Organizing the stash

My Secret Pal 10 hostess, Shelby, is having a contest for her group, and wants us to show off our stashes, and how we organize them. Of course I am happy to oblige, because I love my yarn stash (Mom, please don't kill me. I know it's excessive, but there could be stuff for you in there.) and reorganizing it a bit for a photo shoot is always fun!I have a gigantic walk-through closet, and the yarn has a prominent place under my skirts and pants (pardon the mess on top - it tends to be a catch-all space for clothes that need to be rehung). The stash lived mostly in boxes until I bought these wire organizing things at Target last summer. I like it much better this way. The wire bins allow the yarn to "breathe," plus I can see it all, and it's lovely and makes me happy every time I look at it. There is quite a bit more in a box to the right, but although it's organized in the box, it's not photogenic. There is a fair bit of organization to the stash, at least in that the upper right bin is almost all sock yarn, and the left two bins are all sweater yarns and assorted Cascade 220 for felting projects. The upper middle bin is meant to be lace and scarf yarn, but there are interlopers a plenty in there, including the Manos stash (bottom of upper bin - there is also some red Manos hiding in the upper left bin, on the top). The lower middle bin contains a bunch of cotton blends and Cascade Jewel (the lovely purple), as well as some grey Cascade Pastaza (scarf for Dave), dark blue Malabrigo (not sure, but it's for me. No way I'm giving it up.). The pretty jewel tone skein on the top right of the bin is Schaefer Marjaana, which I had completely forgotten about. While these bins are great and the yarn looks pretty, they're also quite deep, so there is a lot of pretty yarn hiding in the back, which occasionally slips my mind. I keep towels covering the bottom bins because Oliver tends to get curious about the yarn, and he's already had one trip to the vet for a yarn-related emergency (when he was a wee kitten), and we don't care to repeat that. Better safe than sorry, but he is a good guard cat for the stash. Lest you think I acquired a ton of yarn since last summer, trust that that is not entirely the case. Oliver laid down here during a previous reorganization of the stash, when most of the yarn was spread all over out of camera range...That said, I see some yarn here (almost everything in the lower right bin) that I know I haven't used yet, and that I didn't see yesterday evening. Wonder where it's run off to?

The hunt through the stash inspired me to start a pair of plain stockinette socks, so I cast on a pair last night. I'm making them toe-up, using Wendy's new toe method, described here (on April 25th). I'm using some of the Monarch sock yarn I bought at Madrona (second from the right, Purdy Plum), and it's going quite well so far. I'm not generally so big on the toe-up socks, but I decided I wanted to use all the yarn and make long socks, so I figured I'd give it a go. Just so you're not concerned, I have NOT abandoned the Jewel cardigan. I finished the second sleeve last night, but I want to block it before I do the button bands, so that's where we are. I'll post some photos of it this weekend. I am also still entranced by my Fair Isle mitts, and will probably start the second one this weekend as well. The stockinette sock is to fulfill the requirement for a totally mindless project (and to get through some of the sock yarn, which is overwhelming when I see it all together in the closet).
To my Secret Pal, I got your card yesterday, thank you! I do not in any way feel neglected, so you needn't worry! I hope things are going better for you, and I'm happy to hear you're also having a lovely spring. Duke was my second choice for graduate school, and I remember people saying during my interview how lovely it was there in the spring!