean, weight, colors ideally contrasting and/or similar, I have discovered even with these patterns I would be considered color blind or drugged. So I am a collecter or yarn, and well honestly, I don't see this stopping any time soon... who knows maybe someday when I am old and the yarn has consumed a room in the house I will have "gathered" enough of this or that to finally make something. (lol).

Donna Smith
Buffalo, NY
DideS wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:27 AM
I would say that I buy and stash lots of purply/pink yarn for jumpers for me. If another colour catches my eye but I know I would look dreadful in it, I buy a skein just to remind me of the shop or destination I was at. So a box of pink/purple and a box of orange/red!
bluerose29 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:25 AM
When I read your story I HAD to get my husband to read it! It was like he was reading about me and it "justified" my stash! :-) I have 8 bins - just the same situation and colors you have as I'm not so drawn to "plain" yarns or "reds and yellows". Now he knows there are more of us out there - yarnaholics!
MauraT wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:17 AM
Not only do I have the habit but I, ashamedly, encouraged my daughter to become a co-dependant. How could I possibly know that teaching her to knit would lead her down the same road of addiction? When we pass a yarn shop we make the usual pact that we are going in just to pet the yarn - we will not take one tiny skein, hank or ball home with us. Yeah - right.
KariG wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:14 AM
I too have recently assessed my stash and have realized I have an addiction. I collect mainly greens, buy enough for a sweater but never find the pattern that is worthy of the yarn. It's all so silly. I recently started to blog about it, if you want to see how I'm doing with managing my addiction.
http://crookedgoose.typepad.com/
KimT@3 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:03 AM
I am definatley a collector. With many an odd-ball hanging around.
NancyA@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:02 AM
I am nototious yarn collector. All of my non-knitting friends drop their jaws when they see or hear about my stash. I will admit, if I find a good deal I'll buy a whole bag - but I rarely actually use it to make anything. I can't pass over a new kind of yarn (I recently bought 7 skeins of Banana Silk yarn - but in 3 colors) I have loads of alpaca, a couple bags of tweed. And massive amounts of singles and severals. I have only recently started buying specifically make stuff - a bag of bamboo for a skirt and one of cotton for a halter. I didn't need that much, but who's questioning?
ElizabethM@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 10:00 AM
I, too, am a yarn collector and I seem to buy just as you described -- a skein or two or three at a time, with no real plan. But my yarns give me so much pleasure just looking at them or touching them that I really don't feel guilty about the quantity I have acquired. I also have a notebook in which I have recorded every single skein or ball of yarn I own. Just reading through that is a great evening's entertainment for me (I know, weird, huh?) Ooh, I love yarn!
EmilyW wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:53 AM
I try to only buy yarn specifically for a project - whether I actually get to that project is another thing! I only let myself buy sock yarn or laceweight without a project in mind: sock yarn because you always know about how much you need for a pair of socks, and laceweight because it's just so pretty!
Carol M. Mazurkiewicz wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:31 AM
Along with being a knitting book collector, I also collect yarn. After all, what good would the books be? My stash is quite extensive and I justify it's existence to anyone who is aware of it by proudly saying that it was all paid for in cash - like that's okay because I didn't go into debt just to increase it. I ALSO don't buy enough yarn to make a sweater or anything useful for myself. I prefer the exotic type of yarn - like bamboo, corn, soy etc... Just one touch and I'm hooked! These are often very pricey and I cannot afford to buy enough to make a sweater (I wear an XL which usually requires more than a full bag), so I buy as much as I can afford. This is often only sufficient for a baby or childs sweater and that is how I justify my purchase. The funny thing is, I don't have a baby or child - nor do I have any nieces or nephews - or grandchildren - I don't even KNOW any babies or children! Until I do, I'll have to be happy with touching and looking at my stash (just in case it spontaniously grows)!

Carol Mazurkiewicz
DanaC wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:30 AM
I buy yarn for projects that I will do "as soon as I get time" Unfortunately I have many more projects than I have time, and when I do start pulling from my stash I inevitably discover that I have either too much or too little of the yarn to do whatever I had planned. This last winter my husband bought me a wooden glass-front cabinet to keep my yarn in and told me that I am only allowed the amount of yarn that fits in the cabinet-if it won't fit, I don't need it!
KristiI wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:26 AM
I buy yarn in project quantities, but then never get the projects started. I do the same with fabric (5 yards at a time). This winter I exchanged my master bedroom for my craft room, because the master was larger, and I didn't have room for all my yarn in the craft room. Now I have a bigger craft room, but still don't have room for everything (I also sew, spin, paint, make soap and candles), but my commitment for the next year is to complete lots of small projects to sell at the church bazaar so I can clean out my bins!
JennG wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:25 AM
I recently did a Stash Audit (much nicer than the IRS kind) and discovered I had way over 50 onesies and twosies, but only enough matching yarn to make one sweater. I still have 2 lovely skeins I bought at my first trip to a Flock & Fiber Festival 8 years ago--but what can I possibly make out of 2 skeins of hand-spun, hand-dyed, jewel-toned variegated boucle sport-weight merino that would live up to how beautiful the yarn looks right now? A dilemma for sure.
Jenn
LizK wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:08 AM
Sounds like we need to start a chapter of Yarn Addicts Anonymous - I even have a few skeins that are older than the kids (who now have kids of their own) and survived all of our military moves. Sometimes a particular skein speaks to me artistically and I just have to have it - does that mean I'm hearing voices or is that just the muse that inspires all of us?
KimM@4 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 9:05 AM
I kind of do all of the above when it comes to buying/collecting yarn. If I see a yarn I love, I then go searching for a pattern to use it on. Then I have large stashes of yarn in plastic bags stacked all over our bedroom. My husband has yet to say anything as I'm a new knitter (at it about a year) so I don't have such a large collection . . . yet. And the reason I feel the need to buy enough yarn for a project is that I have crocheted forever and always hated it when I didn't have enough for the project I was working on. But buying enough yarn can also get expense! :) Kim
CherylR@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:57 AM
You are not alone. My stash is mostly purple. If not purple, it's shades of purple! And I buy in onesies and twosies as well, leaving me staring at my stash with "nothing" to make!
JaniceW@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:52 AM
I don't feel too bad about having left over yarn, but my mom wishes I would stash them out in the garage or something like that. I have big red ball of chenille that I only used once! I have some small balls that are verigated (spelling) that I can' decide what to do with them. Maybe I will make a patch work afgan. Except what will I do with the not so soft yarn? Any suggestions?
Anonymous wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:43 AM
I collect yarn simply because I like it. It's rare that I buy yarn just for a project - usually I buy yarn then try to find a project that fits.
PattyK wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:18 AM
WOW! I can't believe the number of people with SERIOUS STASHES!
I now have two rooms worth-probably more than some shops!
Here's how it happened!
I used to own a yarn shop - first problem... I can never resist something unusual, delicate - as in size 2 or smaller needles, with a wonderful hand great color etc, etc, etc - second problem. Then I would order it for my customers in multiple colors and then an extra bag for myself to add to my stash in my favorite colorway - keep in mind that I was working full time as a teacher - third problem, in addition to running the shop, and the yarn I was stashing would take 100+ hours to knit up - fourth problem.
Now repeat this proccess about 150 times, browse other yarn shops and always purchase a garment's worth (because I wanted to support my fellow shop owners, where ever I may find them).
It will take me several life times to knit up what I have, but some things are just too beautiful to pass up! Over the years I have made thousands (literally)of garments and still knit furiously, but I will never get through all this stuff. It is truly an addiction!
JeanneS@4 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:11 AM
I have bins of yarn that will never be used, but my solution has been to used CLEAR bins. Stacked in the corner of the family room, they provide an unusual work of art that I can view from the sofa when I'm knitting on the usable yarn. If I fall in love with something I buy it - my colors are yellows, oranges and pinks, primarily. Other people collect art, or teapots or whatever. I collect yarn.
AmyN wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:08 AM
I get a little rush when I see a yarn that I love, practically hyperventilate when it's on a discount website and experience a kind of euphoric feeling when I hit the submit button on the order page. Rarely do I know what I will do with it, I have some ideas, but can never be sure. My stash rivals any large yarn shop in my area.
ColleenW wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:04 AM
I also admit to being a yarn collector. I have only been knitting for a year and a half but already I have amassed a collection of yarn that makes me blush. I have a similar addition to quilting fabric. Why? Well, I'm sure a psychiatrist could find the answers but my answer is, because it is there.
Colleen
GwenW wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 8:03 AM
I just counted and I have 6 clear containers, 26"L X 16"W X 13"D full of yarn and many more drawers and boxes full. I tend to by 10-20 skeins at a time. I worry that I will not have enough to complete a project so I always buy more that I think I will need. My granddaughter wanted a purple sweater for her birthday and when I realized there was no purple yarn to be found in my stash, shopping I went. I purchased 3 different yarns, 20 balls each, all in shades of purple. It only took 4 balls for her sweater. If my husband had any idea how much money I've spent on yarn...
CeliaC wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:56 AM
Once in awhile I just buy twosies and comfort myself with the thought they'll be nice for an accent... but usually I buy enough for a sweater. I carry around the required yardage for a couple favorite patterns in my purse, just in case I happen on the perfect yarn...
MarieR@4 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:53 AM
I have a problem, too. I am addicted both to yarn and fabric for my quilts. But the good part is that I am a small things creator--baby hats, baby quilts, etc. So when I buy, it's the one skein/half-yard purchase for the most part. Help, too, that I am a scrappy type who mixes lots of colors in my projects. Of course, if something larger presents presents itself (just got a commission for a queen-size bed quilt!), then I dig deeper in the pocket to purchase what I need. I feel lucky and blessed to be part of creative communities. Keep those needles clicking!
PhyllisZ wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:36 AM
I try to buy yarn only for specific projects. But...yarn sales or just the FEEL of something really soft and luscious! Well, so much for resolutions!
DaughertyB wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:36 AM
I thought everyone purchased yarn that they loved without a purpose in mind.I love colors but not ever sure what the right mix ought to be.So it goes !! Bea
Knitaholictoo wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:10 AM
Ok, I am attracted to the color first, then the hand. Strokability is key! If it isn't scratchy then I look at price. Then there are the 50% OFF sales. It's official after only learning to knit 5 yrs ago, I'm a self proclaimed yarn Ho and my stash is insane!
Deborah annH wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:10 AM
yep can,t see a good deal without picking it up and of course anything purple i have my own yarn store my hubby says. debbie
Sunshine@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:09 AM
Unfortunately, I can only afford to buy what I need for a specific project.
AlyseS wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 7:07 AM
I think you just described me to a "T". I am also trying to buy that bargain. Not sacrificing quality, just finding that sale, at festivals and expos that will give me more for my money. Since I end up buying in the same color family often, I try and manipulate patterns around it. For example, a solid, cabled cardigan will now have haphazard stripes. I am always looking for that pattern or book that has patterns with many different yarns for one sweater.

I need better organization so I know how many yards of a specific yarn I have. I just joined ravelry, maybe that will help.
NadineR wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:55 AM
Yes I love to try new yarns and don't want more than 1 or 2 skeinsat a time.I love SOFT yarns. I have a great way to try out new ones. A skein will almost always make a cap. So I can make a cap then it goes to chemo patients. I am doing a good deed while feeding my addition!
Sue.hunter14 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 6:36 AM
Sandi,
Are you my clone or am I yours? Perhaps we're just yarn soul-mates.
Sue H
PriscillaA wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 5:44 AM
Like you need another story! I buy yarn by the single skein/ball to make scarves. As long as there is about 80 to 100 yards--makes a long skinny scarf for our California weather. More looks than warmth needed. I pick textures first then seasonal colors. I've even been known to use up to 4 different types of textures at one time in the scarves. And yes, buffalo is addictive! I just wish I could afford some of that musk ox fiber! Yum!
Priscilla from Hermosa Beach, CA
ElizabethS@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 5:35 AM
I occasionally will buy a skein or two of something I really love but cannot afford enough to actually do anything. I tend to think of these as pets. Since there are no yarn stores within 100 miles, this is not something I can do often. On another note, I have begun my "knitting diet", based on the premise if both hands are occupied with yarn and needles, I cannot be eating unnecessary junk food.
AllisonD wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 3:47 AM
Sandi,

It's like you looked into my heart and mind and wrote my story. I thought I was the only one. And my husband can tell your husband, he is not alone!

I am almost complelled to by the unusual, the beautiful, the touchable yarn. I buy one or two skeins, hoping I will someday find a use. I take skeins with me on trips thinking I will make a little something, what, I don't know.

And then there are the real splurges. Sometimes I go and spend tons on one type of wool I really love, and pretend I have my own wool shop.... in my storage unit. (If you have the addiction you may want to stay away from the Touch Wool Gallery in New Zealand. I almost went bankrupt there!)

So no, Sandi, you are not alone. We may be crazy, but we're not alone.

Allison
Traveller, working in Australia
Knittingcapricorn wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 2:21 AM
I'm somewhat of a yarn collector - lots of single balls of unnatural beauty! But since I also love to cruise the sales at my favorite LYS and snap up large amounts of yarn (all the skeins in the same color or quality or complementing colors, etc.), I have plenty of yarn for many different projects. My problem is that I don't always have a project in mind and buy the yarn regardless, since it might come in handy at a future time. This has actually proven to be a pretty good system and I don't care to change it, except maybe buy more balls of the "collector" yarn.
MaryW@9 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 1:35 AM
I can't believe how many responded to your call! I too have a collection and at 77+ I know there is no hope that I'll get it all worked up but - I have 5 afphghans on needles, 3 prayer shawls, 1 pr socks, EZ's baby jacket but on larger needles etc, etc, etc. Isn't it a fun way to spend money? I have never traveled nor do I go out nights, rarely eat out etc. Why not spend it on lovely yarn and yarn books? Mary A Walters, Wa. State
SuzanneH@2 wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 12:50 AM
Sandi: I have 36 alpacas. I shear them myself, and I have a very hard time deciding what to sell and what to spin. My addiction also includes any commercial yarns that have an abundance of texture. Especially blue, anything blue. Do they make blue alpacas?
Suzanne H.
MarieR wrote
on Apr 23, 2008 12:42 AM
Ok, so I read some of these comments and my oh my am I glad I'm not the only one. So, my stash starts with being deployed to Iraq and me deciding that I had all this extra time so I would knit. I think the postman must have thought I was crazy. I purchased at least 25 projects worth of yarn, not including everything I decided I would send for later. I still have most of it and it grows by leaps and bounds. I'm a funny yarn buyer, I usually wind up 2 or 3 skeins short. But, I promise I'm getting better! :)
TraceeT wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 11:31 PM
I usually buy enough yarn for a sweater, or other project I have in mind, then I buy a skein or two extra just in case I choose a project that uses a lot of yarn. Then I make or atempt to make my intended project, or something else entirely and end up with a skein or two left over. Last year I tried to choose Christmas gifts to knit that would use up some of my stash yarn, it sort of worked. I ended up buying more of the same yarn to finish my projects and in the end, I think I ended with more stash yarn than I started with.
SusanF@6 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 11:13 PM
As a new subscriber to this list I was amazed to see there are a a jillion folks just like me. Yarns, lovely yarns in blues, teals, purples, lilacs. single skeins or bits and pieces to use in jewelry or mixed media, sometimes enough to make a sweater (one in the works just now), silk sliver or carded fleece to spin and dye, yarn to weave, yarn to just stare at. Yep, we're all addicted, I guess.
Sweetmom wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:57 PM
I am just like you, I call myself "a yarnoholic"!
RubyS wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:52 PM
I share your pain! How about coming up with some patterns for using up our beloved stash? I regularly donate lots of yarn to my local Senior Center but it never seems to make a dent in my stash.. I just buy more.
Ms_crystalmath wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:47 PM
I acquire my yarn in a very atypical way: from all my friends who have attempted to knit or crochet in the past and decided to give up and give ME their materials!
Ms_crystalmath wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:39 PM
My "yarn acquisition habits" are rather atypical. I get my yarn from all my friends who have attempted knitting or crocheting in the past and unfortunately quit. This just means more yarn for me!
EricaS wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:38 PM
I buy yarn because it makes my spirit smile. I usually buy for a specific project, however, leftovers usually get saved. Then when I find 2 or 3 that are great together, I look for a filler yarn and work them together in a sweater or vest, somewhat like a patchwork quilt.
LyndaM wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:36 PM
I have bins full of yarn. I too collect as much yarn as I can ,hoping someday I will find a pattern to use it for. so you are not the only one who does this. I have been doing this for 20 years.
Elisabeth matthews wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:26 PM
I have been put on restriction this year for having too much yarn. Is that even possible? Too much? I don't see it. It was all bought with good intention and projects planned...yet somehow they all got away from me (I blame my kids...and the dog. And the laundry too.) I have resolved (been forced)not to walk into another yarn store until I have eliminated one of the 8 file boxes full of yarn....sigh...and I already gave a box away!
DebiB wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:22 PM
I think you must be my twin sister that was separated from me at birth ;c) !!
ValerieS wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:15 PM
I love stash. It's one of the things that can cheer me up on a dark wintry day. Way too much of my stash, however, is in single skeins...of just about everything. I find a new novelty yarn, a new color way, a new fiber blend, and I just have to have one ball. Just to pet, and look at, and dream about. I do a lot more dreaming than knitting, I think. So I have knit a lot of scarves and other oddments the last few years that play with the textures and the colors, and I'm trying to focus on building a stash that has several garments' worth of yummy yarn in one yarn style/color/weight only so I can actually make a garment some day.
JulieS@2 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 10:14 PM
I have a thing for the color way of indigo blue/purple and lime green. I will buy it in large and small amounts, in any type of fiber. I don't know why... I just love it. I have yet to knit a thing out of any of my purchases. I did one time use about a foot and a half of wool in the beautiful color combo to needle felt a purse. It turned out fantastic! I am not sure why I have not ventured further into my stash.

My other obsession is with the sock yarn, and I know I am not alone! My sock yarn stash leans toward the reds, sometimes blue. I ALWAYS have socks on needles, usually not from my stash. What is the deal with that?! I think I may have a problem...
SueM@3 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:49 PM
Where did you find that yarn?? The one in your post? IT'S BEAUTIFUL!
SherriD wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:41 PM
Yep I buy yarn because I will make something and I have a few projects that are waiting needles.
However when it comes to glass for lampworking (pendants, ornaments, etc) if I like the color, if it reacts, if I think I will like the color, or any other excuse I can find, it's applied.
As I see it, one cannot be without resources for at least a dozen projects.

As I say, one can
SusanR@3 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:39 PM
oops, missed out on my scarf 'recipe' that I use a different yarn and colour on each row,I also keep finding another great sock yarn, love knitting socks but really!!!
KendraP wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:31 PM
You are very much "normal"in the knitting world, to me anyway! I like you are a collector of small bits of fantastic dreams of the fiber persuasion. I look and caress, then place the precious bundle back in its secret hiding place until the next time.
KDP
SusanC@5 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:30 PM
I was lucky--3 times women GAVE ne yarn stashes (the reasons: can't wear wool, have more than I can use before I die, moving to a smaller place). I have enough of some for entire projects. Otherwise, the smaller amounts I use for children's sweaters and Kaffe Fassett sweaters. His designs frequently have small amounts of lots of colors. Witness one I made with 1 inch squares in about 40 colors. Great way to use small bits!
BbqxfhvB wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:29 PM
I'm a kid in a candy when I'm in a yarn store. When I see something yummy, I can't help but buy it. I usually by one or two skeins. Sometimes I buy it for a project but I never get around to it. So when I go into my stash; I never have enough yarn for a big project. Just enough for a scarf, hat, gloves, mittens, or a small purse. I just wish I have enough time to make all the projects I try to set out.
SusanR@3 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:28 PM
It is nice to realise that one is a member of a lovely club, the yarn stash group. I keep buying onesie and twosies, and have to buy those lonely lots in second hand shops-they need loving again :-). A little while back I started to knit scarves with it, mostly colour matched, cast on about 150-200 stitches on a circular needle, I find 4-5mm size works with most yarns, then knit a row, using the needle as if it were just a long one, don't join into a circle :-),leaving a long tail either end to knot off as a fringe when you are finished, found everyone who has received one loves it. I am in Australia but my daughter and son-in-law now live in Flagstaff Az, hoping to visit later this year, taking a long list from the magazine of yarn cannot get here,
cheers Suzanne
DeeD wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:25 PM
i buy what i need for the pattern but i usually buy to much so i always have yarn left over. Or what looked good in the store doesn't look so good at home. I agree about the buffalo yarn i touched it and wanted it, but settle for the alpaca instead.
CatherineS@3 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:24 PM
A few months ago I came across a knitter's blog where she talked about, and had actually posted photos of, her "yarn wall". I was shocked. I thought it was
just me. It was a liberating experience.
And by the way, I, too, have some "works of art". They are sort of like pet rocks, only prettier and softer. I suppose you could call them pet socks. HA!
Sincerely, Catherine Schlein
Appletree wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:19 PM
HAH! I am NOT alone! Yahoo! I am a yarn Junquey, a toucher, feeler, so often soothed by the delicious colors and textures of it all. I've not met a natural fiber I don't like. I even like some of the blends.

Since I'm doing a LOT of knitting for charity - 400 hats come September; I have use for all that sale yarn; odd lots; orphaned yarn, marked-down yarn, that I had to bring home; and the expensive, so-I'll-only-buy-one skein of artisian yarn.

And the list goes on.

It's all getting made into beautiful hats for the kids on the mountain: Clothe A Child. I'm knitting with two wonderful groups of souls. One for me, and the other well, 400 hats is a big hank of knitting. We'll get there.

KNIT ON!
Alex - The Happy Knitter
MargaretH@2 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 9:01 PM
i try to buy yarn for specific projects in mind, but distraction happens and another project slips to the front, so the new yarn goes to the stash - waiting - often the original idea put aside waiting for new inspiration on what it wants to be. Sock yarns are often purchased just for color - waiting on the pattern to come to light that they are waiting to be. So the stash grows, but I'm trying to whittle it down.
MartiP wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 8:45 PM
I confess, I am a yarn addict. I buy yarn for projects and simply because I just like a particular one. My daughter is as bad or worse than me. Hah! she says it is my fault.
KathleenM@5 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 8:35 PM
I think most serious knitters are collectors. I too buy yarn because I love it. Once I was asked "what are you going to make with it". I replied - "not sure, just love it". The owner replied "ah -I true knitter"
Waterhouse96 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 8:31 PM
I have a "buy yarn only for a project" rule. As much as I WANT to collect, it's not even like I can show it off... the cat would just wreak havoc! I am allowed to admire, just not invest! (I am, however, allowed to collect patterns and books, so this only protects me so much!)
JulieO@2 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 8:30 PM
I have repeatedly told my husband that all true knitters have yarn stashes. That being said, I always try to buy yarn with a project in mind; however, I do have a couple gorgeous skeins of yarn I could not pass up and now am wondering what I could possibly knit with 80 yards of novelty yarn in a great colorway.
ElaineD wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 8:19 PM
I felt like I was reading about myself :-) Like you, I have lots of onesies and twosies, and the occasional threesie. I'm attracted to the natural fibers and stuff like recycled silk. I love the hand-dyed and roaming colors, and I have a hard time resisting the metallics -- they are great mixed with anything else. And my SOCK yarn collection? Well, it's embarassing :-)

Part of the reason I stick to onesies and twosies is self-indulgence :-) The occasional Tilli Thomas yarn with sequins or beads for example. Every knitter should have some of that, just to "have and to hold"... and to take out and look out whenever my spirits need lifting :-)

At the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival last year, I did manage to collect some bags of really beautiful yarn -- more than 1-3 skeins -- enough for the challenge of a big project. If I could only make up my mind which one!

So, this article definitely resonated with me. I'm still smiling.
MariaC@2 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 8:15 PM
We must have been identical twins separated at birth.
MotherTiger wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 8:15 PM
I buy yarn as therapy, dreams, desires. I usually buy what I think is enough for a sweater. For me, for a child, for a baby. But ultimately the yarn sits in clear tubs for me to look at and dream about, because with 10 children, I have lots of dreams but little time to knit them up. . . . Maggie
Jacqui wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 8:09 PM
Having a bad day...go play in a yarn shop! I dream in yarn! There is yarn in almost every room of my house arranged as lovingly as I arrange flowers and color coordinated to work with the room's design. Yes, I have skeins for projects but the "I have to have" skeins outnumber those 10-1! A gorgeous skein of yarn can take my breath away and I have been known to "play" in the shelves of a yarn shop for hours, often carrying around a skein or three that I don't want anyone else to get. Now that I think about it I probably rarely knit the skeins I decorate my life with. Not all knitters are yarn lovers, some people are perfectly content to knit on "bad yarn". For me the yarn is what makes the stitches talk.
SarahM wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 7:55 PM
Wow. That sounds exactly like me. i'm drawn to "onesies" of blues, greens, and browns --- lucious, soft, unique (i'm really into the texture as it slides through my fingers) --- alpaca, silk, and unusual plant fibers (like seaweed). When i run out of room they usually transform into skinny scarves, bookmarks, or trim on hats and then i mourn their loss because i liked how it looked as a hank. i'm glad to know that i'm not alone. :)
Rebecca@4 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 7:50 PM
I love sock yarn. Especially hand dyed skeins. My goal is to knit a different pattern with my stash . . . last count was about 30 skeins. All neatly tucked into a container, out-of-sight.
Beckie L.
EllenE wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 7:41 PM
I emphasize with you..my yarn stash is a collection of almost enoughs and oh isn't this beautifuls (for one or another reason) and I am currently putting my same-size (approx) wools together into strips for a multi-color vest which will have pull-together connecting strips of the one I have enough of. Hope it works out!!!
MichelleC@6 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 7:30 PM
I love reading your posts....they usually hit home! I love the different colors and textures of yarn. I sneak the latest acquisitions into my home and office, so my husband cannot see it all gathered in one place. Or maybe so I cannot see how large the "problem" is. I do tend to buy a sufficiant quantity for vests, purses, sweaters. Though, when I find the next pattern to make, my stash yarn just does not have quite enough quantity, or quite the right guage. Sigh. Smile. I guess that means another trip to the yarn store.
JacquelynL wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 7:27 PM
Oh my! You've been following me. I buy small amounts and amounts for specific projects. My small amounts become Christmas stockings; mittens; striped and felted bags. However, I don't usually buy small amounts in the same yarn! So. Now I'm on the hunt for "combining yarns" and making special and unique gifts. I say it's a-ok to buy like this! I love it and living here in Maryland, the Sheep and Wool Festival is coming in a few weeks. MORE sock yarn and misc. skeins. Wish me luck.
Jacquie
BettyH@2 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 7:18 PM
I was into crocheting before I learned how to knit. Therefore I have consistently bought more yarn than I need. I generally buy washable yarns and I buy enough for at least a sweater. Now I buy one skein of a new texture to try out, and make a hat or something. But I have a very large stash of new yarn, and two levels of scrap yarn (small for scarves and bigger ones for squares for blankets or for hats)
PAMH wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 7:07 PM
Honestly, my stash is not large, consisting mainly of Red Heart to practice stitches on. Obviously I'm process not project oriented. The quality yarn in my stash is small. However, I do find that the LYS seldom has 12 skeins or enough of anything to knit a sweater. So if I see some lovely yarn, I only buy a few (Rowan or Jamieson.) You should also ask about knitter's knitting book and magazine stash!
KarieL wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 6:58 PM
Hi Sandi! I was so relieved to read about your addiction to yarn. I am considering starting a theraputic journal titled "Confession of a Mad Yarnaholic". I was in denial for many years, but now I just make peace with the addiction. The biggest reason is because I know that if I die before him, it will leave him devasted to find my stash...(which extends beyond a several mile radius)and try to figure out just who to leave it to. But, thanks to you, I don't feel so alone and isolated with my sickness. Or guilty, which is the best part. I enjoy so much your emails and hope you are also making peace. Karie Lesly
DebbieM@3 wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 6:55 PM
I too buy all colors of yarns, but my stash never just sits. My daughter-in-law or my granddaughters love my hand made afghans of many many colors. I call them grandma's blanket of many colors. But all my family likes how I put the different types and colors together, especially on my afghans and my crazy colored slipper socks.
SondraB wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 6:46 PM
I, too have a yarn stash; however, I buy for a certain project. Lately, I have been looking at accessory scarf patterns--scarves to be worn instead of jewelry, then looking at silk, bamboo, cotton, and other organic yarns to use.

I check yarn web sites to see what's new in yarns, then check what yarn shops in my town sell them.

I like to look at yarn even if I have no intention to buy.
SashaB wrote
on Apr 22, 2008 6:42 PM
Hello,
It's as though you witnessed my soul and decided to write an article about it. My husband once told me we were running out of room and I needed to quit buying yarn until I knit what I had. Ha!! I like to line it all up on shelves an touch it and sort it and love it. It's like my own private yarn store. Maybe someday a grandchild will love it the way I love my great grandmothers millinery box full of felt and feathers and other beautiful artifacts of hats in the making.