Stash

I recently updated my yarn stash storage. Instead of two large plastic bins in the corner of our bedroom, there is now a 4x1 Kallax unit with drawer-boxes that’ll coordinate with the curtains that I’ll eventually swap out. The curtains, while already purchased, need some blackout lining attached before I can hang them. One of the many things on the “to do one day” list.

But what I realized as I was transferring my zip-locked stash from the plastic bins into the boxes was that it doesn’t all fit. I still have bags of yarn in another corner of the bedroom and who knows what’s squirreled away in various corners downstairs? My aim is to have enough space in the boxes that I can impulse purchase on occasion without wondering where it’ll fit.

So. I have a plan. I’ve written down all of my current WIPs. In another column, I’ve written down all of the projects, including cross-stitching and sewing, that I want to do in the near future (aka this year). The lists aren’t long. But I no longer have the time to craft like I did in my 20s. I’m also trying to be realistic. The very first thing I managed to cross off my list was a matching hat for Munchkin’s mittens and use up even more of the skein.

I was very motivated by the completed hat (it was pink and sparkly and lacy and very much a me-project), so I immediately started knitting up a pair of mittens for my husband. Again, great, using up yarn from my stash. Leftovers balls, which is even better. No pattern, just using my knowledge of how to knit mittens to estimate what to do. The cuffs are ribbed (this part flew by), then I added in a second color and started doing 1x1 colorwork basically. The only things I need to write down so that I can make the second one approximately the same are how many stitches to cast one, how many for the thumb, and length before starting the decreases at the top. Easy peasy, right?

Welp, the colors I picked aren’t easy to see in the dark. It’s slow going and frankly, I’m not super motivated to work on them. Maybe I should try making a square or two for Munchkin’s blanket and then going back to the mittens. I did just find more balls of the green for her blanket (the whole reason she’s getting that blanket is because I wanted to work up the green yarn somehow and she liked it too), so maybe that’s just the way I need to go right now and save the mittens for later in the year when there’s more daylight later in the evenings.

I never thought I’d be passing up on knitting in favor of granny squares but here we are.