The Great Personal Destash Challenge of 2015

There comes a time in (nearly) every crafter's life when they have to admit they have a problem. Mine time came about a week ago.

I've been wanting to use up some of my yarn stash and do some work with my rigid heddle loom but was short on inspiration.  So when someone mentioned Deborah Jarchow's class, Simply Stunning Scarves, on Craftsy, I signed up right away. I promised myself that I would  not buy any new yarns to do the class projects - surely I had enough already that I could easily find what was needed.

Wrong!  I had yarn stashed all over my studio, in closets, under tables - any place you could hide something, I had squirreled away a little (or a lot of) yarn.  I did find some lovely vintage handspun from Switzerland, and made the first scarf in the class (more on that at the end of this entry).  BTW - I highly recommend this class to rigid heddle beginners. 

When it came time to start the second scarf, I started the whole frustrating process of searching high and low again.  And quickly got fed up.  The result was that I collected my nine tubs (!) of yarn and all the bags and baskets hidden around the house and dumped them in the middle of my living room floor.

Here I have to confess three things:

1) this is after a major destash just last month.  I've already gone through my yarns and donated several cartons to my weaving class.  This is just the stuff I wasn't ready to part with.

2) this isn't all of it.  There are at least four or five different yarns I'm certain I still have hidden somewhere in the house - probably several skeins of each. 

3) this really isn't all of it.  I've deliberately excluded my sock yarn collection, my unspun fibers, and my handspun.  And the cones of yarn for machine knitting. Those are all problems for another time.

Phew, glad I got that off my chest.

So I thought I'd spend an hour or so sorting into neat little groups by texture.  I've already tried sorting by color and then by fiber content - neither method worked for me.  Six hours later, I had this:

In the process, I found half a dozen projects I've started in the last few years and lost track of.  They're now in buckets and baskets (about 9:00 in this photo) where they will remind me that they need attention. What you don't see here is the huge bag of yarn I culled out to donate to my weaving class.

Anyway, I put all the yarns tidily in their respective tubs, and was ready to get back to the business of weaving.  While sorting, I chose the yarn for my next scarf project, and actually got the loom warped.  Then decided I should probably find the yarn for the third scarf while I had all the tubs out.  And realized that I still had to go through every single tub to find what I wanted.

I bit the bullet, and have spent all of my spare time this past week updating my stash on Ravelry.  Every skein of yarn I own (with the exceptions confessed above) is now listed on my stash page with a photo.  This comprises 592.5 skeins of 221 different varieties or colorways of yarns weighing just over 105 pounds.  Egad!   This afternoon I finally finished and now have my tubs neatly put away on top of the bookshelves in my studio like so:

Each tub is labeled with the type or purpose of the yarn, and the date it was last sorted through.  Wonder if I'll be able to maintain this?








So here's the challenge part of this post.   I have promised myself that I will not buy any new yarn for the next six months.  Ok, so I originally promised myself no new yarn for a year, but who am I kidding?  I think I can make it for six months.  Or maybe three.  In the meantime, I will try to use up at least a quarter of the stash. That's 25 pounds of yarn in six months.  This could be either by finishing projects of my own, or sharing with one of my sisters, who has just begun her transformation to the darkside.  (She ordered her loomette last week  and I'm seeing a rigid heddle loom in her future,  mwa-ha-ha.)

To shame myself into completing some projects I started and set aside, here's what I've already committed to finishing:

A triangle shawl.  I finished the weaving part a couple of weeks ago but still need to finish the long edge and add the fringe.

The unused yarn for this project is not included in my stash.  Make that 106 pounds.

Another triangle shawl.  This is made with Lion Brand Homespun, which I will never, ever use again.  Any ends that aren't tied off unravel spontaneously.  Yuck.  I'll be looking for a crochet edging pattern to finish this one off.

A ribbed keyhole scarf using a pattern found on Ravelry. 

And a second scarf using the same pattern and chunky yarn.  How I came to start the same pattern twice, I have no clue.

The Bella Lana Reversible Cable Scarf, another pattern found on Ravelry.

 I’ve wanted to learn to knit cables for ages. I started and re-started this scarf half a dozen times before I put it on the shelf ‘temporarily.’ Unfortunately I think I gave away the other skein of yarn I had reserved for this scarf in my destash of February 2015. Guess I’ll be starting it again in a different yarn because I still do want to conquer cables.

The "Crammed and Spaced" scarf currently on my rigid heddle loom. 

















And a few projects waiting in the wings:





Planning to use this fun eyelash yarn on my Spriggs adjustable rectangle loom.  I actually started it a couple of years ago but made a mistake right at the beginning that I discovered after  weaving about 15 rounds.  Couldn't figure out how to fix without frogging the whole thing.  Which I finally did last week.

I was given this bag of gorgeous Chinese red yarn and discovered last week that a warp had already been cut from some of it. Looks to be about right for the length and width of a scarf, so I'll do this as a project in weaving class. Thinking about whether to just do a simple tabby or if it wants a twill tie-up.

I took a class in December 2013 on making Felfs - got as far as knitting my test swatch and dropped the ball. Will have to start over testing because I have no clue what happened to my first test and notes…

I think one skein should be enough to make one pair but I bought a second skein just to be safe.

And just to prove that I can actually finish something I start:

This is the open weave felted scarf from the Deborah Jarchow class I mentioned earlier.  I warped it on a Wednesday night and had it felted by Saturday night.  Note - the color looks different in each of the photos - this is due to my poor photography and not changes to the yarn.  The photo of the finished scarf is closest to the actual color of the yarn. 

This is the tag from the yarn I used.  It's part of the stash I was given when I bought my Gilmore loom from an estate.  Despite being handspun, it worked beautifully for both warp and weft and I didn't have a single break.

Project on the loom.  The purple strips are scrap-booking paper cut to 1" widths used for spacers.

The scarf after twisting and knotting the fringe, but before felting.

And (tada!) the scarf after felting. Since my washer is front-loading, it can't be used for felting.  I used a little countertop washer and checked the scarf every 2-3 minutes.  It took 21 minutes to reach this point.

Memorial Day Weekend

What a great weekend to honor those who have served their country.  Time to remember the major reason that I am free to do all the wonderful things I get to do.   Patriotic observances aside, there was still plenty of time for other things, so I now step down from my soapbox and record my recent fiber frenzies.

Saturday morning was my first meeting with the Greater Los Angeles Spinning Guild.  What fun!  They couldn't have been more welcoming and I'm looking forward to participating in as many of their activities as I can.  I took Thor, and was surprised to run into Judy, Thor's previous owner, at the meeting.  He turned out to be a great icebreaker for me as I turned into my usual pathetic shy self when I walked through the door.

I went to the meeting intending to buy a Dorset fleece.  One.  Somehow I left with two.  Or possibly three.  Our guild has some link to Action K9 Sports in San Diego County. This is a school that features herding and agility training for dogs.  (Yes, there are still plenty of sheep in this country and dogs are still the most effective herders.) They ordinarily have a day each spring when they invite people to watch them do their thing and a professional sheep-shearer takes care of the flock -- after which attendees can buy the raw fleeces.  This year they were unable to get the sheep-shearer for the right day, so they sent a number of fleeces to our guild meeting.  Well, little miss back-to-nature here decided that one fleece would probably not be enough, and bought two of them.

 I was warned that since it was a warmish day, I would be smelling sheep all the way home.  Happy to say that didn't happen.  In fact, my drive was extremely pleasant both directions despite some traffic delays.  I've recently discovered the the Spin Doctor podcast and have been listening to them in order (another exercise in self-discipline).  I had several episodes on my iPad and plugged it into my car radio -so had the pleasure of listening to a few episodes along the way.   Sasha  is possibly even more OCD about fiber arts than I am so I feel like I'm listening to a kindred spirit (as well as an enabler).
 
Got home, and after pulling out the first fleece, it looks like there are either two more smallish fleeces or one humongous one.  They were only $20 each, so I'll settle with the guild at the next meeting if it turns out to be two of them.

Here's the first fleece waiting to be sorted (second and possibly third fleece waiting on the ground.  After sorting the first one, I put the other back in the bag for another day).  It actually wasn't as bad as I had expected.  There wasn't an awful lot of filth (polite speak for "manure") but enough to make me glad I had a pair of heavy duty rubber gloves.  You usually discard parts with large amounts of  vegetable matter or any filth.

 This is what I consigned to the allegorical compost heap.

 
Then you generally grade the fleece by staple length, coarseness of fiber, and cleanliness.  The shoulders and flanks generally have the highest quality fibers.  But to my untrained eyes, especially since I was not careful to unfold the fleece as one piece, I could not tell you what was from the shoulder and what came from the britch.  It all looked pretty much the same to me. So it all went into two tubs of cold water without being sorted.

I'm guessing there are about three pounds of fleece in each tub.  I GENTLY pushed the fleece down into the water.  They say that Dorset is very forgiving and not as easily felted as other breeds, but I'm not taking any chances.

Next morning, I carefully lifted the fleece out of the water and set it on a screen to drain.  I knew the raw fleece had been pretty dirty, but was still surprised by the appearance of the water.  I also ran into some filth that I had not seen when sorting the day before.  Guess I was a little too eager to get it into the water.  More junk went into the trash barrel as a result.

This is one of the tubs post-fleece.

And the fleece just removed from water.

As I write this, the fleece is back soaking in tubs - awaiting the delivery of some Unicorn Power Scour.  I've been hearing about this product for scouring wool for some time - most recently on the Spin Doctor podcast, and think I'll give it a try.

Saving the other fleece(s) for a group session I'm going to try to organize.

Sunday was a real treat.  One of my fellow Inland Empire Handweavers Guild members was looking for people to help her demonstrate weaving and spinning at the annual Home School Fair at OCHS.  I had no clue what it was about, but went along with my buddy Gail and took Bunny Watson (the Hansen mini-spinner) to keep me busy.  As it turned out, the organizers put us together with another group of (mostly) spinners.  Here is one of the things I love most about fiber arts.  In most activities, when you put two separate groups together, you get instant rivalry.  But for some reason, fiber artists tend to bond and share. Maybe it's cross-enrollment in many groups.  Or perhaps it's because the fiber community has a number of traveling teachers so we aren't limited to thinking that WE have the only way.  But whatever the reason, we joined ranks and  had a delightful day. 

The other group was called "No Idle Hands."  All but one were in costume -- one in a civil war-era dress and bonnet, one in a Victorian smock, and the rest in Ren-Faire apparel.  I gather their emphasis is on Victorian era crafts, but they also participate in SCA and historic reenactment activities.  Most were spinning, but one was grinding wheat in a manually cranked grinder and making dough on site.  One of them gave each of us a a beautiful beaded orifice hook she had made.  Just in time since I've been using a big paper clip on Thor.  We sat in the shade and chatted most of the day while we worked on our projects.  And talked with loads of parents and children who were attending the fair.  May have won a few converts over to the fiber arts this weekend.

Gail took one of her triangle looms and the moms at the Fair were sure interested.  She weaves an awful lot faster than I do - got all this done in just a short time.

We had two other charming neighbors at the Fair...

These babies are only three weeks old and I may have spent more time watching them than I did actually spinning.

One more fiber-related activity in the works - for a later post.  But I will hint now that I've been regretting having sold my Mountain Looms tabletop loom years ago.

P.S.  - while writing this, I had a friend drop in to visit and he saw the photo of the two fleeces on my screen.  He was concerned that I had participated in the killing of sheep for their fleeces.  So I feel it important to tell any family or friends who happen to read this that no sheep were harmed in the acquisition of these fleeces.  Most domestic sheep don't shed so they need to be sheared yearly to protect them from problems and potential death resulting from overgrown fleece.  For those who want to know more, have a look at this.

Sometimes I Actually Finish What I Started

Walking through my little studio full of UFOs last night, I started to feel guilty about all the projects in various stages of completion.  Can you call "not started" a stage of completion?  I wonder.

Most of the the creative people I know have stashes of stuff waiting to inspire them, so I don't feel so bad about the 8 plastic cartons of yarns.  At least they're sorted by color family.  Or the three big laundry pop-ups full of overflow yarns.  Maybe a little about the bins full of fabric - some of which I bought when in high school.  I'm not saying how may decades ago that was.  But to count the number of unfinished projects scattered around the studio I would have to use all my fingers and take off at least one shoe.

To show myself and the world that I actually do occasionally finish things, I present here a few finished items.

Here is a project that started out as white wool roving at Studio 66 in 2010.  We learned a crock-pot dyeing technique and I just loved the colors that resulted - from a deep maroon to a very warm gold.  This was my first yarn spinning project.  My friend Linda, who is a brilliant teacher and has so many talents, had just taken up knitting and asked if she could have some of my  handspun to try.  She surprised me with this lovely scarf.  Despite being challenged by the non-uniformity of the yarn (I've learned now to call it art yarn when the wpi of your yarn varies from 6 all the way to 60, and where you have kinky overspun bits alternating with lofty underspun bits), she made this ruffly scarf.  I can't seem to get a photo that does her work justice. 

(l) Newly dyed roving drying on the rack. (r) Finished handspun

 

 The finished scarf

A close-up of the knitting

My friend Gail at the Weaver's Cupboard builds and sells triangle looms made from several types of gorgeous hardwoods.  I took one of her triangle classes thinking it would be a fun diversion, and came home with not one, but two of her beautiful looms and a tripod stand to boot!  I have UFOs on the looms now but have managed to finish a few.  Have been using mostly acrylics out of my stash while I learn to make clean lines and finish nicely, but I think I'm ready to work with the good stuff now.

 This shawl has a mix of three different yarns for subtle (and not-so-subtle) variations in color and texture. The basic yarn is a slubby acrylic. Silver threads have been added periodically, as well as a very soft fluffy novelty yarn.

For the life of me, I can't remember what I used for this shawl.  I think it was a single type of acrylic paired with a silver thread.  This was the first shawl I finished and I gave it to a dear friend for Christmas.





 This shawl is woven entirely in Lion Brand Homespun yarn.  So pretty in the skein but I hate working with it. It seems to fray spontaneously.

My friend Carol does a lot of work for the Free Wheelchair Mission, which builds wheelchairs out of inexpensive parts and has shipped over 600,000 of these overseas to people who would otherwise be immobile.  I donated this to their last fundraiser.
  

Left: Ellie. Knitted with acrylic eyelash yarn.  All of my knitting is done on circle looms - I tend to grip knitting needles so tight my hands ache after a few minutes so I gave up knitting on needles years ago.

Right: Michelle. Combination of bamboo and acrylic yarns. Scarf is handwoven, hat is knitted.

  

 
Left: Diane. Knitted with ultra bulky acrylic yarn.

Right: Farrah. Knitted with soft acrylic yarn.

 Left: Mia.  Knitted with a  wonderfully soft variegated Sensations "It's a Wrap" in blue/turquoise.  Made of 75% nylon, 25% wool,  I loved the way this yarn felt as I worked on it - will feel wonderful next to the skin.


Right: Michael.  Knitted with ultra bulky acrylic yarn.







And then there are the other hobbies.  Favorite thing to do when I get together with my sisters (not often enough) is take jewelry making classes or just hang out and work on our projects together. Name a hobby where you can pound on things with hammers and melt stuff with torches and I'm in!

 This bangle is a combination of fusing and wire-wrapping techniques. The base is fine silver, fused and hammered into the final shape. Six wrapped spirals of silver-plated copper wire have been added for a little more pizzazz.





 Guilt temporarily assuaged.  And now that I've posted this, I can't use these in future posts to give the illusion that I'm actually finishing things.  Guess I need to quit starting new projects and finish those triangle shawls.  Or the scarf on my rigid heddle loom.  Or the sampler on my floor loom.  Or maybe the yarn on both of my spinning wheels.  Or...    

Note to self:  wet alpaca still smells.  Ten ounces cleaned, dried, and in big laundry bag waiting to be picked and carded.  Fifteen ounces stinking up my drying center.  Half an ounce picked and ready for carding.  Half a pound waiting to be washed.  From this fleece.  Not thinking about the three pounds from two other fleeces.  I'll think about those next week.  Or maybe next month.