use up my yarn stash

I’ve been researching places that accept donations of knitted or crocheted goods and below a list of what I’ve found. I have determined that I probably have enough yarn to donate at least one item to all of these organizations, so I plan to not discriminate.

www.h4ha.org – (I also have an entry about this); accepts knitted or crocheted animal blankets to be used in animal shelters around the world. The site is also neat because you can search for local participating shelters and keep your love local.

www.warmwoolies.org – Accepts pretty much any wool knitted or crocheted item, and acrylic baby blankets (except white).

knitforthecure.org – Accepts knitted and crocheted items that have the color pink incorporated in some way. I think these items are auctioned off for the benefit of breast cancer research and treatment.

warmupamerica.org – Accepts afghans or afghan blocks to be donated to a number of local organizations.

savethechildren.org/knitonesaveone – Accepts knitted caps for low birth weight babies; I think this is domestic as well as world wide.

orphan.org / Red Scarf Project – Similar to Knit for the Cure, but with red and scarves only. Apparently participation is in the fall.

This is sort of related to ‘knit more’. I’ve got 3-4 of the huge Ziploc storage bags full of yarn, and about half of it has a project in mind for it. I need to separate the yarn into smaller bags with the pattern included, so when I finish a project the next is ready to go. Hopefully, it will work.

D’you know what, I’m going to give up on this. Being creative is a simple pleasure but it is important to me and gives me a lot of enjoyment. I have plans for all of the yarn that is stashed away in my cupboard, and it is fun to pick and choose between projects and have different things to work with. I have proved to myself that I don’t need to buy new supplies all the time and will be more mindful when making future purchases. But for now, I’ll keep the stash and work through it in my own time.

I’m making progress but I still have so much stuff to use up. I really need to concentrate on getting some big projects done instead of always making little bits here and there. I have lots of ideas for sweater, cardigans and shawls that are begging to be created!

I think the problem is that I still can’t resist a good sale, especially when yarn I want to try is being discontinued or going out of season. I’m going to stop buying unless I have something specific in mind, and be more realistic about how much yarn I have vs. how much free time I have to be knitting and crocheting.

As for the stats, my current yarn stash total is 15,641 yards = 8.8 miles.

I have just cast on a Purity Shawl from the latest issue of Rowan (summer 43) and I’m using some beautiful Lorna’s Laces which I got about a year ago – I finally found a perfect use for it.

My goal is for it to all fit into one storage container..I have a lot of work to do. Or a lot of yarn to give away, which ever comes first.

Apparently I have too many ideas and not enough time; there are bags of yarn stacked up in cupboards around the house. I’ve given some of this away through ravelry, and I’m left with the stuff that I really like and/or have specific projects in mind. So, currently I have a grand total of 17,314 yards aka 9.8 miles! I am to have cut this in half by the end of the year and it is an eyeopener to see how much I buy without really needing to.