I’ve been going through my (too big for my apartment) yarn and fiber stash. I often feel overwhelmed by it, but still find myself buying new yarns and fibers. A goal for me this year is to use up a large portion of it. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what that amount looks like (maybe net -5 sweater quantities? net -3 fleeces?), while also avoiding using things up for the sake of using them and rushing through projects. While going through all of this fiber, I have figured some things out about what I like and don’t like in my knitting/crafting that can help guide what I do (and don’t) bring into my stash going forward.

Focus on what brings me joy

I don’t like everything when it comes to knitting and that’s ok. In going through my stash, there have been moments of looking at yarn and thinking “Oh god, what am I going to do with this?” but then also moments (like when going through my fleece) of being super excited and wishing I could take 4 days off work just to spin. That is a CLEAR message to me on what I want to keep working on:

Colorwork with commercial yarn (especially J&S/Jamieson’s)

I absolutely love colorwork, and I love knitting it with Shetland yarn. I (currently) don’t see a point to creating my own handspun heathered yarns to knit “traditional” colorwork with (except for maybe a natural colors set). I want to prioritize reducing other yarn consumption, so I can feel free to add more colors to my stash and complete a bunch of colorwork sweaters I have in mind.

Unspun cozy and “workhorse” sweaters

Even though my Fisherman’s Raglan didn’t have the exact fit I was going for (I imagined it more fitted, and in hindsight should have done a split hem), I wear it a ton. I love these sweaters that feel wooly and cozy, but I’m also not afraid of cooking, washing fleece, or hiking in. They’re also a bit looser of a fit than I’ve been knitting to date, which fits a lot better with my style and how I want my clothes to fit right now. I’ve seen a few versions of the Cloud Sweater by PetiteKnit that look like the viral Toast sweater, so that is something on my list.

Colorful cables (Noro, handspun, etc.)

My Noro cable sweaters are some of my favorites. A goal of mine is to make a handspun Na Craga or St Brigid by Alice Starmore.

Working with raw fleece

I think the most excited I felt when going through my stash was reopening my fleeces. I LOVE fleece. I love seeing the different qualities of different sheep and trying different forms of prep and spinning with them. The main drawbacks are that it is time consuming and it is hard to wash in my apartment. I tend to default to knitting, so I usually want yarn faster than I can get out of spinning. But I would like to prioritize finishing some of my planned fleece projects this year.

Dyeing my own fibers

I have this massive bag of fiber I dyed with Jeremy over the summer and it is BEAUTIFUL. This, along with the fleece, is what brought me the most excitement when going through my stash. The complex colors I was able to achieve with natural dyes, and mixing and matching dyes and fiber, was so fun. I loved the experimentation and not having a set result in mind – it helped me avoid any expectations and feelings of disappointment, which I think is something I struggle with in my crafting.

Things I want to try

More of everything with handspun yarn, especially cable sweaters, socks and weaving

I never thought I would be a sock knitter, but one thing I have found is that it can be great as a functional swatch for handspun blends. I made one batt with the intention of making socks, and the yarn is probably my favorite yarn I have ever made. I would absolutely love a sweater with it. By making one sample batt and knitting it into socks, I was able to test out a blend without committing to a full 1lb needed for a sweater. I’d like to keep doing this going forward. Jeremy also loves handspun socks.

Mohair-only projects and in more colors

I have a few ideas for projects that require multiple colors of mohair, but mohair is expensive. I’d like to build up that stash as I can

Try different commercial yarns I’m interested in

There are some commercial yarns I’ve always wanted to try, but I usually default to buying things I know (ex: J&S, Harrisville Designs, etc.). I’d like to reduce my stash enough so I don’t feel guilty buying new yarn. I also want to try to get myself to try a sample first, instead of buying a whole sweater’s quantity right away, in case I don’t like it. I definitely want to try making a Toast sweater replica in Manchelopis, and I’d also like to try some thin alpaca yarn like Cascade Alpaca or even Drops Alpaca.

How I want to change (or keep) my buying habits

Stop buying variegated hand-dyed yarn

I simply just don’t like the final result. I find that the look I’m always going for is more heathered, or even variegated in the way handspun can be over dyeing whole skeins

Prioritize hand-dyed spinning fiber over hand-dyed yarn

Like I just mentioned, I’ve realized I don’t like variegated hand-dyed yarn. However, sometimes I like the colorways and if/when they are offered as braids of fiber, that could be a worthwhile purchase. I still want to minimize this type of purchase and focus on my own fiber dyeing.

Look for thin farm yarns to hold with other yarns

(as opposed to holding mohair)

I like the look of marling, but I don’t always want to hold things with mohair, and I also prefer knitting at smaller gauges, so holding two fingering weight yarns together often feels too bulky

Keep a yarn wishlist

I want to keep my yarn wishlist up-to-date. I think this will help with not feeling like I have to buy things I see in YouTube videos (or keep a million tabs open) for fear of forgetting about them. I also think this will bring focus of things to buy when I have the urge or need for yarn for a new project, or go to festival. This will be both concepts (ex: lace alpaca yarn, lace wool on cones) and specific yarns.

Try one fiber subscription

As I’m trying to get better at my fractal spinning and understanding color and spinning, I think this is a good choice for me. It will expose me to colorways I may not naturally gravitate towards in the braid, but may create yarn I enjoy (or vice versa). I’ve always loved the yarns I see people make from the Hello Yarn fiber club, and she just had some spots open, so I grabbed one. It is $26/mo, and that is a budget I’m comfortable with for this.

Things I will continue to bring in (but try to keep it reasonable)

• I will continue buying Nutiden and Honer och Eir spinning fiber. I am always happy with those projects. I will try to get fewer colors, but larger quantities, to avoid playing yarn chicken (like with the Blaljus I ordered)
• I will continue to buy raw fleece and try to have enough on hand that I can dye it, but only after I use most of what I have

Learning priorities

Continue improving my understanding of fit and achieving the sweaters I want

I am a good knitter. I know some people would consider me an advanced knitter, but I wouldn’t. For me, being an advanced knitter would come with having a better understanding and execution on fit. I have made a few sweaters in the past couple of months that have be about 75% of the way there when it comes to matching what is in my head, but they fall short when it comes to the nuances of fit. In order to get better at this overall, I think I need to focus on a couple of things:

• Measure sweaters I like for different measurements, and use those as guides when working on new sweaters. For example, determine my yoke depth based on other sweaters with the look I’m going for, not just what the pattern or gauge says.
• Don’t be afraid to go bigger. I tend to be afraid of making everything too oversized because that can be a not so hot look with my large chest. I also tend to be playing yarn chicken, especially when trying to use up those variegated yarns because I hesitate and buy too little (which goes back to the goal of not buying then).
• Don’t feel bad about knitting the same pattern more than once, with or without variations. If I like how something almost fit, I can use it again. I don’t have to figure out everything on my own

Figure based on the types of yarn I like when I see other’s handspun

I know I like fractal yarns, but I also know I don’t like all fractal yarns. Most of the ones I have done, I loved how the dyed top looked, but the final yarn had a dominant color that wasn’t what I want. I would like to get better at understanding how the colors a dyed top or batt will translate into the final yarn based on the spinning technique. One person that really inspire me in this area are @linthegrey on instagram and her handspun overshot weaving. That is a HUGE goal for me.

Find more time for other crafts, especially weaving and sewing (and also deeper dives into spinning)

Sometimes it can be hard to prioritize diving deeper into different crafts. I often don’t feel like I have the capacity to do something that requires more thinking, which is why things like weaving and sewing get the least amount of attention. I would really like to try to substitute fulfilling the need for something new with buying supplies with focusing on learning. I bought myself a subscription to Jane Stafford’s weaving school, which is awesome so far, and a Sew Liberated pants class, which I haven’t tried yet. I’d like to make use of both of those this year.

How to avoid feelings of overconsumption and letting myself relax

And lastly, I have been having conflicting feelings around the joy I get from knitting/crafting – picking colors, figuring out the math, executing the project, problem solving along the way, etc. – and the fact that I don’t need 500 sweaters. I think there are a few things to help with this:

1. Creating more things that aren’t sweaters. This is part of why I want to put more emphasis on weaving and sewing this year – so I can create a whole wardrobe, not just 1000 knit sweaters.
2. Creating things for other people. I am not the best “gift” knitter. I love wearing sweaters and generally want to spend my time knitting for myself. However, there are some things where I want to put the colors together and make the project, but I don’t necessarily need the sweater for myself. I think knitting more sweaters for Jeremy will help scratch the itch of knitting, but help balance just adding to the giant pile of sweaters sitting on my dresser (…and under my bed…in multiple bins…). Eventually he won’t need more sweaters either, but one of my friend’s is pregnant so…
3. Not care about it and just relax. It is ok for some things in life to just be for yourself and not have a greater purpose. My yarn/fiber consumption as an individual – actually, everyone’s individual yarn/fiber consumption – is not the cause of overproduction, resource draining, etc. I could continue to rant on the corporate scam of how environmental issues being the individual’s fault all day, but that’s for another time… The point is, I don’t need to take on that entire burden myself, and definitely don’t need to put it on my knitting. If anything, my wool/knitting choices, especially with a focus on farm yarn going forward, are a positive type of goods exchange, and I’m probably better off re-evaluating my 401(k) investments and all that jazz…

This was a long one, but it feels good to write down some of my goals and lessons learned from going through my stash. I’ve definitely had a big spending month so far, so I’m hoping to use the next few months to focus on (intentionally) using my stash, and diving deeper into different skills I want to improve.