Fiber Arts Friday: Organizing the Stash

On my To Do List since before we decided to move our house and farm has been to update and organize my Stash.

I'm generally pretty organized here, but with my Scrappy Palindrome and the recent Frogging of WIPs, I know that everything is not in my Ravelry Inventory nor is it in the proper bins.

I believe that all of my clean fiber has made it's way to this area of my studio since our move, but it's lack of order has been annoying me for a while now.  So I've been thinking a lot about how I'd like to organize this area...

I've noticed that Tapestry Weavers tend to organize by color.  Conversely, Knitwear Designers seem to organize more by weight (gauge).

Either display/organization strategy is nice to look at.  I especially like the gentle gradient of color across a wall of yarn. However, I don't think there's one best way to organize anything, as long as:

1. everything has it's place and
2. you can find what you're looking for when you're looking for it.

So, after contemplating these strategies for some time and then taking advantage of a few hours of alone time, I took the first step... emptying everything out of the bins.

I piled according to fiber content, then within each pile I sorted by color and format.

What I learned from this exercise is that I really don't have a lot of dyed fiber, that my formats are all over the place, and that I have a lot(!) of silk to spin.

So ultimately, I decided to stay organized by Fiber Content.

I don't love having a variety of bins stacked against the wall... but this is now taking up half the floor space.  Each bin is a unique fiber, labeled, see-through, and keeps the fiber free from dust and bugs.  So this is good for now.

Hopefully, I'll be able to find a beautiful armoire for fiber storage in the future.

I have not yet bounced my actual inventory against what I have recorded in Ravelry.  That will have to happen on another day, along with my tool consolidation.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: For the Love of Ravelry

I've extolled my love of Ravelry before, including when I recently bought yarn that was not the color I intended.

I had decided to keep the wrong yarn, and have a general idea of a project for some of it, but I have far more yarn than I need.

So when I received a message asking if I was willing to part with one skein a few weeks ago, my answer was, yes.

It turns out the inquirer lives and works in the area that I travel to for work.  So we decided to meet up at a local yarn shop for knit night to exchange the yarn.

We started the evening as strangers, grateful the other was willing to meet in a public place among people we both knew.  We knit together and told stories.  We learned that we know several of the same people thru our day jobs.... and we finished the evening as friends.

I love that something so simple and ancient as knitting, using a tool so contemporary and wonderful as Ravelry, can bring people together so easily.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Watchman Hat

Hubba wants a Watchman-style Hat.

Orange and Red are his favorites, so we settled on a striped motif from yarn found in my stash.

The orange is Fingering and the red is DK, so I am knitting with the orange held double, on US3 needles which is making a very dense fabric.

I like how it's going.  It's time to change colors at about the time I'm bored with the current color.

Since I'm doubling the orange, I don't have enough yardage to finish the hat, in the way that he wants me to.  Both yarns are discontinued... and I don't have another appropriate yarn in my stash.  :-/

What is it about stash-busting projects that cause me to buy more yarn? sigh

Anyway, I haven't found any of the same yarns listed as for sale or trade on Ravelry.

• Yoth, Little Brother, fingering (Superwash Merino+Cashmere+Nylon) - Mandarin, Lot#002
• Fiberphile, Super Squish, DK (superwash Merino) - Fresh Cut, Lot#11-1216

So that leaves two options:

• look for something similar but not the same
• or look for something contrasting to finish out the top of the hat.

Neither of which are feeling good.  double sigh

But then I realized there is a third option.... find the orange yarn in the red yarn's weight..... and I did!  In the same lot!!  Listed as For Sale or Trade!!!  :-)

Ravelry is simply the best and most useful platform.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Knit Worthy and an Accident

Some people are absolutely Knit Worthy.

These people graciously accept a hand-knit gift.

They love and adore the item for years.

They tell their loved ones how much they love it every time they put it on.

Then one day the item gets misplaced and they frantically search for days.  Only to discover that it found it's way into the laundry.  :-(

When someone loves a hand-knit gift this much, they get a replacement.  :-)

And for this, I love Ravelry!  I did not have much of this yarn left, and had modified the original pattern somewhat.... but I had put the appropriate notes in Ravelry.

Knowing that it had been several years and a completely different state since I purchased this yarn, I took my notes and the tiny bit of yarn to one of my LYSs.  I set out to find something comparable.... a hard thing to do when you know the person loved the original so much.  I came home empty-handed.  :-(

So I decided the check Ravelry on a whim... I found out that this yarn is discontinued, but that several people were interested in selling their stash.

I found a large amount of the same yarn in the same color.  I sent a note inquiring about the stash and crossed my fingers.  By the end of the day, we had an agreement and my new yarn was on it's way.  :-)

I just love Ravelry.  What a tremendous resource.

The yarn arrived earlier this week.  I sent a note to the sender telling her that it arrived and to thank her again.  Then went to add it to my Ravlery stash... only then did I find out that the yarn I just bought was not only the same color, but also the same dye lot!  Wow!! What are the chances of that happening?

And now I not only have enough to replace the hat, but I also have enough to do something larger which I had been wishing I did with the original yarn.  Win-Win.  :-)

The Replacement is now in progress:

Happy Fiber Arts Friday.

USOC and Ravelympics

I am far from alone in being offended by the tone of a letter sent to the leaders of Ravelry by the USOC.

Being a business owner, entrepreneur, knitter, life-long fan of the Olympic Games and wife of an aspiring Paralympian, I have mixed feelings.

I absolutely agree with the issues related to trademark infringement.  I completely disagree with stating that the Ravelympics inappropriately represents the ideals of the Olympic Movement or is disrespectful in anyway.

I have not participated in the Ravelympics before and was not planning to participate this year.  However, I do plan to knit something specific to commemorate the London Paralympics, if my Husband is fortunate enough to be invited to participate.

While the first apology was also offensive, the update made me feel that the fiber community had been heard.

I know first hand the level of effort, commitment and expense required to bring yourself to the very top of your game.

Yes, it's true.  My husband is the one doing the work... pushing the miles, focusing his intention and peeing in a cup in front of witnesses.  But I am the one supporting him.

I will, of course, watch the London Olympic Games.  Because I love sport.  I love that the athletes have dedicated themselves to becoming as good as they can be.  And I love that they respect excellent performances by their competition regardless of where that competition happens to be from.

I will, most likely, be knitting.  Because that's what I do when I'm watching TV.

I would love to knit while watching the London Paralympic Games as well, but sadly there will be no domestic broadcast on the networks of NBC for those Games.

Ravelry Rocks

I joined Ravelry about 18 months ago.  Soon after, I ran into my first Ravelry friend at the Airport in Albuquerque.  She was knitting while waiting for her luggage at baggage claim.

I was waiting for my luggage at baggage claim, because my knitting was in my suitcase.  I was interested to know if she had any issues bringing her knitting on the plane.  So I walked over and asked.

I had been travelling for a couple of months and had just started bringing my knitting.  I was certain TSA would not be keen on knitting needles passing through security, so I never bothered to check if they were allowed.  So this idea of knitting while on the plane and waiting at the airport would improve the quality of my life tremendously.

Since then, I have realized there is a wealth of patterns available on Ravelry, both for free and for purchase.  There is a tool inventory that you can print in pocket size.  There are groups, including the Tour de Fleece which I participated in earlier this year.

Like other networks, you can make friends on Ravelry and see what projects they are working on, or what projects they like.  You can make your own list of favorite patterns and designers which have been helpful when looking for something "just right." 

I understand there are groups where you can ask for help and groups that will de-tangle a skein for you, though I haven't used these yet.  I have also heard there are people willing to de-stash their yarn... aka unload some of the stuff that is taking over their space.

So when Hubba asked for a specific hat out of a specific yarn, I decided to look to Ravelry.

A short search turned up someone wanting to de-stash a few skeins of exactly the yarn I was looking for.  I sent her a note offering to pay for shipping, and within a few days the yarn was on it's way.

Yep, Ravelry Rocks!

If you're on Ravelry (join if you're not, it's free) look me up under Alpacamundo.