NO CAVITIES! YAY! None for me, none for Georgie! Safe for another six months. Whew!
I’m writing this Tuesday night because tomorrow I’m going to meet Ann and Daughter#2 (hey Ann – will I have to call her Daughter #2? Or does she have a more conventional name?) to give them the oh my god its been 15 years since I graduated from college tour of NYU. I hope I don’t forget all the good score corners at Washington Square. There will be lunch and there will be yarn shops in the mix. Even though I didn’t knit when I was in college. Ann canceled on me because she’s hacking up a lung and was generous enough to keep her Avian Flu away from me. And she more than made up for it with this photograph. Please, PLEASE go read her post. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe. Oh my god I LOVE YOU ANN!
This post, though, is about exorcism. (That should be good for the google hits!) You all know about the sideboard brouhaha, and in order to put it all past us and load up that baby with yarn, I felt like I needed to exorcise the evil karma that came along with my mistake. I’ve been thinking about what I could do and this morning I said to G I should burn the directions and he said that was perfect. So I did it. (G wasn’t home when I actually did do it and I think if he saw the amount of FIRE produced he would’ve changed his mind in a hurry!)
First, I followed Ann’s advice and found myself a metal bowl and put it in my sink. Then I collected the materials I wanted to burn. (You should know, that this was really about burning stuff. I never burn stuff but somehow I really wanted to burn stuff. You know?) I thought about it and I decided that besides the directions, I would put some scraps of yarn from my past jaywalkers and a bit of fiber. So STR and Corriedale went into the pot.
I put it all in the bowl and lit the stuff on FIRE.
KIDS! Do NOT try this at home!
I gotta tell you FIRE is scary. I let the sucker burn for a couple of seconds and then there were flames like everywhere and THEN I remembered to grab the camera. Duh. Anyway, so I snapped a few pictures and then turned on the faucet. Tina at BMFA told me the yarn and fiber would smell like shit when it burned and it didn’t really, but honestly, I don’t know if the yarn/fiber ever really caught on fire. But it was bad anyway and I put the fan on in the kitchen. Then the phone rang and I was freaked that it was the building calling me to complain about the smoke (there really wasn’t any at all) but it was just Ann.
So I burned the stuff, but that didn’t seem like enough. So I went back into my bedroom and built myself a little shrine of STR and then lit my favorite candle ever and really the only candles I ever burn – Lemon Verbena from L’Occitane.
I lit the candle and said the Shehecheyanu. When I was done, I turned and looked out the window and found this:
I’m loading up this baby tonight! Pictures to come are in the extended entry.
Okay. I’m back! I had a lot of fun loading up this sideboard and I can’t believe how much it will hold! I bought this big ass basket to hold fiber in the living room near the wheel, but it all fits into the cabinet. Oh well. Now listen, before I show you the pictures of my yarn in the cabinet looking all cosy and warm and loved, you have to promise that you won’t get mad when you see all the Socks That Rock yarn. PROMISE! You see Tina and I have become really good friends and we talk all the time and in the course of our conversations about the work I’m doing for them and all the other good collaborative projects we have planned and what’s the weather like where YOU are because here it’s shitty I might just order lots of yarn. Like if I see or hear about a color I don’t have, I tell her to send it. And being the good businesswoman that she is – she does. G has never made a comment about the yarn all over the house – asked how much I’ve spent, etc, but when he saw the STR drawer, well, he stepped back a bit. He didn’t say anything verbally – but man the body language said it all! LOL!
Without further ado – the sort of filled up yarn cabinet! (The closed drawers have nothing in them – top little drawers will be for needles and notions. The other drawers for yarn to be determined later.)
Before I put anything in the drawers and spaces, I sliced up some pieces of amazing smelling soap that Janet had sent me.
I figured this was a great way to get rid of the icky Ikea particleboard smell. I’m not sure what flavor this is – but it’s kind of got a citrusy smell – I love me some citrus smell. (Maybe Lemongrass? Janet is that right?) I wrapped each piece of soap in tissue paper. I also added some cedar balls to each space.
In each of the side spaces, we have my fiber collection. Undyed fibers and miscellaneous fibers and handspun yarns on the left:
And on the right side we have all of my dyed Biffle and other assorted dyed fibers.
Then, in the middle, we have the special sock yarn drawer – i.e. – yarn that isn’t STR, but isn’t Regia either. You’ve got your Koigu, your Lorna’s Laces, your Cherry Tree Hill, some Twinkletoes, some Artyarns Ultramerino 4, some Vesper and some other assorted stuff.
Okay. Now here it is. Remember you PROMISED not to get mad.
In the top picture is all the STR I have still in skanks (that’s a double, sometimes triple layer of yarn.) The bottom picture is what I have already wound up. I counted that I have about 37 skanks unknit. There are two in the process of being knit, and 8 pairs finished. I’ve also given away A LOT of this yarn. At least fifteen skanks. And in the interest of full disclosure, I’m expecting a package today or tomorrow. But not all of that’s for me. Some of it will be given away.
ETA: My stash, in its entirety, is MUCH larger. What’s in the sideboard is pretty much everything that had been residing on the floor in my living room – although there was some shifting around of stuff. The rest of the stash is safely tucked away in bins in my closet. I’ve got a lot – more than some, but not as much as others, I’m sure.
So there you have it! My beautiful yarn cabinet that I look on with only love. The exorcism worked!
Hope you have a demon free day!
L, C
Wow. What a beautiful collection of treasures!
Dude – Wow.
That’s a huge, honkin’ stash of STR! Nice!
Wow! I thought my sock yarn stash was bad. Thanks for sharing, I feel much better about my 26 pair of unknit socks now.
Hey, you might have a little “cuandera” in you. The yarn looks lovely in its new home
Looking good! Love the sideboard for your yarn! And the yarn! Lovely.
I’m feeling faint over here; that collection is giving me the vapors 🙂
holy moly, that’s a lot of STR! I’m jealous! nice stash you got there, I can only hope one day to achieve such a drawer of sock yarn.
:o)
Didn’t work….I am soooo jealous of all your STR!!! You will have to line them all up so we can see the colors!
Holy Crap. That’s all that I have to say. I’m feeling woozy over here….
I loved your exorcism ritual, I hope it allows you to enjoy your cabinet and it’s juicy yarn interior to the fullest! And even though it was such a huge PITA, it looks BEAUTIFUL all put together and filled up! It is a perfect harmony of type-A organization and fibery, colorful indulgence. I may yet have to brave the new IKEA here in Atlanta to see what they have that might suit my own (considerably smaller) stash!
LOL! So that’s why they ran out at Stitches West – you have it all. 🙂 Awesome stash!
good God that’s a load of sock yarn!! sorry I missed all of our fun today – phlegm sucks.
I’m happy that your Ikea issues are worked out. I loved the pictures of the exorcism (slight pyro tendencies here) and the shots of your colorful stash. It looks glorious in it’s new home!
YAY!! The sunset was a perfect omen that the knitting goddess was watching over you. The cabinet is perfect and now you’ll have no excuse to not clean the house….or well, maybe you should just knit.
Gorgeous! You should be soooooo proud!
Nothing like a little yarn for a rainy day, right?
Hahaha, Mack couldn’t keep his eyes off the flames in the fireplace last weekend… (It’s in the blood — my sister is a fire-freak, too, so the best present I ever gave her was all the stuff for creme brulee, including a TORCH!)
The sunset just sealed the deal, huh? Gorgeous, Cara. Everything looks right at home. And there’s room for more!! Empty drawers!
As you were talking about burning stuff in the sink I was thinking, “why doesn’t she just light a friggin’ candle?!?” And then you did. You probably would have been find with just that, ya know. The cabinet looks great now and it must be awesome to have everything all in one place. I’m not jealous of your sock yarn. Really. I’m not.
Damn! I think it’s awesome you have so much of it because you love it so much. Your yarn cabinet is really great too. Enjoy!
Where do you live? And when are you not at home? 😉
Holy Shit! About everything. The fire and the candle were great and the sunset…icing on the cake. That cabinet is absolutely perfect! I’m so completely jealous about that stash I’m actually drooling on my keyboard. You rock!
can i come live in there? i would sleep in the top str drawer and use the bottom one for entertaining (those wound cakes double as both seats and tables, you see).
no cavities here, either! go us!
Heh. You should catalog the colors of STR in your cabinet, there. It looks like you’ve got more than are on their website…
Oh. My. Goodness!
Enjoy every inch of that wonderful yarn. 🙂
Honey, you have the most beautiful stash I have ever seen. Tonight, I shall light the candles of Cara in my craft room and hope for just a smidgen of that loveliness. (And if it was me? I would have thrown the damn sideboard out the window. OUT THE WINDOW!)
oh my gosh, Cara…I just want to come over and pet all the yarn! 🙂
I love that sideboard. I’m sure all the evil spirits have left the building.
Sorry your NYU tour was canceled. I trust a visit to the bookstore was on the agenda;)
Cool cabinet (had to say it again) and beautiful collection of yarn Cara!! Love all that STR. Do people ever carry extra riders on their home owner policies to cover yarn loss? We invest a lot in our stash!
Do you use the soap shavings and cedar balls to keep bugs out or to smell good or both? Ever have a bug problem? I’m trying to find out what to use before I have issues with bugs.
(question day) What do you do with your little scraps of leftover yarn? Not just snips from weaving in ends (tho I guess I mean that too) but you know, those little small windings of yarn that you have left from a ball when you’ve nearly used it up and there’s not enough to keep with the other balls? Keep ’em? Ever use ’em for anything?
I’m so glad the demons surrounding this cabinet are GONE!!!!! 🙂
Wow. Impressive and mindboggling stash of STR. So… do you have non-sock yarns as well, or do those have another home?
OK, so I don’t know if you’ve already seen this, but your pigs in the hallway picture reminded me of the angry bunny 30 second depiction of “The Shining”. Which you must go watch immediately if you have not already. Here’s the link for the video (http://www.angryalien.com/0504/shiningbunnies.html) but if that doesn’t go through, go to ANGRY ALIEN DOT COM. 🙂
I envy your STR collection.
Okay, I am wowed by your STR stash. I need to work on that section of my sock stash though.
And fire is fun. Watching the flames change colors as the heat gets hotter and licking the fuel. I need to go and run and play with fire now….
And you did do it the smart way. Plenty of water handy and nothing to burn nearby other than your fingers!
That’s a beautiful thing. *Sniff*.
I didn’t actually kow one single person could have that much sock yarn. That’s SABLE with just sock yarn – way to go!
It’s unbelievably cruel of you to flash your STR stash, THEN give us a link to the Blue Moon Sock Club. Talk about hitting me at a vulnerable moment! I’m already trying to figure out how I can hide a $173 debit in the joint checkbook…..
Awesome sock yarn. I never thought to add up how many unknit socks I have, but I’m sure it’s at least 25…
*drools* SOCK YARN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you sure that link to Blue Moon won’t send us back to your site?! Looks like you’ve got it all! Your dresser is awesome. Ever since you first showed it I’ve been trying to figure out a place to put one in my house! (Then, of course, I’d have to buy enough yarn to fill it!) You continue to amaze!
Thank you, Cara. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Because every time I show my husband all the yarn you’ve got, and then go, “Oh gosh, I’d loooove to have me some STR” or “Wow, isn’t that Lorna’s Laces gorgeous? One of these days I’ll have to pick some up” he says, “Go ahead. Go right ahead.”
That sounds like a legit exorcism to me. The only thing you were missing was “The power of Christ compels you!”
And damn, I wish I had that much STR. Actually, I wish I had any STR. *sigh* Still waiting for the tax refund, on a yarn diet until then.
It’s beautiful! And so much yummy yarn.
The yarn has left me speechless. But I really want to you to see this great faux ad for The Shining (not the bunnies you have to see it!). It’s so funny.
wow. that is just a pleasure to look at. all of it. and lemon verbena to boot!
Well, at least your head didn’t turn all the way around and you didn’t barf split pea soup. It was clearly a successful exorcism!
The shock! The awe! I am rendered speechless by the beauty of your stash, especially all of the STR. I admit that I am an STR virgin, but I had to place an order for some last weekend. I cannot wait to knit with it!
Mazel Tov!
GOOD GOLLY. Ok, I’m not mad. But maaaan I’m jealous!
Look at all that sweeeeeeeeet sock yarn!
If I ever spring for Ikea yarn storage, I’ll remember your ordeal 😉
Hi, STR novice over here. Does anybody in the city (that would be NYC) carry it, or do you get it via mail? In either case, would you reveal your source? That’d be very much appreciated, I need to see what the hoopla is all about. And sorry if you said that someplace and I’m just too blind to see!
Oops! I copied the wrong url. This is the right one for a preview for the shining as a romantic comedy. Yep. sorry!
I hope that the demons were all exorcised from that sideboard, and you will have nothing but good projects come from the yarn and fiber residing inside. And OMG, that STR stash is to die for!
Love the exorcism idea. I’ll have to remember that for future furniture or sweater assembly sessions. I have knit some patterns that definitely deserved to be burned.
Love the STR stash. I’ve got my nice sock yarns in a dresser drawer (a large one) too. Only a few skanks of STR — I am planning to join the club to remedy this unfortunate situation.
All hail the new fiber cabinet!
wow… I cant be mad because… I CANT BELIEVE that it is all real 🙂 Amazing… so much… wow.
GOLD STAR for smacking the Ikea furniture around like it is your bitch, brownie points for the exorcism (I LOVE the Lemon Verbena from l’Occitaine too :), and good on you for giving that STR a pretty home to call its own.
Now it is back to WOW… all that STR good god almighty… WOW. Will stop talking WOW. now…
*jawdrop*
I just thanked God for my eyesight!
Hey, I never promised not to get mad. Not only am I jealous of your freshly exorcised cabinet, but those drawers of yarn? *SWOON* I just shared the saga of my Koigu addiction on the PointySticks.org podcast, and I’m avoiding STR so I don’t end up with another addiction to go with it!
Okay, I’m not mad but can I be jealous? I was going through my sock yarn last night. Can you believe that I have only enough sock yarn to make 8 pairs of adult socks? Maybe 9 if I made striped socks from some leftover Cascade Fixation Bulky. Oh, yes, and probably enough to make one or maybe two pairs of kiddie socks…
Sigh…