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Posts Tagged ‘stashdown’

Stash Curation 2016 – the Grand Plan

Posted in stash, yarn, tagged 2016, accountability, acquisitions, curation, stash, stashdown, yarn, yarnsnob on April 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

We are almost one third into 2016, and it is time for the annual grand plan to be revealed.

If you are interested in the back story or the original rules and goals, you may take a detour to the 2013, 2014, and 2015 posts.

My long term objective is that the majority of my stash is sock yarn, simply because that is what resonates with my crafting. The past focus reflected by the ratios has also been an overall stash reduction.

After the incident of the 2014 LYS sales, I´ve been extremely picky about what yarn to buy and when. Some might say that I´m becoming a yarn snob, but why should you not knit with the best yarn you can afford that is appropriate for the project? When maternity leave ends and I return to work life with three little ones demanding my attention evenings and weekends, knitting time will be at a premium. When you treat yourself, you don´t dive into the sales bin at the dollar store…

In 2015, I turned the negative 4472 yard balance to a 100-yard allowance enforcing the 1:3 ration. That is almost 13500 yards more out than in! At the same time, the unspent sock yarn account went up from 16.5 to 18.5 skeins.

Without further ado, I rename the Stash-down Quest to the Stash Curation! The trove shall be curated and groomed allowing precious and appropriate skeins in and the lesser yarns will be subjected to use-or-loose.

My revised rules and goals for 2016 are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years). The majority of the commercial yarns that have been on my vanishing list fall into this category.
1:1 skein ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:1 yardage ratio for all other yarns
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

As always, I will not reveal the overall size of the stash in terms of skeins/balls or yardage, but I will report on yarn going in and out 🙂

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Stash-down Quest – Q4 2015

Posted in stash, yarn, tagged 2015, accountability, acquisitions, stash, stashdown, yarn on April 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The last quarter of 2015 reveals a shocking truth!

For the background story, take a look at my plan for 2015.

My current rules and goals are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all pre 2015 Dale Baby Ull and Nostebarn / Askeladen Merino-lammeuld (2 ply)
Vanish all pre 2015 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:3 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

So, how did I do wrapping up 2015?

OUT:

I knit a doll blanket out of 315 yards from deep stash
I knit a huge shawl out of 1059 yards of fingering weight, partially deep stash
I crochet a doily out of 411 yards from the 2014 LYS sale
I knit an adult sweater vest and 2 hats out of 1150 yards Dale Falk from the 2014 LYS sale
I knit a beaded lace weight shawl out of 1005 yards bought in Q3
I knit a sweater, a snow suit and 2 hats out of Nostebarn deep stash (3402 yards)
I knit preemie hats, ornaments, and blanket squares out of 660 yards of scraps

IN:

I bought 3 skeins of Cascade Heritage sock yarn for a test knit I was approved for
I received the final shipments of the 2015 yarn club DH gifted me for Christmas – a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight.

Gifts/prizes:

STATUS:

At the beginning of October, my unspent allowance was 21.5 balls of sock yarn and -2567 yards of any yarn.

I used 0 skeins of sock yarn and 8002 yards of other yarn and added 3 skein of sock yarn. This puts my Q4 numbers at -3 balls of sock yarn and 2667 yards of any yarn.

My accumulated unspent allowance by the end of December is 18.5 balls of sock yarn and 100 yards of any yarn. THE NUMBERS ARE NO LONGER RED!!!

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Stash-down Quest – Q3 2015

Posted in stash, yarn, tagged 2015, accountability, acquisitions, stash, stashdown, yarn on April 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The third quarter of 2015 took a big bite of the stash!

For the background story, take a look at my plan for 2015.

My current rules and goals are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all pre 2015 Dale Baby Ull and Nostebarn / Askeladen Merino-lammeuld (2 ply)
Vanish all pre 2015 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:3 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

So, how did I do for the third quarter of 2015?

OUT:

I knit a baby blanket out of 842 yards of fingering weight deep stash
I knit 2 dresses out of yarn bought for these in Q2 (1332 yards)
I knit 2 hats and 5 sweater out of 2068 yards fingering weight from deep stash
I used up the last of the Nostebarn lanolin yarn (153 yards, deep stash)
I finished a crochet dress and bolero started in 2003 (2270 yards)
I finished a cardigan for me started in 2010 and knit a toddler sweater out of the left-overs (1580 yards)
I knit 2 child sweaters and a hat out of the reminder of Dale Lerke from the 2014 LYS sales (825 yards)
I finished another UFO cardigan for me and knit myself a second sweater out of the left-overs (1312 yards)
I knit 4 adult hats for charity out of 6 balls of Dale Falk from the 2014 LYS sale (696 yards)
I knit 1 pair of adult socks out of fingering weight yarn (skein of Cascade Heritage bought in Q2)

IN:

I bought two skeins of Garnstudio DROPS Lace (1750 yards) for a shawl that got cast on as soon as the yarn arrived.
I bought one skein of Leading Men Fiber Arts Soliloquy (sock yarn) on their annual sale.
I bought two skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sport Multi (400 yards)
I won a podcast contest and have been gifted a skein of sock yarn as prize.
I received July and September shipments of the 2015 yarn club DH gifted me for Christmas – two skeins of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight.

Gifts/prizes:

STATUS:

At the beginning of July, my unspent allowance was 21.5 balls of sock yarn and -4110 yards of any yarn.

I used 1 skeins of sock yarn and 11078 (!!!) yards of other yarn and added 1 skein of sock yarn plus 2150 yards of other yarn. This puts my Q3 numbers at 0 balls of sock yarn and 1543 yards of any yarn.

My accumulated unspent allowance by the end of September is 21.5 balls of sock yarn and -2567 yards of any yarn.

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Stash-down Quest – Q2 2015

Posted in stash, yarn, tagged 2015, accountability, acquisitions, stash, stashdown, yarn on July 3, 2015| Leave a Comment »

We have reached the half-way mark of 2015, and the stash is still shrinking.

For the background story, take a look at my plan for 2015.

My current rules and goals are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all pre 2015 Dale Baby Ull and Nostebarn / Askeladen Merino-lammeuld (2 ply)
Vanish all pre 2015 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:3 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

So, how did I do for the second quarter of 2015?

OUT:

I knit 7 pairs of adult socks out of fingering weight yarn (3 FOs deep stash + used the last skein of Cascade Heritage bought in Q1)
I knit a baby sweater out of 367 yards sport weight (deep stash)
I knit two child sweaters (806 yards) and a pair of knee highs (568 yards) out mostly sport/DK yarn from the 2014 LYS sales
I knit four baby items out of two skeins of Malabrigo Sock (880 yards, deep stash)
I knit 10 preemie hats and 6 pairs of child socks out of 1347 yards misc left-over sock yarn (mostly deep stash)

IN:

I bought one ball of Stray Cat Socks Self Striping Yarn from Etsy.
I bought three skeins of Cascade Heritage sock yarn for Tour de Sock.
I bought nine 50g balls (1647 yards)f Garnstudio DROPS Baby Alpaca Silk to knit dresses for the girls. Both dresses are bond off and awaiting buttons.
I won second place in Sock Madness 9 and have been gifted four skeins of sock yarn as prizes.
I received the April and June shipments of the 2015 yarn club DH gifted me for Christmas – two skeins of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight.

Gifts/prizes:

STATUS:

At the beginning of April, my unspent allowance was 18.5 balls of sock yarn and -3786 yards of any yarn.

I used 7 skeins of sock yarn and 3968 yards of other yarn and added 4 skeins of sock yarn plus 1647 yards of other yarn. This puts my Q2 numbers at 3 balls of sock yarn and -324 yards of any yarn.

My accumulated unspent allowance by the end of June is 21.5 balls of sock yarn and -4110 yards of any yarn.

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Stash-down Quest – Q1 2015

Posted in stash, yarn, tagged 2015, accountability, acquisitions, stash, stashdown, yarn on June 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The stash-down quest dives into its third year focusing on stash curation.

For the background story, take a look at my plan for 2015.

My current rules and goals are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all pre 2015 Dale Baby Ull and Nostebarn / Askeladen Merino-lammeuld (2 ply)
Vanish all pre 2015 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:3 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

So, how did I do for the first quarter of 2015?

OUT:

I knit three hats out of 774 yards Nostebarn held double (deep stash)
I knit a shawl out of 1230 yards of fingering weight left overs (deep stash)
I knit 7 pairs of socks and 1 shawl out of fingering weight yarn (2 FOs deep stash, 5 skeins bought for these specific socks)
I knit 2 pairs of mini socks and an egg cozy out of 55 yards of fingering weight left overs (deep stash)

IN:

I bought six skeins of Cascade Heritage sock yarn for specific patterns. Already used five of them.
I won a skein of sock yarn as grand prize in the HPKCHC Ravenclaw mini sock sprint Winter term 2015. Donated by bacs.
I received the first shipment of the 2015 yarn club DH gifted me for Christmas – a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight.

STATUS:

At the beginning of the year, my unspent allowance was 16.5 balls of sock yarn and -4472 yards of any yarn.

I used 8 skeins of sock yarn and 2059 yards of other yarn and added 6 skeins of sock yarn. This puts my Q1 numbers at 2 balls of sock yarn and 686 yards of any yarn.

My accumulated unspent allowance by the end of March is 18.5 balls of sock yarn and -3786 yards of any yarn.

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Stash-down Quest 2015 – the Grand Plan

Posted in stash, yarn, tagged 2015, accountability, acquisitions, stash, stashdown, yarn on June 27, 2015| 2 Comments »

We are almost half-way through 2015, and it is time for the grand plan to get digitalized from its pen&paper draft.

If you are interested in the back story or the original rules and goals, you may take a detour to the January 2013 and January 2014 posts.

My long term objective (beyond the obvious overall stash reduction) is that the majority of my stash is sock yarn, simply because that is what resonates with my crafting.

My revised rules and goals for 2015 are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all pre 2015 Dale Baby Ull and Nostebarn / Askeladen Merino-lammeuld (2 ply)
Vanish all pre 2015 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:3 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

As before, I will not reveal the overall size of the stash in terms of skeins/balls or yardage, but I will report on yarn going in and out 🙂

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Stash-down Quest – August through December 2014

Posted in stash, yarn, tagged 2014, accountablility, stash, stashdown on June 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The stash-down quest has been on hiatus in terms of accountability reporting. However, my fall 2014 crafting was heavily influenced by the quest goals.

For the background story, take a look at my plan for 2014.

My current rules and goals are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all 2009 yarn of light fingering weight or thicker
Vanish all 2010-2013 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:5 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

So, how did I do for the end of 2014?

OUT:

I knit 1 pair of socks and 1 shawl out of fingering weight yarn
I knit a pair of slippers out of 232 yards of fingering weight yarn
I knit an adult and a child sized sweater out of 2142 yards sport weight yarn. Using the majority of one of the two sweater quantities from the LYS sale, and 510y of this came from the heavy weight category
I knit a child sized sweater out of 1476 yards of deep stash baby wool
I knit a baby blanket out of 1352 yards deep stash baby wool
I knit a soaker out of 65 yards deep stash and the heavy weight category
I knit a newborn cardigan out of 180 yards deep stash and the heavy weight category
I knit multiple accessories using 830 yards
- 334 yards from deep stash
- 382 yards from the 2009 bin
- 376 yards from the heavy weight category
I gifted 1 100g skein of sock yarn and 6 balls of Dale Falk, 1161 yards total.

IN:

NOTHING!!!

STATUS:

At the beginning of the month, my unspent allowance was 14.5 balls of sock yarn and -5960 yards of any yarn.

I used 2 skeins of sock yarn and 7438 yards of other yarn. This brings my numbers up to 2 balls of sock yarn and 1488 yards of any yarn.

My accumulated unspent allowance by the end of the year is 16.5 balls of sock yarn and -4472 yards of any yarn.

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Stash-down Quest – July 2014

Posted in stash, yarn, tagged 2014, stash, stashdown, stashterm on August 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The stash-down quest continues in a timely manner. I have to admit doing some damage at the going-out-of-business sale at my favorite LYS. But seriously, who walks away from 40% discount on sweater quantities in identical dye lots?

For the background story, take a look at my plan for 2014.

My current rules and goals are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all 2009 yarn of light fingering weight or thicker
Vanish all 2010-2013 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:5 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

So, how did I do for July?

OUT:

I knit 2 pairs of fingering weight socks
I knit a cardigan and a vest out of 600 yards worsted alpaca left over from DH´s sweater
I crochet a shawl out of two skeins of fingering yarn (836 yards (deep stash and making a dent in the 2009 bin!)
I knit a dress out of 930 yards fingering yarn (bought on the LYS May sale for this purpose)

IN:

3 50g balls (1.5 skeins of sock yarn) of Regia Silk for Tour de Sock
1 100g ball of Opal sock yarn
5 50g / 125 yard balls of Dale Lerke to knit another raglan hoodie for the kids (626 yards)
3 25g / 137 yard balls of Katia Galaxy for an advent doily or table runner (411 yards)
40 50g / 116 yard balls of Dale Falk for at least two adult sweaters (4640 yards)

STATUS:

At the beginning of the month, my unspent allowance was 14.5 balls of sock yarn and -756 yards of any yarn. 2.5 skeins of sock yarn and 5677 yards in.

I used 2 skeins of sock yarn and 2366 yards of other yarn. This brings my numbers up to 2 balls of sock yarn and 473 yards of any yarn.

My accumulated unspent allowance is 14 balls of sock yarn and -5960 yards of any yarn. Looks like I have to get a lot of UFOs off the needles in the upcoming months…

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Stash-down Quest – April to June 2014

Posted in stash, tagged 2014, stash, stashdown, stashterm on July 30, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The stash-down quest continues and the Sock Madness tournament and a LYS sale had a huge impact on the second quarter of the year.

For the background story, take a look at my plan for 2014.

My current rules and goals are:

In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all 2009 yarn of light fingering weight or thicker
Vanish all 2010-2013 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:5 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

So, how did I do for April, May, and June?

OUT:

I knit 11 pairs of fingering weight socks (one pair deep stash)
I knit two preemie hats out of 102 yards of leftover sock yarn
I knit a baby cardigan out of 360 yards fingering baby wool (deep stash 2010)
I knit a baby cardigan and hat out of 286 yards light fingering yarn (deep stash 2011)
I crochet a mat out of 244 yards of cotton (deep stash 2010)

IN:

Although the small pile, I only shopped twice during these three months. Once during Easter vacation in Egersund, because I did not pack for the Sock Madness pair calling for a main color and seven contrasts. And then my favorite LYS had an anniversary sale at which I found a 35% discount coupon in the treasure hunt.

10 50g balls (equals 5 skeins of sock yarn) of Sandnes Garn Sisu Solids for SockMadness
1 100g ball of Katia Olé Socks Jeans for SockMadness
1 100g ball of Opal sparkly purple sock yarn for advent socks
6 50g / 125 yard balls of Dale Lerke to knit another raglan hoodie for the kids (750 yards)
6 50g / 155 yards of Dale Lillelerke to knit Amalie a dress (930 yards)
1 50g / 306 yard ball of Katia Jaipur lace weight

STATUS:

At the beginning of the month, my unspent allowance was 10.5 balls of sock yarn and 1032 yards of any yarn. 7 skeins of sock yarn and 1986 yards in.

I used 11 skeins of sock yarn and 992 yards of other yarn. This brings my Q2 numbers up to 11 balls of sock yarn and 198 yards of any yarn.

My accumulated unspent allowance is 14.5 balls of sock yarn and -756 yards of any yarn.

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Stash-down Quest – March 2014

Posted in stash, tagged 2014, stash, stashdown, stashterm on April 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The stash-down quest continues and March turned out to be an easy month to summarize.

For the background story, take a look at my plan for 2014.

My current rules and goals are:

Craft exclusively from pre-2014 stash in Q1 (Harry Potter knitting and crochet house cup Winter2014 #stashterm)
In general, knit up as much as possible from Deep Stash (older than two years)
Vanish all 2009 yarn of light fingering weight or thicker
Vanish all 2010-2013 yarn of sport weight or thicker
1:1 ratio for fingering sock yarn – Knit one pair of adult socks or a shawl, may buy 100g of new sock yarn
1:5 ratio for all other yarns, based on yardage
Yardage in is when the yarn enters the house. Yardage out is when a WIP becomes an FO or yarn is gifted/donated/traded
Vacation yarns do not count (but may only buy yarns not available at local-to-me yarn stores (LYSes)
Gifts and prizes do not count

So, how did I do for March?

OUT:

I knit two pairs of fingering weight socks (#stashterm, and one colorway deep stash, 2009)
I knit two mini socks, insignificant yardage of fingering weight scraps

IN: