Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, How Does Your Yarn Stash Grow?

Some people are very disciplined.  They buy yarn for a specific project.  They finish their project before they buy yarn for the next project.  As you know, I am not one of those people.  Linda used to be one of those people until we started knitting together.  My knitting philosophy influenced Linda to where she has a substantial yarn stash.  My MO is I fall in love with yarn, I fall in love with a pattern and buy many different yarns for it or I see something I just can't resist.  I have taken you on field trips to the spectacular Stash Studio.

I've shown you my amazing collection of pattern and needles and accessories.

I've shown you my library.

I've shown you my many organized, sorted and labeled tubs of yarn.

I've never told you the many stories than explain this massive quantity of fiber.  I think it's time I shared all of the ways I've built my Stash.

There are as many stories as there are skeins of fiber but I will only tell you those stories which involve acquiring massive or at least large quantities of yarn.  Every picture tells a story.   

This is really how I feel sometimes before I roll up my sleeves and organize, organize, organize! What can I say?  I love the feel of yarn, the smell of yarn and look of a mountain of yarn.   

I am going to share things for the next few posts which have caused my yarn stash to grow.  I will share stories which explain the immenseness of the residents of the Stash Studio.  Today it will be Survivor Shawls, Kathy's afghan, Knit the Sky, and Crayon Box Jacket.  There  is a common principle operating here.  Let's see if you can figure it out before I unveil the theme.

​1.  Survivor Shawls

You are well acquainted with my beloved Survivor Shawls  Is it any wonder I fell in love with Survivor Shawls!?!?!?! They make recipients so happy.  They make me happy, too.  They make me happy  when I knit them, when I give them away and when I buy pink yarn.  I collected 10 tubs of pink yarn one skein at a time.  Every time I went into a LYS or visited my favorite online yarn shops I was on the look out for a skein of pink yarn I had never seen before.  Because I was only buying one skein price really didn't matter.  The only thing that mattered was beautiful yumminess.  I learned that pink is not just pink.  Pink can have pastel tones, vibrant tones, purple hues, peach hues, even green hues.  It really is mind boggling.  I have yarn bombed a chair with the left over pink yarn, created a Christmas tree and gave away pink yarn in a Survivor Shawl class.  I still have 7 or 8 tubs.  Survivor Shawls greatly added to my yarn stash.  

​2.  Crayon Box Jacket

Before the Survivor Shawl there was the Crayon Box Jacket that incredible pattern created by Chris Byslma.  Linda and I saw one made up on one of our trips to Crafty Lady (it was before it became Crafty Lady Trio) and immediately signed up for the class.  It was magical, a game changer.  We actually swooned and salivated.  We were mesmerized.  It was the first time I saw a piece of knitting that wasn't knit back and forth. Each garment took five solid colors and as many different contrasting colors as you wanted.  The teal one was my first.  I chose my five colors of teal, navy blue, magenta, purple and lime green.  Then I began collecting the contrast yarn.  Every time I was in a yarn shop, I would look for "just one more skein" that would make the jacket a work of art.  Then came the pink jacket.  I chose pink, orange, light purple, dark purple and navy blue.  then I began buying contrasting yarns.  So now I had contrasting colors for a teal Crayon Box Jacket and pink Crayon Box Jacket.  The stash just grew and grew.  I loved every skein or partial skein and wasn't about to get rid of it.   I had quite a few skeins of pink yarn when I started Survivor Shawls.  I remember telling myself that I would only use pink yarn I already had for Survivor Shawls.  That didn't last long.  I remember showing Dick my first Survivor Shawl and making some silly comment about being able to make these with buying any yarn.  Foolish girl.  

​3.  Kathy's afghan

I love this.  I bought all of the Great American Afghan books and picked the best of each book.  Particularly choosing the ones that had a nature theme since Kathy lives in a log home.  Once I decided I was really going to do this, I began buying Cascade 220 in shades of brown and green. I didn't know there were so many shades of green and brown.  This beautiful afghan also predated the Survivor Shawl.  Every time I went into a LYS, I was on the lookout for Cascade 220 in browns and greens I didn't already have.  I have a tub of green and browns.  As a matter of fact I made several of these out of yarn left over from the afghan.

I don't understand the attraction but I guess little boys love them.

​4.  Knit The Sky

And here it is.  My fabulous Knit The Sky.  I will never give this away.  It is the sky from every place I went from January through June of 2016.  

You know the story.  I bought blue, white and grey yarn every place I went.  It didn't seem like it was possible for me to have too much.  After all, the sky never looks exactly the same.  Some days it is pure blue, some more turquoise, other days blue with puffy clouds, some days sparkly with rain, other days grey with snow.  We also traveled to Sunset Beach and Hawaii where skies are really different than Michigan.

Do you see a pattern here?  All of these projects had an indefinite amount or  color.  They all were subject to my interpretation of what was necessary.  And you all ready know my philosophy.  More is better.  There is no such thing as enough.  You would think if I limited myself to patterns and projects that had a recommended yarn with the exact amount needed I would be safe.  Installment 2 in "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, How Does Your Yarn Stash Grow?" will show you that is not necessarily the case.