What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?
I had to give credit where credit is due, Mary Lynn had a great answer to this question. When you can go to your stash and start a new project without having to go to the LYS for more yarn. Mrs Twisted added; when you can do the next 5 sweaters in your cue and enough sock yarn and lace weight for many years to come.
I see the stash almost as a living being. It changes as my or in this case OUR knitting wants or needs change. When you see new yarn in the magazines it inspires new projects or when you see someone knitting at your local S&B you may secretly covet that new fiber or at least project that yarn into a future pattern. The stash has now taken on more importance because the fiber that will become "future stash" in yarn terms. But it in itself is stash. Most of us grow in in our fiber knowledge and capabilities as we knit or spin. As we grow our needs change, when we knit new things, hopefully it inspires us continue this process. I digressed a bit... My perfect stash? When no matter what the situation, you have the right fiber in the right color that inspires you to knit any project that comes your way. The ability to spin and dye various fibers helps to supplement the stash and fill the voids when store bought yarns seem to fall short. The perfect stash is a moving target that's more of state of mind. Not having a finite quantity of yarn but knowing you can knit what you want with what you have.
The fiber dye fest was a little less than we had hoped for. Some of the people organizing had some family issues to deal with and I hope everyone is ok for all involved. We were looking forward to the workshops planned but it turned into free form dyeing free for all. Multiple people said "oh come on, just wing it." We have wung it or winged it on our own but I don't just do things willy nilly. I do like to experiment but I still want to document what we do so if it's good it can be replicated. If it doesn't meet our expectations the parameters can be altered with controls in place. The many guild members were very welcoming, the home where this occurred was just amazing. A few blocks from Hollywood and Vine, they had a large craftsman style home where they host this annual guild event.
A few pics of the guild members enjoying the day.
Looks like y'all had a great time, wish I could've been there!
ReplyDeleteI love the last picture because it looks like those lampshades are hats.
ReplyDeleteI have a sense of freedom when I can come up with a fun new project using the yarn from my stash. The yarn in my stash also works as inspiration, so it is never really not being used.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean about wanting more of a technical approach to dyeing so that results can be reproduced or specific adjustments can be made to produce the desired results.
Great answer!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite yarns are the yarns I have no idea what to do with. They keep me searching for inspiration and knowledge.
Wow, that was almost zen or something! Knowing you can knit what you want with what you have. That's where we are now. Except I will never stop coveting yarn....:)
ReplyDeleteHi there Jerry . . . I'm glad you liked my answer! The timing of the question was perfect for me as I was getting ready to hit the road for a three week vacation and wasn't going to have time to hit the LYS before I departed. So I did some stash diving and had enough to keep my hands occupied the entire time.
ReplyDeleteLoved the pics and while it may not have been so well organized it did look like everyone was enjoying themselves.