I have been very boring recently. What do I want to write about? Fiber books that I’ve ordered that are still on their way? Folk Socks by Nancy Bush and World Textiles by John Gillow and Bryan Sentance is my birthday gift to myself this year. Socks that aren’t finished yet? Although today at the gallery was exceptionally slow due to the weather so I did get about three-quarters of the leg finished on my second Gold Digger, so there is a pretty good chance I can knock them out this three-day weekend. Or about my recent completely unexplained addiction to bread baking? Challah rolls and half of a Greek country loaf in the fridge and the dough for pepperoni rolls is rising on the back of the stove.
Then I got to thinking about the tradition on Ravelry of the annual yarn stash flash. You gather all of your yarn and fiber together and give it a good airing. My stash usually lives in two large soft-sided sweater bags that are unceremoniously tossed in my closet so it deserves a break. You then take a picture (or pictures) and add them to the thread. The point of the flash isn’t so much about showing off, or wanting others to tremble in the face of your grand yarny acquisitions, but to remind yourself of what you have. It’s a trip down memory lane also, in a way. There’s the last skein of gray Northampton from the wedding sweaters, and the remaining balls of Bamboo Pop in gray and green from both the lace shirts I knit this year.
Looking at it all at once gives you a good look at your preferences in color and fiber. I can see that I’m a bit everywhere when it comes to color, but that my kitchen cotton stash is running a bit low, so I will probably stock up again soon. I’m looking pretty good on sock yarn, so probably will hold off on buying more until I finish a pair. The Berroco Vintage smack in the middle that is supposed to be light green looks really gray in comparison to the Ella Rae Classic in purple at the bottom edge, so I think I’m going to use the Ella Rae for my upcoming Ruby for my mother’s wedding in May. That Plymouth Jeannee in the bottom left looks even more like a flesh tone than I though when I bought it online, not quite sure what I was thinking when I ordered that but I’ll make it work somehow.
What does your stash (whatever it may be that you collect) look like?