Owning Up

One of the perks about being on Ravelry is being able to see what other yarns people have and what they think about them. It is great to do a search on a yarn and see what it's being used for. It's made me think about putting my stash in the database so I can better know what I have.

I have big (58 qt) plastic storage containers in my closet (at least 8 that I can think of off the top of my head) that are stuffed with yarn. I have 5 stackable hat boxes in the corner of my room, stuffed with yarn. There are two dresser drawers, a big box in the garage and a comforter bag in my son's closet stuffed with yarn. All different types- acrylic, cotton, wool, novelty. The thought of actually cataloging it and owning the entire thing freaks me out.

I've decided to start small.

Here is my small collection of Baby Ull. I have plans for this. I'm going to be making more of the Zombie wristwarmers and a pair of Hot Rod socks for Hubby. The only thing I need to make the socks is an orange color and I'm going to dye some Knitpicks Bare with Orange Kool-aid to get the color I want. Then I'll be able to start those.

Here is my small/medium sock yarn collection. By my count I have enough sock yarn to make 18 pairs of socks. This isn't counting the one pair I have waiting in the queue, and the one I already have on the needles. (Or the Socks that Rock, Chapman Springs cursed yarn that I have hidden in the back of the drawer, waiting to be frogged for the 3rd time.) Considering I bust one pair of socks out a month, I have more than enough for the next year. I had so much fun dyeing yarn, that I have to do it again and that will just expand my collection even further. And even with this, I still feel no need to justify it. I've heard tale of people whose sock yarn collections outweigh mine by 5 to 10 times. I've never seen one that big, but blogs say they are out there.

Now don't judge me, I didn't purchase all of the yarn I own myself. Most of the yarn that I buy, has an intended project in mind. I'm one of those people who, when others find out I like to knit and crochet, gets given yarn that other people don't want/use anymore. This happens to me at least once a year, when I get a couple of bags of yarn. It makes me happy and I always give the yarn a proper introduction to the rest of the stash and put it in it's place.