Yarn Stash Overhaul

Most of my yarn is kept on shelves in the computer room. There is a bit more in some boxes under the computer desk – four sweaters worth or so – and there’s also a basket full of Sugar ‘n Cream – and a really big basket of handspun – but the bulk of my yarn stash is sock yarn and I keep it on open shelving. Oh sure, there’s some lace weight and some odd skeins of Noro and other worsted weights and some plain yarn for dyeing but mostly what I have is sock yarn.

yarn_mess.jpg

These last few months it’s gotten a little messy. Blame it on Sock Madness, blame it on the winter blahs, blame it on the fact that I don’t spend a whole lot of time in this room, but it was definitely out of control and maybe even a little overwhelming. So last week I decided something needed to be done and I set about reorganizing the shelved yarn stash.

yarn_dump.jpg

Of course things always look worse before they look better.

I was brutal with the stash and only put back the stuff I know think I will actually use. The rest has been set aside for prize donations and gifts – it’s good yarn just not yarn I love.

And see how nice it looks? That top shelf is worsted weight and dye-able yarn and the bottom shelf is lace weight and miscellaneous other yarns. Those three shelves in the middle hold the sock yarn stash. It’s good sock yarn, too. Lots of handpainted stuff along with Opal and Trekking and Fleece Artist. I’m really happy with the way it all looks.

I did make one fatal error, though. I counted the skeins of sock yarn. 80 pairs worth. Oy.

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This Post Has 77 Comments

  2. Only 80? I would have thought you’d have more sock yarn in the stash, actually. I like the orderliness of your resources…very librarianish of you!

  3. Ooh, I have more than half as much as you!! Hey, and that means you could wear the same pair only 4 times a year!

  5. That pile of yarn looks lovely, all those colors.
    woo boy. 80 pairs? Better get knitting 🙂 On the plus side, you may never have to buy socks again.

  6. Any centipedes in your immediate (or extended) family? That could take care of a lot of sock yarn 🙂

  7. Hmmm…it’s not bad Carole! Really not bad at all. I know last year in early April I counted only the sock skeins and could’ve knit about 97 pair of adult sized socks. After a rough winter, having el hubster traveling a lot (read: lots of time on my hands), and need for stress relief, I’m absolutely afraid to even count or consider counting.

  8. LOL, 80 seems about right to me too. And my sock yarn stash looks like that everytime I dump it out of the floor too.

  11. Good job on the reorganization!
    I shudder to think how many pairs of socks I could knit from my stash but spring cleaning is on the agenda for me soon too! Where’s that xanax? 🙂

  12. Well, it *is* only enough for 10 octopuses. But then, they don’t really have feet, just…ummm..appendages. OK, that is a lot of sock yarn! I would definitely be up for any castoffs from that marvelous stash, did I hear prizes correctly??.

  14. Great job!

    But don’t feel alone I’m at about 60 pairs in my own stash. I swear it multiplies when I turn my back.

  15. lookin’ lovely with that Sock Yarn IRA there…
    hmmm… it seems as though you have carved out some room for more stash! Way to go girrrrll!

  16. Nice reorganization!! It’s a little daunting at first to take on a reorganizatio project, so it’s great that you dug in and got through it. It looks like beautiful bookshelf art.

  17. I overheard somebody at NH Sheep and Wool this weekend say it best – the hobby is COLLECTING the yarn, not necessarily knitting/crocheting!

    Good job on the cleaning out. Looks great! And I feel so much better about my sock yarn stash now that I know how much you have! But let’s be honest – the way you have been knitting socks, you will plow through that stash of 80 in no time!!!

  19. I am haunted now by the images of your tidy skeins and Juno’s proper closet. I will not succumb! We will continue to have yarn willy-nilly throughout the house!

  20. I love the pictures of the stash reorganization. Eighty pairs of socks?! I hope you have a pair of socks on your needles at all times;-)

  21. I just reread the first Harry Potter book and in it, Dumbledore tells Harry that his heart’s desire is a nice pair of woolen socks. Dumbledore is one smart guy. So how can 80 socks’ worth of yarn be wrong?

    Besides, it is wonderfully decorative!

  22. that is a heck of a lot of sock yarn alright! now i don’t feel so bad about my sock yarn purchase over the last 2 months . . .

  24. Does it make you happy? If so, then celebrate! It’s no different than collecting teapots or books or maps or Pez dispensers. In fact, it’s probably a bit more justifiable because you’ll eventually turn them into socks you can wear 🙂

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