{"id":3273,"date":"2017-12-07T15:03:03","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T15:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christineguestdesigns.com\/blog\/?p=3273"},"modified":"2017-12-07T15:09:46","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T15:09:46","slug":"i-dont-really-have-a-stash-but-man-do-i-have-ever-have-experience-de-stashing-other-peoples-stash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christineguestdesigns.com\/blog\/i-dont-really-have-a-stash-but-man-do-i-have-ever-have-experience-de-stashing-other-peoples-stash\/","title":{"rendered":"I don’t really have a stash – but man do I have ever have experience de-stashing other people’s stash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barbara Benson mentioned in her newsletter<\/a> that she’s moving and thus beginning a big yarn de-stash, and I thought, “Oh, blog topic.” I actually have some experience with de-stashing, the de-stashing of Other People’s stash that is.<\/p>\n

Do I have a stash? Yes actually.\u00a0 It sits in two Ikea baskets in the cubbies of an Expedit.\u00a0 It’s mostly colorful ends of yarn that’s not quite enough for submission swatches.\u00a0 I’ve started sewing old submission swatches together into an afghan, crocheting up the yarn ends to even out corners as I go.\u00a0 I generally buy yarn for definite projects, after thinking it over for a week, and getting a push from my husband who is tired of me being cheap.<\/p>\n

My first Other People’s de-stash\u00a0happened\u00a0when I was still nursing\u00a0my first baby, and always cold.\u00a0 We’d just moved, Dan had taken a technician’s position that might become an engineering job so we could be near my parents as my Dad moved into hospice.\u00a0 I prayed for money for yarn to make myself a sweater.\u00a0 My uncle’s mother-in-law’s cousin’s mother who had owned a yarn store in the 1960’s wanted to de-stash the last of the yarn store yarn, and I got a box in the mail<\/a>;\u00a0 which turned into sweaters<\/a> and a gift.<\/a><\/p>\n

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My second OP de-stash happened when my new pastor’s wife was moving into town, noticed that I knit, and gave me her college yarn box from when she lived near WEBS.\u00a0 It was mostly coned cotton, and I made baby things and washcloths out of it, because it washed up so soft.\u00a0 I find cotton hard to tension properly, I usually wind it around my index finger a few extra times, or crochet with it, I’m not sure why the tension is easier with crochet.<\/p>\n

In the course of a Lego Club for homeschool, I met Loni, with whom\u00a0to this day\u00a0I spend an afternoon a week so our kids can play boardgames while we chat.\u00a0 She is a voice of reason in my design process.\u00a0 Her mother is a prolific crafter who\u00a0hooks\u00a0rugs, weaves and knits.\u00a0 But she had a stressful amount of yarn.\u00a0 I think there were 4 black garbage bags when this one arrived.\u00a0 I’d begun to design then, so I had different priorities: Was this yarn discontinued?\u00a0 If I used it for a sample, would it hurt the pattern sales?<\/p>\n

I took up the living room floor and sorted (the kids got a little underfoot because\u00a0wool bounces like a ball, which gave them ideas, but they weren’t fighting or crying, so it was fine.)\u00a0 Once everything was together either by the same yarn, or colors and weights that worked together, I re-bagged it.\u00a0 I want a sweater (bag) This would work for one of my kid’s hat (bag) This would work well for the girl at church that I taught to knit (bag) I’m not fond of any of these colors (bag)\u00a0 The not fond bag went to the city clerk at town hall – she collects yarn for the prolific but not wealthy crafters at the senior center.\u00a0 I think their finished objects wind up in charity.\u00a0 People have such different ideas about color – if the yarn is of good quality, I quell the guilt.\u00a0 Someone will want this.<\/p>\n

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I joined Facebook originally because my friend Katie teased me that using Dan’s account was confusing (and cheesy).\u00a0 She had tried knitting during the “Knitting is the new Yoga,” era, and decided to stick with regular Yoga.\u00a0 There were 4 tubs from that one.\u00a0 I was visiting my in-laws who lived near Katie when that happened, so I took over\u00a0Mom-mom’s living room.\u00a0 We did not have room in the mini-van to bring everything home.<\/p>\n

Katie’s stash included a lot of how to knit books.\u00a0 Dan’s niece got intrigued so I turned one tub into the learn to knit kit with needles,\u00a0 books, and soft wool that was worsted weight that she could work with, as well as a sweater’s worth of yarn.\u00a0 She took to sitting cross legged in an arm chair surrounded by yarn working on her garter stitch swatch with her tongue sticking out in concentration.<\/p>\n

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I knew that my friend from college was in a temporary tight budget but wants a sweater stage, so I mailed her (I think it was 2, but it might only have been 1) sweater’s worth of yarn so I didn’t have to truck it to Massachusetts.\u00a0 When we got home, I meant to send the gold lama yarn to the city clerk, but my daughter begged<\/a> for a flower fairy dress, and we collaborated on the design.<\/a>\u00a0Matthew finally got his robot sweater<\/a>.\u00a0 Dan wizard-ed all our belongings plus the yarn I did keep into our van somehow, including the tubs – unless those went to my mother-in-law instead?\u00a0 Some yarn went to the city clerk again, but some got used up in a learn to crochet class at homeschool coop.<\/p>\n

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Sue from church gave me some organic yarn she’d bought at a farmer’s market, and I used it on a hooded cowl for myself, leading to this conversation with Dan:<\/p>\n

Me – what do you think of my new hooded cowl?<\/p>\n

Dan- the colors are a bit muted.<\/p>\n

Me – the yarn was free.<\/p>\n

Dan- It looks GREAT!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, what tips to I have for people who must de-stash (besides send it to me?)<\/p>\n