stash control

knitters everywhere share at least one problem: stash control, or how and where to put all that yarn? despite my husband's beliefs, my stash problem is pretty minor as far as they go, due largely to the fact that i haven't been knitting my whole life (just a 1/3 of it), and the fact that we have a deal: the prerequisite of every new yarn purchase is that i have to knit something from the stash.

for me, the stash is not just a thing, it's a place. my stash lives (mostly) in the upstairs guest closet (though it spills into the not 1, but 3 knitting baskets in the living room). when i need inspiration to get through a particularly difficult or boring pattern, the stash is always there for me. sitting among the skeins and hanks can even turn the tide of hard day at work.

nonetheless, i was still losing track of what i had...and where. these brand new cubbies became the answer.

let me tell you, this is a type-A personality's dream. a place for everything and everything in its place. most of this yarn has purpose, or at least i have a faint idea of what i might use it for. some have even cycled through several purposes...though i doubt that would count in my husband's narrow, realistic world.

really, what the stash is -- and why it's so important -- is a big, fat, squishy, warm pile of dreams. dreams of cozy sweaters and blankets that i can wrap friends' babies in...and a purple sweater for me.

dreams of a sweater for Cobbie. dreams of beautiful, ornate (or just plain) socks:

so, if you ever get anything from me, now you know where it came from: my favorite place on earth (except maybe Tangle Lakes - and not just because i can take knitting there).

and because i actually DO do more than just knit...here's a picture of Cobbie skiing in front of me on teh way to P&C's for our usual Wednesday night dinner (the faint lights to the left is their house).