Stash to the rescue

What I think of as my stash is this huge mess of boxes of assorted sizes and kinds. Some Rubbermaid type things, some computer boxes as well as lots of odds and ends. Then there's the slippery stack of plastic freezer bags and other kinds of non-biodegradeable materials. Nothing is really categorized. It's all about keeping it as bug and dust free as I can until I get around to using it. I don't have a clear picture in my mind of what all I have.

I have Rubbermaid boxes, the really big ones, stacked in a corner of what is supposed to be the master bedroom. The stuff in there I haven't looked at in well over five years. Then in my bedroom there are shallower plastic boxes that Carol gave me that hold stuff I've bought in the past couple of years, sock yarn mostly. These boxes are up against the wall, on the not so visible side of the bed.

In the middle of the larger bedroom and running up the wall are boxes and boxes of assorted yarns of varying age and type. And in the living room, stacked discreetly in a corner are bags of yarn, most of which are projects I've started or at least swatched and hope to get to before this time next year. And there's a wicker chest full of yarn that was donated to me when Mariposa moved eight years ago. All unopened bags of yarn that had fallen behind the display shelves and no longer available.

So trying to find anything is a challenge. But I really needed to find something to make the poncho. I doubted that I had enough of anything to actually make the poncho but thought I might as well try to find something. So I had planned to just move everything out and start going through it. As luck would have it I didn't have to go very far.

On top of the first stack that I started to move was a sweater I had started two years ago and abandoned because it was going to be about a foot too wide. The yarn is perfect for the poncho and I have slightly more than the pattern calls for. Not only that, I have the same yarn in three different shades of brown. And I knew where the rest of the yarn was stored.

I got this yarn from Smiley's several years ago. They used to send a sample pack about every six weeks or so and this was one of the yarns. It's called Fjord, Icelandic style, 100% wool. I think it's a little like Lopi but a little denser. It was packaged by Spinrite.

So I have three different colors.





And here's where I am as of 11PM last night.



That's 72 stitches all crammed onto a size 10US, 16 inch needle. I have another 5 inches to go before I start the body. I decided to go with the lightest color because I think it's the most neutral, go with everything, color of the three.

So even though I have been spared having to go through my whole stash in search of suitable yarn I think the time has come to get really serious about getting organized. Who knows what else I may find.