Jul 11, 2015
What are we wearing?
Literally Over the Top by
Megan Williams
Coronado by Toluca Knit
What are we knitting?
Easy Folded Poncho by
Churchmouse Yarns and Teas
A Hint of Summer by Isabel
Kraemer
In episode 92 we wrap-up the second quarter (Q2) of our "Love your
stash" movement. We want to change the culture of stash and empower
knitters to take charge of what yarns make you feel good as a
knitter and a stasher, and to cut loose those yarns that add
clutter and negativity!
At the Northern California Knitting
Retreat, we talked to fellow attendees, and gave them the
opportunity to share something about their stash.
Erin and Monica tell us about the oldest yarns in their
stashes.
Erin - aka ErinB on Ravelry, one of
the hostesses of the Doubleknit Podcast
Monica - aka KirbyMo on Ravlery
Sharlene's oldest stash is some Elann Sock It To Me
Gayle's oldest stash is Kidsilk Haze
Gayle plans to make Ice Queen by Rosemary Hill
or Wisp by Cheryl Niamath
Lorrian - aka Meowlam on Ravelry
Lorrian tells us about her stashing enhancements and online
shopping.
If you have collected yarn for many years, you are well aware that
there are yarn trends. What is popular this year will be replaced
by something new in a year or two. Like a clothes closet, if you
fill your stash with this year's popular offering, will it still be
trendy by the time you get around to knitting with it? Or are you
choosing classic yarns that will always be in style? The internet
has brought so many new shopping opportunities. Some folks love to
shop online--while others have been disappointed, or like me, are
just too picky to purchase "sight unseen."
Kelly and Marsha, the hostesses of Two Ewes Fiber Adventures, tell
us about yarns that they cannot resist, especially "orphan
yarns."
Kelly - aka 1hundredprojects
Marsha - aka mfuesal
Kelly likes combining orphans yarns into new and interesting fabrics.
Kelly, from the Shorty's Sutures podcast tells us about
lessons she has learned from stashing.
Kelly - aka ShortysSutures
"What are we stalking?" is often a favorite segment for listeners
because we highlight new patterns, projects, or yarns that have
caught our eye. One of the lessons I have learned from stalking is
that I have stalked many, many patterns that I did not cast on or
never want to knit. There are patterns I want to knit for myself or
someone else and then there are patterns that I like to look at, or
like to look at the projects. Stalking for eye-candy's sake only. I
think that distinction is important. Not everything you stalk is
necessarily something you want to make. You can be an appreciative
fan of a certain pattern, or of a certain knitting skill--think
fair isle or intarsia--but not necessarily want to knit the item
yourself. This is perfectly valid. :)
Julia Trice is a knitwear designer. Julia shares with us a little of
her stash handling techniques, specifically how she handles
"personal" stash and "business" stash.
Julia - aka mindofwinter on Ravelry
If you keep stash, having a pleasing and efficient way to store
your yarns is very important, and will influence how you feel about
your stash. Do you feel pleasure or dread when you need to find
that one skein of sock yarn that you purchased two years ago? Do
you like keeping your stash in moth-proof boxes away from the light
or out in the open for inspiration? In addition to curating stash,
having an organized and useful system for storing and finding
things is important. Gayle and I both rely on the basics--boxes,
cabinets, and drawers. We both have loose organizational systems
that seem to work for us and help us find yarns when needed.
We hope you enjoyed this episode and as always, thanks for
listening and happy knitting!
Wildlife sightings: I wanted to add that while recording I observed
a woodpecker, and when Gayle and I were driving home we saw many
deer, including a fawn with spots! We tried to get a photo, but I
couldn't get one worth publishing. Just know that the little guy
was very cute!