How Big is Your Stash?

Having been in the yarn industry for more than 25 years, people expect me to have an enormous yarn stash. In reality, I believe that my stash is quite small. The “new” yarn fits in three plastic bins in my basement.

Even so, it’s enough to keep me busy for several years (I’ve collected mostly sport and fingering weight yarn). I’m one of those people who likes to focus on a single project and I prefer to purchase yarn with a project in mind. Unlike a lot of knitters, having a lot of unused yarn makes me feel guilty.

However, that doesn’t mean I’m immune to being envious of other knitters’ stashes. I’ve met plenty of knitters who have collected enough yarn to last several lifetimes, and still they can’t resist a new brand, color, or fiber content. They have yarn in closets, cupboards, car trunks, garages, under beds, in dressers, behind furniture, and everywhere else a skein (or more) can be stuffed. I have enough trouble remembering what’s in my three bins. How do they ever keep track of everything squirreled away in every nook and cranny?

This leads me to the most impressive yarn stash I’ve seen. It belongs to Alicia, who lives in California. Our paths crossed when we were both visiting family in southern Oregon last fall. I commented on the handknitted scarf Alicia was wearing and a friendship was immediately born. When Alicia returned home, she sent me a photo of her “cherished wall of wool” in the room she visits for serenity.

Alicia worked in the yarn industry and must have stumbled on a LOT of bargains. I don’t know if I’d feel at peace in that beautiful room or if it would make me feel that my fingers had to work faster. I’d sure like the chance to find out…