This is NOT a joke. I repeat. This is NOT A JOKE. This is really my stash, and I’m warning you now, it’s going to be VERY ugly. And not in the sense of oh my god it’s going to be ugly because it’s actually going to be so good you’ll be so envious you’ll want to kill me and steal my stash, I mean the pictures are pretty damn awful. The light was waning in the afternoon sun and it was hot in my bedroom even though I peeled out all of the clay caulk shit G used to seal the windows and moving stuff around was boring and sweaty and by the end I really didn’t care how much fucking yarn I have. But I know YOU do, so I’m showing it to you. Don’t say I never did anything for you. 😉
Here’s the stash. All of it. I’m proud of the fact that it can all fit into the space next to my bed in our bedroom – and that’s including the fabulous dresser which I now love more than anything (be sure to click the links if you don’t know the whole story.) (Sometimes I just run my hand along the top and open the drawers to smell the soap and look at the yarn and then I close them so I can fondle the drawer pulls. Ahhhh. I really do love it that much.) This is a picture of the bins in their natural habitat:
The other stuff on top of the closet are shoe boxes and empty notebooks (I used to journal and I have a lot of empty notebooks. Now I blog.) and empty picture frames. This is the walk-in closet in our bedroom which holds all my clothes, shoes, other crap and a lot of my yarn. Before you go all feeling sorry for G because I got the walk-in closet, he has a dresser in the bedroom, a WHOLE OTHER ROOM in the house with a closet and tons of drawer space and another closet in another room in the house. He’s well taken care of space wise. Believe me.
In case you didn’t notice, I numbered all the containers, so I’ll start with number 1.
1) This is the fabu leather basket I got at a kick-ass sale at Crate and Barrel. It holds a bunch of WIPs and is usually in the living room.
Among the projects pictures here are the Prarie Blanket, Short Rows, BDFS, the long abandoned Sunshine Sock, the Powell 106 shawl, other stuff I don’t even know about anymore. (If you’d like to see more about these projects, check the sidebar for links. I’m feeling quite lazy.)
2) This clear bin with a white top (one of two) holds some nice (read: expensive!) stuff:
You’ve got your Chocolate Calmer in the front, Rowan CashSoft (a gift from Jen!), ArtYarns Supermerino – in purple/pinks and in orange – enough for two kid sweaters, Brooks Farm from Maryland – two bags, Donegal Tweed for a felted bag, Jo Sharp Desert Garden – a bag from WEBS, various Manos, some Malabrigo, some Cotton Fine left over from my Flower Basket Shawl – or actually some extra in purple as an alternative. There may be other stuff in there, but I can’t tell from the picture and I already threw it back in the bin.
3) This is the JO SHARP BIN!
Remember like a year ago, or maybe even longer, when elann.com was selling all that Jo Sharp super cheap. Yeah. I bought a lot of it. But I’ve swatched some and knit some and this is the yarn I think about most when I’m thinking about knitting from my stash. We’ve got Silkroad Aran in a light blue, Silkroad Ultra in a chocolate color, Silkroad Aran Tweed in a grayish color for a sweater for my dad that I SWEAR I’m going to knit someday. Soon, Daddy, soon. Some leftover Silkroad Aran Tweed in a navy blue that I used for G’s vest. Silkroad Aran Tweed in a lighter blue – possibly an aran for me. I’ve swatched it AND I bought buttons. Kiss of death. And finally, two colors of Silkroad DK Tweed in a pink and a green. This is the stuff I’m always thinking about.
4) The smallish clear bin.
This is a little bin which holds all the stuff that I haven’t had a chance to put some place special. All the fabulous yarn my best pal Kris sent me. A birthday present from Elspeth. Some Trekking and Regia sock yarn, all purchased BSTR – before Socks That Rock. My birthday Starmore collection.
5) Smaller blue bin in the back.
Ann! This one’s for you! In the front on the left is all the yarn I bought to make the Flower Basket Bag that was in Vogue a few issues back. The one with the trellis like pattern and four thousand flowers and you felt it? Knit on size 19 addis or something? Yeah. I never made it. One day. Also there’s some Cascade 220 in really bright colors that I actually bought for a photo shoot I was thinking about that never really worked out. I tried it but it turned out to be a bad idea. And some Chasing Rainbows tussah/merino blend that I think I had earmarked for a Clapotis. Some Rowan All Seasons Cotton in the horried Tapestry color that they discontinued but I wasn’t smart enough to realize they discontinued it because it’s ugly as shit. I used this to make the Pinwheel Blanket for my nephew that I’ve learned to loathe (the blanket, of course. Not my nephew. Him I LOVE TO DEATH!) I never gave it to him. The boy turns one next week. In the same bag is a sweater’s worth of some very expensive hand-dyed merino/mohair yarn I bought at Maryland last year. It’s still pretty. And some Peruvian Highland Wool, another yarn I’ve learned to hate.
6) The big blue bin.
This is the proverbial junk drawer bin. It’s got all the leftover bits of yarn and half used balls and swatches (although I recently gifted my niece a TON of swatches – mostly acrylic stuff – to use as blankets for her dolls) and all the ACRYLIC and projects that I really need to rip and reclaim the yarn. Like I said, the junk drawer.
7 & 8) The dresser (and the little box in front!)
We’ll start with the fiber:
This pile actually makes me the most nervous. When am I going to spin all this up!?! I keep the fibers in the shelves behind doors in the dresser. I also keep my handspun yarn there.
My handspun. Claudia‘s handspun, which I like to take out and study because it’s so beautifully spun. A vendor at Rhinebeck’s handspun. Some other stuff.
The top big drawer in the middle area and the top top small middle drawer hold this:
Here we’ve got the Koigu, the Cherry Tree Hill, some Tiny Toes, some of Felicia‘s yarn, some Vesper, some Fleece Artist, other sock yarn stuff. This is the mostly handpainted sock yarn that’s not STR.
And last, but not at all least, I leave you with my Socks That Rock collection, which gets three drawers (a large and two mediums):
And yes. This one really is as good as it looks.
Hope you enjoyed my stash! God help me.
ummmm, whoa.
whoa!!!!!
You need to just start sending out STR care packages. You’ll never knit all that up.
😉
WOWOWOWOW! I thought the tour was almost done and THEN came the IKEA chest. And then the STR!
Speechless. Cannot process so much fiber at once…
Yeah, it’s impressive, but you’re not at SABLE yet. Shop, woman, shop like the wind!!!
– Your local enabler.
holy shit! man that’s good stuff…..thanks for the validation that i need to stock up….
Oh my word… Wait there are no words… That is one impressive stash!
Be very proud! Gorgeous. I think that Elann-Jo Sharp dealio was before my knitting time. Darn!
Wow!! You could open a yarn store!! Amazing stash!!!
Can I come go shopping at your house. I swear you have a better stash than the local lys. So impressive.
Woah, that is a lot of sock yarn. Woah.
Wow. When you get tired of that Calmer, send it my way. ; )
until that last image, I though you and I were about even.
god.
…
[utter awe]
The str pile… My stash is PUNY. PUNY!!!!
Oh dear Lord! Amazing STR collection.
BTW, gotta love that “new dresser smell.”
I’m drooling – that sock yarn – so yummy. BTW I love your banners.
Oh my goodness girl! I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much STR in one place. Your spinning fibers are beautiful!
That’s very impressive …. especially the sock yarns. I covet those sock yarns.
I knew you’d end with the STR photo! What a lot of work you went to, photographing all that. Thanks for showing us your stash.
That’s got to be $900 worth of STR. Holy fuck! I counted. I must never do that again. *fans self* Does that stop me from coveting the pile? Of course not. I’m amazed. And covetous.
I remain bitter that I didn’t appreciate how great the Jo Sharp deal was, because I would love to make the Must Have Cardigan using it – you’ll see a ball for swatching in my stash. You know, except for the truckload of STR, our stashes seem about the same size….
After seeing some of the stashes (yours might take the gold!) I feel much better about mine and will NEVER join another Stashalong. However, I might call you next time I need something;-)
truly amazing!
Holy Crap I’m drooling…really…how much would it cost me to take all of your trekking and the opal off of your hands??? Really!
Lovely stuff there Cara!
Is it wrong that I want to come to your house and just lie on the bed and pet the fibre and STR collections?
Oh my goodness. I think you really do have as much as my LYS.
Oh yes, you definitely need to lighten your STR karmic load. Let us help you. 🙂
Oh my. I love that dresser. It would be lovely without the fiber, but full? Oh my.
Um, yeah. You know what you said in the email yesterday that you weren’t going to do in a few weeks? Wanna bet? I’m very persuasive. Some of that stash looks, er, lonely.
Wow!
Good looking stash Cara. I love all your STR – almost too good looking to knit! Very nice ensemble.
Can I live with you? I’ll be very quite, just let me knit.
Must go lie down… suffering from serious yarn envy… wow! If you should need any help knitting anything up, I’d be delighted to be a stunt knitter…
Oh, my goodness! Since my stash is nowhere near yours in volume, I decided to try to make up for it with creativity – go visit!
PS – There may be a drive-by yarning later today….
I really admire you. I once commented that showing your stash on a blog is akin to running your underwear up a flagpole- but your particular underwear has no holes and is in lovely condition- serious stash envy happening here- maybe I’ll be as brave as you one day!
All I got to say is wow!!!! I am jealous of your STR collection.
Cara, I’m completly in awe of your stash. I like the wide range of colors that you work with. I’ve been stuck in a cool color rutt for awhile.
First, I’d like to come roll around in the STR. Yum Yum YUM!
Second, sometime you ought to take a pic of all the STR and tell us which color is which. I find myself lusting after specific skeins and then I don’t know what to ask for!
I think I need a drink. Or a Valium. Man, that is a kickass stash.
Oh. My. God. Well, I expected you to have an enormous STR collection, and you did. But the fiber. All the beautiful fiber. Now I’d like to roll around in that! Beautifully photographed, Cara. I like the spontaneity!
Wow. Really, really, REALLY puts my so-called stash to shame! If you do happen to look at my blog, please don’t laugh (too hard)! 🙂
I’m so glad you love your dresser now. Oh! And your closet! So organized. I’m in awe (because my closet never could be so organized!).
Wow! Nice stash! This whole thing (fys) is making me feel better about my yarn stash. 😉
You are a maniac! It didn’t stop. I’d read and looked at pictures, kept reading and looked at more pictures, and it didn’t stop! You really are incredible!
oh i am an ant peeping about the picnic blanket of giants. i have a rubbermaid tote and a picnic basket full of yarn and that’s it. i was guilty about it. now i feel both very very small and very very thrifty…thanks!
this is the very finest yarn porn i have ever seen
that is a shit load of sock yarn! I keep meaning to ask you if your going to SOAR? I am seriously considering it 🙂 😀
I think that’s more STR than I’ve seen in one place, including at the yarn shop/fiber festivals! You must have every colorway – I’m drooling…love the dresser storage idea as well!
Holy Cow! I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that much yarn outside of a yarn store!
Love your stash, but I want the dresser! (Wouldn’t mind having a couple dozen skeins of STR left in it though!)
I have Stash Envy … and it hurts. I think that I may need to treat it with yarn.
And if God won’t help you with that stash I humbly put forth my needles (or shelf space).
Awesome stash – – and so organized. I also like that everything is wrapped in plastic. My stash is sure to gather dust. I love the dresser.
Well, now I know where Moth Nirvana is! :o)
I hate to say it but my best friend, Julie, has way more yarn than you in her stash. I didn’t think it would be possible to have as much yarn as she does but man, she has enough to last a third world country a year. Although, your stash is of much, much finer quality than hers. Hers is mostly acrylic with some crochet cotton thrown in. I’m envious of your stash!
I was doing just fine until I got to the very end and saw all that STR. Now I am weeping green tears of envious sock yarn lust.
Wonderful stash, especialy the socks stash. Did you buy up the STR stock?
WOW. That is insane! Thank you for flashing your stash because I feel so much better about mine! 😉
good lord. where are you going to put the stuff you get at maryland? you’ll need a whole nother bin. you are going, aren’t you?
1st: That clapotis photo in your header fucking rocks.
2nd: I love Jo Sharp with a passion I would ordinarily reserve for a guy who was both kind and really good in bed. In the end, I think I will knit only with handspun and JS yarns. Just the words – ….silkroad…tweed…. – are beautiful.
3rd: If you will email me your address I will return to you the 1/2 ball of chocolate Ultra remaining from your act of generosity, plus the matching baby yarn I used to seam. Because baby, you do not want to seam with the Ultra.
It’s very warm. I recommend a v-neck.
There is no way that I have more yarn than you…or at least you win in the socks catagory! I was on a knitting retreat this last weekend, and I won some STR! It’s the Spring Fling colorway…I just may have to finally make a pair of Jaywalkers. I keep drooling over all of the different colorways that you’ve made!
Thanks for the pictures of the stash! Your pictures are lovely. You probably have every single STR colorway.
Oh Dear God! What beauty and yumminess! My eyes are all teary! Need ideas? Probably not. :o)
Keep on truckin’,
Big cheer from Quebec City.