Friday, September 2, 2011

Fiber Arts Friday: Organizing my Stash

A few weeks ago I discovered the All Used Up flag on Ravelry.

I doubt it's new, so I'm sure most of you are aware of it, but just in case, it's on the right side just below edit stash details.


I had been wondering why my yarns that had been entirely consumed and showing none left were still listed in the midst of my stash.  So with this new discovery, I cleaned up my Ravelry Stash and felt much better.

While doing that, I had a brilliant idea for a new project but my actual stash wasn't organized well for finding the yarns I wanted.  So I re-organized my actual stash too.  Yes I am an engineer.  I try to fight it, but it's who I am.  I NEED to sort.  ;-)

I was already pretty well organized since most of the yarn was labeled in a bag and then sorted into a bin... alpaca, wool, other and more alpaca.  You can see that some of these bins were stuffed full.


While I think sorting by breed is a fine idea, my project needed yarns of the same weight, regardless of  the breed.  So I pulled all of my yarns out and sorted by gauge....


Side Note:  Hahaha, imagine that!  A project requires yarns of the same weight.  That's probably true for most projects.  Some times I really am brilliant.  ;-)
I then pulled out the yarns that have been allocated for other projects and put them into their own labeled bins.  I'm surprised I hadn't done this before.  I always segregate the yarn required for the projects I'm working on, but I hadn't done it for the projects on my To Do List.  It was amazing how much more clear my brain felt after I did this.


So after I segregated the allocated yarns, I was able to see what was really available for my new idea.

I pulled those out and returned the much smaller piles of yarn to their original bins... alpaca, wool, other.  But now I only have one alpaca bin.  :-)

I found out that most of my early handspun is not listed in my Ravelry Stash nor is my collection of roving.  It will require some dedicated time to photograph and list those yarns, so I guess it's a good thing we're upon a holiday weekend.  ;-)


I'm not certain that I will carry out that brilliant idea, but so far those yarns are still set aside.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!  Please head over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and give the Fiberistas some comment-luv

15 comments:

Heather Woollove said...

I love getting organized in the fall...it's such a good feeling! It looks like you have figured out a great system!

Paula said...

Mmmmm... A good organizing session always makes me feel warm and fuzzy. And thanks for the tip about the "all used up" flag. I'd been wondering the same thing. Must go check it out. Happy weekend!

WonderWhyGal said...

The hardest part about adding the stash to Ravelry is uploading the photos. I started to get organized before I went back to work but gave up. Argh! Good for you.

Spinster Beth said...

I wish I were that organized!

Thanks for visiting my fitness blog, and leaving advice ... I am starting over from scratch, and need all the help I can get! I will get a tennis ball this weekend, to stretch the fascia muscles. Thanks!

Vivian said...

My yarn stash is under constant re-org, and they are all on Ravelry, including the bin numbers, but when I need something, I still can't find it! Maybe the size is a bit of a problem ;-)

Congratulations on the new project! even tho it means another winter of traveling. Regular income is a good thing.

fiberdance said...

organization is highly overrated!
Good job, though.

oak haven alpacas said...

I'm so impressed with your organization goals! I was happy just to be able to walk through my fiber room LOL I'm also jealous of all your yarn. I can't spin it fast enough here at our house. If I want yarn, I have to spin it and use it quick before my husband sees it. He knits faster than I can spin so yarn doesn't sit long here.

Cara

Mona said...

AAahh...... organization! Much better in my head than in practice. I have all my stash in various bags and boxes in various rooms and closets. But I know where it all is!

Cara ~ your husband knits? Lucky you!

Andria said...

I love to organize, and it is always good to see old friends in your stash you may have forgotten about. I tell myself that I'll use up my stash before I buy more wool.......then I step into the local wool shop............

Kathryn Ray said...

@Cara - I'm the only one who spins or knits in this house, so all of the yarn is all mine. Hubba does offer up my knitting skills every so often, tho he hasn't done that in a while.

@FiberDance - you are very funny. :-)

@Andria - I haven't had the problem of buying yarn just because I love it too much. At least not for a while, but I am susceptible.

Voie de Vie said...

You're good. I have no desire to add any stash entries on Ravelry - I know my stash, and that's all that matters to me. :)

AllyB said...

Hi, I'm Ally and I'm a compulsive organizer. I've been able to fight the need to organize so much lately though by forcing myself to spin more, or card more. I catch myself taking time to organize a couple times a month now but at least I don't feel the need to do it once a week anymore...making progress? or am I just getting lazy? At least I have some pretty yarn to show for it. Your stash looks very nicely organized, I cannot imagine you being disorganized though...not sure why I have that impression, perhaps your knits give you away. Have a wonderful weekend.

Kathryn Ray said...

My entire stash is now in Ravelry... with the exception of a handful of fiber samples from a get-to-know fiber class I took years ago.

@VdV - I do understand what you're saying, but I like being able to have access to my stash especially the length and weights when an idea hits. That usually happens when I'm traveling and don't have access to my physical stash.

@AllyB - you crack me up... but you are right. I am mostly organized. The big exception is my office which looks like a case of paper threw up in there.

I have let go of some organizational tendancies, since I think it's good for marrital harmony. Hubba doesn't organize in the same way I do. So I've decided it's better to let him do things his way than to do it again. ;-)

Alittlebitsheepish said...

It looks great. I love having things organised in boxes, I think you may be right, it could be an engineering thing

AC said...

I always forget how to mark it as all used up, so it's like new to me. :)

It would be awesome to get organized, good on you!