Faster Pussycat! Knit! Knit! #1

Looking around at this apartment, I periodically become horrified by just how out-of-control the yarn stash still is. It once was far worse...I once had yarn sitting in a dozen separate places...some more visible than others. The bedroom is always the worst: there is yarn in 2 footlockers (one in the closet), in 2 boxes under the bed, in 2 heaps beside the closets, in at least three bags inside the closet, another bag under a chair, in several bags near the air conditioner, in several storage boxes atop the bookcase...then there are the live projects in the living room on the spare chair, two bags behind the rocking chair, and the box and bags of yarn by the sofa. "Bags" in the sense of Macy's moderate-sized shopping bags; not, thankfully, Bloomie Big Brown Bags, which hold about twice as much.

Aiee.

A partly tongue-in-cheek article of helpful ideas for yarn-stash storage propsed stuffing throw pillows with skeins. I actually tried this a couple of years ago. Perhaps I did it wrong, but I wasn't pleased with the results. The pillows were lumpy (should've stuffed them to bursting?) AND worst of all the yarn pilled from being elbowed and rubbed against! Never again!

Will I oh will I ever get to my Debbie Bliss Cashmerino pullover? Or my Cherry Tree Hill handpaint yarn great warm scarf? The yarn is there...mocking me...beckoning to me...

I tend to keep undesignated yarn in the bag of origin until I know what to do with it. Not great but I do know where it all is...well most of it. The live projects each get a unique knitting bag. I like to save especially sturdy and colorful mini shopping bags, like Godiva, and these are great for storing live projects. They are totable from room to room, and look nicer than plastic bags, especially with pretty yarn sticking out the top.

Pattern organization is a no-brainer. I already store too many magazines (orchid publications, Fortean Times, Cooks Illustrated), and years ago got frustrated not being able to easily find the patterns I wanted to use. So I took the magazines in roughly chronological order -- starting with my 1980's Vogue Knitting collection -- and tore out the patterns and articles I wanted, stapling the pages as needed, and sorting them in plastic expanding envelopes with dividers. They are sorted by the reasons I find them interesting: cables, lace, colors, yarn type, overall design, articles, how-tos. Kids stuff has its own section, and hats/scarves/socks/shawls are in yet another section. The "hot" couple dozen have their own folders, so I can remember to start working on them soon.

So if I can just get the yarn as well-organized as the patterns I'll be a happy woman indeed.