Yarn Diet '11 Check In

Do you twitch just thinking of buying yarn? Does driving by the yarn store make you short of breath?

How are my fellow Yarn Dieters doing? I thought I would check in since it's been half a month. I know, not a lot of time, but if you're used to buying yarn on a daily or weekly basis you might be going through hard times right now.

As far as I'm concerned, things are going well. Last week I was sick, as many as you know. To make myself content between coughing and blowing my nose, I made a wish list on Knit Picks, but haven't purchased anything. I have yet to make a yarn purchase, so I still have 5 times still in my queue. I will need to make a purchase to Knit Picks soon, as I want to order a few needles from them, as well as needing to order a huge lot of yarn to dye. As Alea and I agreed, the yarn that I buy that I intend to dye and sell does not count toward the yarn diet. But, seriously, who makes an order to Knit Picks and not order yarn for themselves? That would be against my religion! So yes, I will be making an order soon, and I will be flashing it here to stay honest with all of you. Are you doing the same?

So far, I have only completed 2 projects this month, and only finished one skein. My problem is that I keep starting new projects, thinking that will get me through yarn faster, but in the long run, it's making me WAY slower. I need to buckle down and finish projects!

Just as a reminder, I have included the ongoing Mister Linky to this post, so you can all see everyone's stashes at the beginning of the yarn diet. If you have any new posts concerning your diet (i.e. talking about it or showing pictures of a purchase, etc) please continue to add links. Just make sure to link to the direct post, instead of your main sites URL. Thanks!

Yarn Diet '11 Part 1

It wasn't easy, but I took out all of my yarn and took pictures of it today. I have to say, I was surprised by the number. It's amazing how much yarn you can cram into places around the house. I seem to have it all over, even though I have two specific places to keep it. I guess that's the way it goes.

And the final start count in number of skeins (even counting partial is)... 244.

I've added a count below the Yarn Diet button in the right sidebar for those who want to keep track with me. Each time I use a skein/ball/hank/cake down to the point where I can no longer make anything else with it, I will take it off the counter.

I hope over the next five months to be able to use at least half of it. For details of the yarn diet, please see this post. Despite being able to buy yarn five times during the 5 month diet, I hope to not even do that, but we'll see!

To see pictures of my stash for the yarn diet, please click here to my Flickr page.

I'd love to see pictures of those participating. Just add a link to the Mr Linky below to share your post about your yarn diet. I will keep the Mr Linky open for the full 5 months so we can keep adding links to our new posts to keep a record over time. Please be sure to link directly to the actual yarn diet post and not your blog url. Thank you!

Yarn Diet '11 is (Almost) Here!

As I've mentioned a few times leading up to today, I will be partaking in a yarn diet with Alea and whoever would like to join us. We are doing this because over the past six months or so, we've bought yarn on whims (or sometimes with certain projects in mind) and have a lot of it to go around. I think we both realized this needed to happen when each month of Flash Your Stash, our stashes seemed to double.

Without further ad0, the rules and exceptions of our yarn diet:

Length of time: January 1st-June 1st or until over half of your stash is gone. Obviously it's pretty hard to use every single little piece of yarn in each skein/ball/cake/hank, so if it's down to the point you can find much to do with it, then that is considered finished.

What may be purchased in that time: During the yarn diet, the participant is allowed to buy yarn 5 times. At each purchase, you may spend or buy however much you want. This includes LYS, box stores and even online shopping (basically any yarn purchases). You may also still buy as part of a swap and/or gift. Also, if you short less than half the skeins to finish a project (let's say you're making a scarf and you run short of yarn by 1 skein) you are able to purchase JUST that ONE item and it won't count against you.

Punishment: For each time you go past the 5 given times you may purchase yarn during January 1-June 1, you will have another month added to the yarn diet, which will not include another chance to buy yarn for that month.

To participate: Just comment on this post (or the one I will be doing at the beginning of the year) to let us know you're joining us. Then, take pictures of all of your yarn and count how many skeins you have. I know some people have way too much to count it all, so if that's the case, keep track of how many bags/bins etc you have it in and gauge that way. Then, sometime in the first week of January, post on your blog all the pictures. That way, we can document the stash as time goes on. I will have a Mr Linky attached to my yarn diet posts where you can post new links to new pictures as the months go on.

Feel free to use the button (thanks to Alea for making this for us!) at the top of this post for your Yarn Diet posts and/or the one in the sidebar (a smaller version).

This is supposed to be fun, so don't get stressed over it. It will be a breath of fresh air using yarn that has been sitting waiting to be used for months or maybe even years. I know I can't wait to get rid of some of it, and even find unique projects to make. Just think how refreshing it will be come June 1st when you can replace the yarn you used with even more yarn!

If you have any comments or questions, please let me know in the comments section! I'll be happy to answer them.

I look forward to posting my first official yarn diet post in the first week of January, but before then, I'm heading to a LYS!

Flash Your Stash! An Ongoing Meme (Part 3)

My name is Tami, and I'm addicted to yarn. Honestly, I don't know how it started. As I've mentioned many times, I started crocheting last December. I didn't know anything about yarn and bought some Red Heart because someone mentioned it was easy to crochet with. Once I got a little better, I moved into a little softer acrylic, Vanna's Choice, Caron Simply Soft, etc. Just recently, I started visiting LYSs (Local Yarn Stores) and can't seem to walk out of one without buying at least one skein/hank/ball of yarn. Also, I've ventured into online shopping, stores like Knitpicks and Smiley's Yarn. Below you will see my stash as of yesterday. These pictures do not include the yarn I'm using for my current WIPs, so yarn for my two blankets, my owl bag, another purse and an amigurumi.

For my first FYS post, click here.
And for my second, click here.

As I shared from a previous post, below is a picture of the chest my husband bought to store my yarn at a local antique store. I LOOVVEEE this chest.

And here it is with yarn. You won't see any in this picture but I have cedar balls among the yarn to keep bugs out, and just to give the yarn and chest and overall great smell.

Most of the yarn in the chest are my worsted weight acrylic and wool yarn. From top left, going down you will see a mix of Red Heart, Loops and Threads, Berrocco, Hobby Lobby, Lion Brand, Vanna's Choice, etc.

I love how beautiful the yarn looks in the chest. I've tried not to be OCD with it, arranging by color and brand so I just left it how I originally put it into the chest.

Below is my collection of sock yarn. If you follow my blog, you know that I've recently become obsessed with sock, or fine and fingering weight yarn.

This is most of my yarn I have to dye (except for one skein of wool I forgot to add to the picture and my cotton) and the two I've already dyed. I hope to try the microwave method today or tomorrow.

Below is some yarn I got online or in LYSs. The balls, or cakes of yarn are Berocco Vintage.

Below is some yarn I got at Smiley's online or at Tuesday Morning. The little balls are Debbie Bliss. The one white skein at top is for dyeing.

This is some random acrylic I have. The bags of small skeins are for amigurumi, the Christmas colors I got at a thrift store for a total of 75 cents, and the bag of gray yarn is a project I started and haven't finished.

Below is my cotton. The white skeins are for dyeing.

Below is yarn I got for a blanket I'm making for someone as a gift for next year. I'm not going to say who, because they may see this blog. I got the blue skeins at Smiley's for crazy cheap ($1.99 each) and then will buy a skein of the tan each time I have a coupon for Joann's or Michaels.

This is miscellaneous/yarn I forgot to take pictures of with the other groups. The top is Bernat Roving which is CRAZY soft. I want to make a hooded cowl with it. Then there is a skein of wool for dyeing and 3 small skeins of Lion Brand Cupcake.

This is my crocheting thread. I have a project I'm working on that is VERY slow going with it. I haven't decided exactly how I'm going to handle it.

I would love to see how your yarn stash has grown! Share updated pics, or join in for the first time! Please make sure to use a direct link to your post, instead of to the main page of your blog. That way, we can find the stash pictures easier.

Thanks for checking out my stash! Let's hope next month it's much smaller. I am trying to not buy any yarn until the beginning of next year unless it is necessary to finish a project.

A Treasure Chest of Love

Normally I would wait until the next FYS post to share, but I couldn't contain my excitement. I've bought so much yarn lately, I had no place to put it. I outgrew the Ikea wicker chest and the sweater bin. Yarn was piling up on my desk, in boxes under my desk and even downstairs in bins we keep under the coffee table. Projects I've started recently to be "stash busters" didn't really work out. Sure they took up yarn I had in my stash, but they also caused me to buy more to finish them, growing my yarn garden faster than I could crochet.

I talk like it is a problem, something that needs to be solved. Of course, I love having a growing stash of yarn. It's comforting to know that I could start several projects on a whim without having to run to the store for the perfect color/weight/fiber. I love looking at the pretty colors and feeling the soft fibers.

Instead of finding ways to solve my "problem", what did I do? I bought more yarn...that's right, I have 19 skeins coming soon from Smiley's. If you don't mind having a minimum order of $50, I'd highly recommend checking them out. The shipping is a little high, but the yarn prices are so cheap, you still come out ahead compared to normal store prices. The order should arrive at the end of this week or beginning of next, just in time for October's FYS post!

So, what's the point of my post? This BEAUTIFUL new solution to my problem:



My amazing husband didn't protest when I ordered 19 more skeins of yarn, instead he pointed out that I needed something new to hold it all. We talked about going back to Ikea to get a matching basket like the one I already had or try and find something a little different. He had the amazing idea of going to the local antique malls to see if we could find something a little more unique.

We were almost to the end of the antique mall, when I looked up on top of a tall cabinet and saw the chest from above. I could see the tag on it, only $59. It was perfect, or at least it looked like it would be. We got assistance on getting it down, and I opened it. P.E.R.F.E.C.T. Even better? The guy said he would knock of $10 bucks. So, we only paid $49 for a beautifully built, old solid wood chest. Not bad considering we paid $35-40 for the much smaller, flimsy Ikea basket I have currently holding the yarn.

When I got home, I pulled out the Old English and cleaned it up. I noticed, once a few wipes of Old English set in, it has black writing on the top, a name. I can't totally make it out, but it looks like it used to be owned by a Lieutenant. I love how beaten and battered it is on the outside, but how pristine it is inside. Pretty damn cool, isn't it?

Here's more pics! I'll share pics of my yarn inside the chest and it in it's staying place in the next Flash Your Stash post.

Flash Your Stash! An Ongoing Meme (Part 2)

Since I've bought a ton of yarn in the past month, I decided to update my Flash Your Stash post. I have yet to link it to the sidebar (which I will do at some point soon!), so it's good to dig out the old post for those to join along. This post includes the same Mr. Linky as before. If you joined in the first time, feel free to add a new link to new pictures of your stash if you'd like. I want to keep it ongoing so we can see how the stashes grow (or in some cases, shrink).

For my first FYS post, please click here.

Since I posted those, I've bought so much yarn, I had to graduate to two yarn holders. I still use the Ikea crate, but now also have a Tupperware sweater bin. I will say, I'm not very proud of how much yarn I've bought over the past month (okay, who am I fooling, of COURSE I'm proud!), but it's all so pretty, I can't resist it. I am happy to admit, most of it was bought on clearance or with coupons (thanks to Labor Day sales, and Joann's/Michaels great weekly coupons). It's so tricky how they give you a coupon for the next week, and who can go and only buy one skein of yarn??

An eagle eye view (Look, a kitty!)

A close-up of the bottom left section which includes a few Red Heart SS, Red Heart Eco, Loops and Threads Impeccable, Hobby Lobby 'I Love This Yarn', Vanna's Choice and a few small balls of Queensland and Debbie Bliss

This bunch is the bottom right corner of the overview picture. Again, more RH SS (multi and solid), Red Heart Tweed, TLC Essentials Sugar and Creme and a HUGE skein of Bernat Cotton.

This pic is of the middle section from the overview. Again, the HL, RH and then you will see some Lion Brand Wool-Ease, Caron Simply Soft, some Alpaca (I can't remember the brand) and small skeins of the Fun Yarn by Lion Brand.

This is the top left. RH SS and the Lion Brand Fun Yarn (which is great for small amigurumi) and a better pic of my RH Multi

Look at all of that Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool. Yikes! I hope soon it is out of my stash and into my afghan! Good think I like working with it!

A few skeins of Red Heart Designer Sport (Is this getting discontinued? I can't find it anywhere) and RH Soft. Also, a not so happy closeup of the kitty (who's name is Cosmo).

I would love to see how your yarn stash has grown! Share updated pics, or join in for the first time!

Flash Your Stash! An Ongoing Meme

I was talking to Alea from Pop Culture Junkie and we got the great idea to have an ongoing Flash Your Stash Mr. Linky. I thought today was as good as any day to start! Do you have pictures of your stash lying around that you would like to share with the world? Then you've come to the right place. Just like Work-in-Progress Wednesdays, just add the link to your post showing off your yarn/craft stash. You can share a new link every week/month/year, whatever works best for you! I think it would be awesome to collect a bunch of links, new and old showing how much our stashes have grown (or decreased, but when is THAT ever going to happen?). I will be keeping a link in the sidebar, so feel free to come by an share your link whenever you can!

I present to you, my VERY modest stash at the moment:

This is where I keep most of my yarn. Here is a picture with the lid open and all the yarn out of it.

And closed.

This is Milo, or at least his huge head. He's only a Corgi puppy (15 months old) so he's always very interested in my yarn, which is why I have most of it in this chest from Ikea! As you can see, he's a perfect height to open it and get into trouble.

This is most of my current stash. Not all of it fits in the Ikea chest, so some of it just sits in a cardboard box or a wood crate downstairs. Usually I keep my WIPs downstairs, because that's where I work on them the most. I make mostly amis, so I buy a lot of acrylic yarn, but there is also a few others in there.

Oops, these were downstairs when I took the big picture, so I didn't want to leave them out. They get their own photo!

This is some of the yarn put back. As you can see, I try to put the small stuff and a few others in bags. I find it easier (and cleaner) that way, as I have a dog and two cats. As I mentioned, not all of it fits in here, but I'd say 3/4 of it does.

Well, now that I've shared my stash as of today, please share yours!