You have a lot of yarn…

I know quite a number of knitters. Most knitters revel in having so much yarn, they probably won’t be able to use it all in their lifetime. Some people really worry about how much yarn they have. “Am I a hoarder?”, “Is there something wrong with me?”, “What if someone finds out how much yarn I have?”, “What would (insert person here) think if they knew?”

In my world, you can never have too much yarn. One of my mottos is “When in doubt, buy more yarn.” Why not? I am sure there are other things that take up a lot more room than yarn. There are far more things in life to feel guilty about than that poor bag of yarn that you HAD to have because it was a gorgeous color, soft as a kitten, and you couldn’t stop yourself. Even if you don’t have a project for said yarn yet, does the mere thought of that yarn make you happy? Go on, go look at it now. Of COURSE you still love it. Why worry about what you will make of it and when? Maybe you are looking for the perfect project. Maybe you are “saving” it. Whatever the reason, you need to get over your yarn guilt now. Just knowing that you have that yarn should make you excited to knit.

NEVER stop going to your local yarn store because you have “too much yarn”.  You won’t know what is out there, trending, if you don’t get yourself to that yarn store. You may even change your mind about the ideas you had for some of your stash.

Another thing about yarn… unless it is the victim of fire, flood or moths, it doesn’t go bad. It is there, patiently waiting for you. With a little care, your stash can last a very long time. Put some lavender or cedar blocks in with your yarn. I have placed fragrant dryer sheets in with my yarn to ward off silverfish.

One thing I recommend is looking at your stash often. Spend quality time with it. Instead of living in denial about how MUCH yarn you have, think about how much you LOVE the yarn you have. If you look at it, you become inspired, you remember the shop you bought it from, you think about other people who also love that color. What could possibly be bad about that?

Some knitters are very careful about their yarn stash containers. Others throw it in a jumble in a giant bin. Should you feel wrong about how you store your yarn? No way. What do you care if Mary’s yarn is taking over her garage or Jane is so precise she had to buy special shelving for her yarn? Every person is different, there is no “right” way to keep a stash. (Except fire, flood or moths, which you have no control over anyway!)

Enjoy your yarn. C’mon, say it: “I love my stash”.

Watch these videos to see how to make a yarn “butterfly”, and a center pull ball .