Is There Such a Thing as a Perfect Yarn Stash?

I have gathered a lot of yarn through the years of being a professional writer about knitting. Some of it is great, and some of it isn’t. Some of it just isn’t great for me, and would do better in someone else’s stash, or, even better, with someone who would knit with it.

I believe that having some stash is good. You don’t always want to have to run to the store when the mood hits to start a new project, and it’s nice to have all that potential just sitting in your house. But it can definitely get out of control.

So I found this article on Post Stitch’s blog really interesting. It’s about how to build the perfect yarn stash. It suggests that knitters should keep a variety of weights on hand, should stock up mostly on solid colors (because they’re easier to combine in projects) and should remember that, unless you only knit one skein projects, sometimes buying more than one of the same thing is a good idea.

They also suggest keeping your stash organized and documented using Ravelry or their printable yarn stash cards, which are really cute and maybe an easier way to keep track than loading it all into Ravelry. (Though I’d like a spot on the card where you could indicate where the yarn is stored, since I have yarn in a couple of different places in my house.)

Do you think it’s possible to have a perfect stash? What would that mean to you? (For me, a perfect stash would like in a TARDIS-like closet and all hanks would be self-winding!) I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo via Post Stitch.]

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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