Building a Fabric Stash

Wow, guys.  I haven't written in a week and a half!  There is so much I want to write about, but I have less free time than ever.  Although Tommy is a good sleeper at night (he's been sleeping for 5-6 hours straight since he was 5 or 6 weeks old!) he doesn't sleep that well during the day.  Getting one of his cat naps to line up with Nathan's afternoon nap has been quite the worthy challenge.  And he doesn't start sleeping soundly at night until 10 p.m.  And condsidering that he nurses every hour and a half on the dot (or less), it' s a wonder that I get anything done, let alone the fun stuff. 

So without further ado, here's some fun stuff:

 

I've been buying fabric here and there for specific projects since purchasing my sewing machine back in March, but only with this last purchase did I realize that I'd been following a strategy for how I was building my fabric stash.  Unconscious Fabric Stockpiling (UFS) -- is that a disorder?  Like the people who sleepwalk to the refrigerator and stuff their faces in the middle of the night?

 

It's simple -- I've been buying more fabric than I actually need.  Or, UFS. Buying a bit more fabric than I need for a project isn't just smart sewing, it's how I've been growing my useful and productive stash.  Much of my leftover fabric already goes together, and if you're drawn to the same colors over and over again like I am, you'll have countless combinations to work with as your stash grows.

 

I've been sewing small Christmas presents during my scant free time, and I feel very pleased (and satisfied -- is that wierd?) that all of my projects are coming directly from my stash.  Even the fusible fleece, thread and emboidery floss.  (Yeah!!!)  I also made the crayon roll I sewed for Nathan's birthday entirely from my stash.  I love how easy it was to select coordinating colors -- a no-brainer because I already did all the sweating it out over what fabric to buy and how the colors work together when I bought the fabric for the original project.  Opening the doors to my fabric stash is getting to be a little like going to a [very small] fabric store.

 

In the photo above, I bought the first three fabrics on the left for an apron for Nathan.  (All four fabrics are from the Woodland Tails collection by Sherri Berry designs, blue pallet.  I know, it's too nice for an apron, but I have nothing else lined up for it.  Should I do a quilt instead?)  I loved the collection so much that I bought the fabric on the right to make Thomas a pair of reversible shoes.  (Baby deer, giraffes and toadstools all on the same fabric?  Yes, please!)  So of course I had to buy some extra blue dot fabric for the lining.  While I was at it, I bought some extra deer/giratte/toadstool fabric -- and I already knew I'd end up with more stripe and animals fabric than I needed for the apron.

What else will I make with all the leftover fabric?  Who knows?  That's the fun of having a stash.  Someday I'll have a project in mind and I'll know exactly what fabric I'll make it with.  And I'll be able to start it right away.  Or, as soon as I can squeak some free time outta these boys.  I love being able to start on a project as soon as inspiration strikes!

 

In today's mail I received this laminated fabric to make a smock for Nathan.  The fabric is Bermuda Owls from Robert Kaufmann's urban zoology line -- I received it already laminated from from the Laminates Etsy shop. I'm excited to get started on the smock for one of his Christmas presents, and I also see some nifty pencil cases in my near future.

My name is Kelly and I have UFS.  I buy more fabric than I need.  What is your your affliction?  I mean, what are some of your stash-building tactics?

2012 Stash-busting Challenge Update and Link-up!

Finally, my friends!  I apologize for the wait.  We have 38 people signed up for the 2012 Stash-busting Challenge (it's not too late to sign up) but haven't had an update since February (so sorry about that!).

According to my Ravelry projects and the stark proof in my yarn storage area, I've completed 15 projects from my stash this year and still have at least 6 WIPs.  How many projects did you work on from your stash so far in 2012?  I feel that I could have finished many more had I not taken up sewing in March!  But thankfully I'm catching up quickly with Baby #2 on his way.

Here is a look at what I've done since the last update, and below that is a link-up so you can show off how you've been putting your stash to good use. I apologize in advance for the lackluster photos and background -- I don't yet have a model for many of these projects!

Here goes!

This is Carina Spencer's Small Things Sweater with the bonnet from her Giftwrap Sweaters eBook. The eBook was a thoughtful gift from a reader who should know that I have plans to make the sweet romper from the book, as well. The yarn is from Brambleberry Yarns and I love the color -- Cynthia hand-dyed the yarn with natural, plant-based dyes.

This is the gift wrap sweater in Lion Brand's Fishermen's Wool.  The yarn is leftover from a fall table runner I crocheted and felted two years ago (that's it? seems longer).  The wool feels stiff and crunchy at first, but softens after blocking and wearing.  I didn't have enough suitable buttons on hand for this one, so I guess it counts as a WIP, doesn't it?

This is Baby Sweater Vest, an interesting knit designed to keep you from having to put as vest over a small baby's head.  That said, it came out bigger than I expected, a size I wouldn't mind stuffing a baby's head into.  It's in Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes Bare, leftover from my Gallatin Sweater Coat. I strayed from my typical color schemes with the red buttons, but I'm glad I did.  I love them and they remind me of a dress I had when I was three or four years old.  How's that for long-held memories?

I'm sure you're all familiar with Ginny's simple newborn hat with a touch of lace.  It was one of the first things I cast on for our new baby, in Knit Picks Shine Sport.

This is my second Milo vest and definitely not my last.  I made it with the leftover DK weight Knit Picks Swish (superwash) from Nathan's sailboat sweater.  This is such a hardcore stash-buster that I had to make garish stripes out of the stuff to make it work.  I think I'll get used to the colors when there's a cute baby sporting them...Or at least, I hope.  I started a pair of mittens with the scant leftovers and ditched them -- the yellow and red striping reminded me too much of Ronald McDonald and I couldn't bear to make Nathan wear them, much less look at them while I knitted.

I loooooved knitting this Newborn Vertebrae buttonless cardigan in Knit Picks Palette leftovers.  I hope to find the time to knit him the Baby Vertebrae version for 0-3 months in worsted weight.  The sweater was written in plain stockinette, but I jazzed it up with a fair isle pattern from the Knitting Stitches Visual Encyclopedia.

I admit that this sweet sweater was the longest-ever WIP to sit in my stash.  I started it well before Nathan was a twinkle in our eyes -- I'm not even sure if we were married when I first knitted all the pieces!  I didn't have a recipient in mind, just a pattern I wanted to knit and some hard-to-work-with cotton boucle yarn I inherited from a colleague years ago. The yarn was so hard to work with that I gave up on sewing the pieces together -- there was no way that I could get a darning needle through this clunky mess, so I put it down and let years pass by.

But just a week or two ago I had a bright idea -- you know, the kind you get while you're in the shower or as you're drifting to sleep at night -- to sew the pieces together with my sewing machine!!!  Needless to say, it worked, and in time for my second child to arrive.  That didn't take long, really!  Only six or seven years.

 

This sweater, a Dale pattern, is the bane of my existence.  I started it when I was pregnant with Nathan and you can see how much I've learned about myself as a knitter since then.  1) I hate weaving in ends. 2) I hate seaming.  And this pattern has heaps of both.  I pledge to finish it in time for Baby #2 to wear -- I've done almost all of the work already -- but it's so hard to pick up and weave in all those ends, knowing how much seaming is left and that a collar still needs to be added.  I really hated adding the button placket as an afterthought and haven't touched a similar pattern since.  The little had just needs some fake grafting and some i-cord ties.  What's stopping me?  All those ends to weave in.

But I do love these old-fashioned buttons (or at least I think they're old-fashioned; they remind me of my grandmother), so I'll do my best to press forward.

I still have yet to finish a smaller version of Bit Snowy Owl for the baby's room (this one includes a jingle ball for his amusement) and a pair of mittens for Nathan.  The owl is made from unknown yarn gifted to me by a different co-worker and the mittens are Knit Picks DK City Tweed leftovers from a vest and sweater.  I love how well the colors go together despite the yarn being purchased separately.

Lastly is my Aestlight Shawl, which still hasn't been blocked (how embarrassing).  This yarn was the last to enter my stash last year, a gift from my husband.  I'd better block it soon so I can start wearing it this fall.  Silly me, last Christmas I thought I'd have been wearing it last winter!  I might have, if it weren't for the edging.  I found it tedious and kept losing interest.

Now it's your turn.  What have you been churning out from your stash?

Quick Stash-busting Challenge Update

I hope everyone who joined the 2012 Stash-busting Challenge is enjoying working their way through their stashes.... I am!  I just wanted to pop in with a quick update:  I'm happy to announce that 28 people have joined the challenge so far! 

 

If you're interested in joining in, there's still time -- the year's still young! Go here for more info and to sign up and grab the nifty challenge graphic.  In case you missed it, I posted an update and link-up not too long ago.

I think the most fun part about only working from my stash is rediscovering the yarn I already have and being surprised by how great the colors are -- I must have forgotten! -- and how much of it there is.  Yeah.  And, of course, the need to be super-creative about what I make and how I make it. 

Most of my stash is in the form of leftovers, so that means lots of time spent on Ravelry finagling patterns to meet the needs of my stash and swatching up a storm to see they work out.  It also means many smaller projects -- and lots of stripes on the bigger ones.  I love stripes, but don't love weaving in ends.  Hrm.

I just finished the secret project I soft of wrote about in this week's Yarn Along post (well, I wrote about the yarn, at least).  Now what to do with the leftover beautiful yellow wool?  Perhaps another secret.

I spent a bit of time this week adding to my Ravelry queue and updating my completed projects.  I admit that in weak moments I've queued up a bunch of things that I can't actually make this year from my stash, but that's okay -- I'll just make them next year.  Or when I run out of stash this year.  If that's even possible.

Happy knitting, my friends!

Yarn Along

I'm writing from my special place, which has been taken over by knitting only for the purpose of these photographs.

I'm knitting the second sleeve on a baby sweater for my friend's church's mission. It's the mission's suggested pattern, only I modified it for sport weight yarn instead of worsted, and it's coming out a little bit small.  Okay, a lot small.  So a needy family is going to get a sweater that their new baby can only wear for a max of eight weeks, but it's something.  Right?  Right?!

Maybe next time I'll switch back to worsted, or find a similar pattern that's a tad less boring in its endless garter stitchiness.

The yarn is Knit Picks Organic Cotton in Marshmallow, and you can contact me for the mission's pattern (please consider making one for the Lehigh Valley Outreach Depot -- it's making an impact in my community!)

I'm still reading The Eighty Dollar Champion and I'm loving every second I savor the words and the story.  An amazing pick by my mom.

In case you missed it, yesterday I wrote an update post on our 2012 Stash-busting Challenge.  Check out a few views of my stash and see what I've knitted from it lately -- and link up your own stash-busting projects and WIPs.  I hope to post an update each month, so stay tuned for the next one!

Happy Knitting.

2012 Stash-busting Challenge Update and Link up!

It's time for a stash-busting challenge update!  I hope you've all been making some progress on your stashes and coming up with some really creative projects.  To link up your latest stash-busting projects, use the linky list at the bottom of this post.  There's still plenty of time to join the 2012 Stash-busting Challenge (after all, the year is still young) -- to learn more about the challenge and sign up, visit this post.

Okay, here's my update:

Earlier this month I spent a few minutes organizing my stash.  This did wonders for my creativity!  I organized my yarn by weight (for the most part) so I can better plan my projects.  This also got me reacquainted with my stash -- now I really know what I'm dealing with here.  And now I have all kinds of ideas on what to do with it all!  Which is why I promptly cast on three different projects this past weekend -- haha!  I'll get to those in a minute.

First, a glance at a few important sections of my stash:

My sock yarn drawer

More sock yarn plus sportweight cotton for baby sweaters for charity

Fingering weight wool plus straight needles

Baby yarn and WIPs (you'd be surprised how many baby WIPs I have in progress, as if there's no deadline for babies!)

Worsted weight and DK weight yarn (I love these canvas bins with the labels on the sides -- I have one for my bulky wool, too.)

More worsted weight yarn.  You'll notice some acrylic that had been gifted to me and I don't have the heart to get rid of it...and thanks to the way it makes my hands feel when I knit it, I don't have the heart to knit it, either.  I'm working up the nerve to make some tough-wearing baby blankets for charity with it, but maybe they'll be crocheted instead of knitted.

Onto the knitting!


Behold my Spilly Jane Cupcake Mittens, which I started last winter and made quite a bit of progress on the second mitten this month:

And then there's the Dale baby sweater I found in the baby yarn/WIP basket that I picked back up for the first time since Nathan was an infant.  (He grew faster than I could knit -- figures!)

 

I'm still making progress on my winter shawl now and then and a cotton baby sweater for charity.  And of course there are the three projects I cast on this weekend -- only one photo, I'm afraid.  One is a swatch for a pair of felted slippers I'm designing for Nathan, one is a knitted pear for Nathan's kitchen set (the free pattern is from Natural Suburbia!) and the third is a secret for now because it's a gift.  I look forward to gifting it and the sharing with you -- it was a really fast and fun knit.

So what have you been up to?  Please link up, or share in the comments section!

Thanks for joining in on the stash-busting challenge.  I can't wait to see what you create!

Yarn Along

Although I cast on my Aestlight Shawl on Christmas day with new Christmas yarn, I'm really into the stash-busting spirit -- I've already dipped into one of my WIP baskets and finished the body of an organic cotton baby sweater for my friend's charity.

The Christmas yarn is Knit Picks Chroma in colorway Midwinter and I love the yarn, the colorway and the Aestlight pattern -- they're a great combination that I can't wait to wear all winter long.  Here's a close-up of the colorway:

I plunged into The Eighty-dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation, a Christmas gift from my mom, and I love it.  It's a true story about a horse that was rescued from the knackers at the very last minute; and although the title of the book seems like it's giving away the ending, I can already tell that this is one of those great books that you read for the rich story,  not the ending.  I'm only on the fifth chapter, but I'd already recommend it to anyone who loves and knows anything about horses.

For anyone who missed it, yesterday I kicked off the 2012 Stash-busting Challenge.  Thank you to those who signed up -- I can't wait to see what you'll make from your stashes!  For those who haven't signed up yet or want to find out more about the challenge, you can sign up and read more about it here.  I hope you'll join in!

(I'm using the challenge graphic and linking to the challenge each time I show something I've knitted from my stash.  I hope you will, too!)

Until next time,
Happy Knitting! 

It's Official: 2012 Knitting & Crafting Stash-busting Challenge

Happy New Year, everyone!  And thanks for staying tuned for more information on our 2012 Knitting & Crafting Stash-busting Challenge.  (In case you missed it, I initially introduced the idea here.)  Read on for more info, a graphic for your sidebar and a link up!

What are your crafting plans for 2012?

Are you looking around at your stash and feeling a twinge of guilt for all the money you had spent on yarn or crafting supplies that are still crammed in your craftroom or studio? 

Maybe you're feeling the pinch of the economy (I know I've been feeling it lately), or you're in the mood to be especially thrifty and creative (this is me, too!).  I'm also feeling the pull of WIPs that I set down years ago and finally feel like finishing.

This year I want to challenge myself (and anyone who cares to join in!) to use up as much of my yarn stash as possible in 2012.  This goes for other types of crafting and crafting supplies, too.  My goal is to finish all of my WIPs and knit only from my stash for as long as I can in 2012.

So whatta ya say?  Will you join me in a stash-busting challenge in 2012?  Not to say that you can't buy new yarn or supplies (you can) -- just don't use it.  Yet.  Instead, let's see how long we can go just knitting or crafting from our stashes. 

Do you think you can make it a full year or just a few months?  What will you make?  What WIPs are you remembering about that lurk somewhere deep in your stash?

Almost all of my stash is leftover yarn from other projects (plus some yarn that I bought for a project or two and never knitted) and I know I can make much better use of it, especially if I get creative.  Before I've even torn apart my stash (I still haven't done it yet!) I made a list of 22 things I can make or finish with the yarn in my stash -- and this is just from memory.  And I don't consider my stash to be very big! 

I'm excited to see what I can make of it all -- and I'm really excited to find out what you'll be able to make from your stashes, too.  I'll share my list of projects in an update post soon -- maybe some will inspire you.  For now, Ravelry users can peruse my queue for fun if you're so inclined.  I can make almost all of the projects in my queue from my stash -- the rest I'm keeping in my queue for when I actually run low on yarn and feel like I've earned the right to buy more.  (I'm still wondering if that will ever happen, but I guess I'll find out soon enough!)

Ready, Set...

Go!!  If you'd like to join in, you can sign up using the linky list below.  I'd love to see who's taking the stash-busting challenge and what you'll be making.  Every so often I'll do an update post where we can link up what we've been knitting up from our stashes.

Also, feel free to grab the graphic below for your sidebar (you can copy and paste the code beneath it).  Please help spread the word about the challenge!  I'm looking forward to a very crafty and creative year.  Thanks for joining along, and may you have an especially creative and resourceful 2012!

UPDATED:

Select and copy this code into an HTML gadget or the HTML tab on a blog post:

<a href="http://www.creatingafamilyhome.com/2012/01/its-official-2012-knitting-crafting.html"><img border="0" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEu7k2anAcVym4o_pVMl9Om4XxATBnkgscGal-ObL7lyIGHgi0cfr1Ep1SRUr1OqvM_pTzWQYz6rYxdDxByX4QvxivJQcTPQxTXeVVTkDXDS7TrQbbXZNZzoJVqhdnBMq0BEngG33ufjQv/s1600/2012+stash-busting+challenge+v2.jpg" /></a>

OR

Select and copy this link into a photo gadget:

 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6vWHaF9FeKo/TwJhCFk9RoI/AAAAAAAABtE/zGm-RDQj-SE/s1600/2012+stash-busting+challenge+v2.jpg

And link it to this address:

http://www.creatingafamilyhome.com/2012/01/its-official-2012-knitting-crafting.html

A Knitting & Crafting Challenge for 2012

This has been on my mind for a while, and I thought I'd just throw it out there before the holidays.  I know everyone is knee-deep in their holiday knitting and crafting, but what are your plans for 2012?  Are you looking around at your stash and feeling a twinge of guilt for all the money you had spent on yarn or crafting supplies that are still crammed in your craftroom or studio? 

Maybe you're feeling the pinch of the economy (I know I'm feeling it this month), or you're in the mood to be especially thrifty and creative (this is me, too!).  I'm also feeling the pull of WIPs that I set down years ago and finally feel like finishing.

So whatta ya say?  Will you join me in a stash-busting challenge in 2012?  Not to say that you can't buy new yarn or supplies (you can) -- just don't use it.  Yet.  Instead, let's see how long we can go just knitting or crafting from our stashes. 

Do you think you can make it a full year or just a few months?  What will you make?  What WIPs are you remembering about that lurk somewhere deep in your stash?

I can already remember a handful of WIPs before even perusing my stash -- some of them are really old:

• A baby sweater I couldn't finish before Nathan got too big for it (why do they grow so fast?!)
• Baby sweater pieces I knitted for no one in particular and didn't seam up
• Nathan's Fall Jacket (for next fall, as it's way too big!)
• Felted slippers
• Baby sweater for my friend's charity

And I have some new projects on my mind that I can make from my stash:

• Lacey stole
• Colorwork socks with leftover bits of sock yarn (can't wait to design this one!)
• Mittens for Nathan
• Baby sweaters
• Sewing new buttons on my cableknit sweater; thinking about adding length to the body

I also have several cross stitching projects in progress, and still have some clay leftover from my ceramics class.  I'm going to do my best to use as much of it as I can, purely for fun.  I love a challenge!

Are you in?