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Tuesday 29 March 2011

Tidy mind, tidy stitches - 2KCBWDAY3

How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.

Well, there used to be a sensible system. The yarn came in, it went into the Box, then into the Knitting Bag when the project was all ready to go. But then, both the Box and the Knitting Bag got full, so it evolved. Now I look at it, the system is rather complicated.


The yarn is bought, and often cuddled for a bit or left somewhere in my eyeline for an evening. It then goes into the Sheep Bag if I'm inspired about it, or into the Box if not. But I've always had an idea for something to do with yarn when I buy it, even if I then decide it's a bad idea.
When I've nearly finished a project, I have a look through the Sheep Bag to see what lurks within. Once I've actually finished the project, something gets pulled out of the Sheep Bag and becomes the next project. There's also the pattern folder and the Dalek, that's been hibernating for a good long while now.


When something is actually being knitted, it gets put into the Spotty Knitting Bag. Within that are usually a few project bags and my notions case (though there are more notions in the front pocket, too). This is the bit I'm most proud of because, until today, it was the only part that anyone else saw, and I do take care of it, organise it and clear it out often. These project bags occasionally get pulled out and dragged off to a knitting group or on a long train journey.


The original Knitting Bag is now kept indoors (it is less waterproof...), and used for storing needles, more notions, and all the sewing things and cross-stitch kits. It was cleaned out about a month ago, though I think I need more storage within it - particularly for my interchangeables which are still in their not-great-quality case they came with.


This has also spread to my parents', where I have a work-desk-come-craft-desk, which has a drawer of 'Wool I'm not sure why I own' - mainly stuff given to me by generous relatives that I have never had an idea what I'm going to do with it, so when I go home I open the drawer and wait for inspiration. So far, I've been doing this twice a month since Christmas, and no joy.

In terms of projects, I try to keep myself up-to-date on Ravelry with mixed success (for example, some projects have now been given away and I haven't taken photos of them). I have a project notebook that is woefully out of date, but I will now have a go at it this weekend. Overall, it is a system that works and I understand, and can deal with change to how many projects are ongoing, or how much wool I have lying about.

9 comments:

  1. This is so you!

    I've been wondering, did you ever find your red row counter? We've now moved house and I didn't come across it so I'm guessing it's in knit heaven :(

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  2. Yay! Blogging!
    Don't know if I ever told you but I love your dotty bag and I want one in teal
    I did the shameful walk around my house and took photos of every example of knitterly stuff. I am now full of shame :D see you later!

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  3. I like your knitting bag! So cheerful!

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  4. You spotted and sheep bags are so cute I love them XD

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  5. I need to stop buying yarn and start buying project bags.

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  6. I love your sheep bag!
    (And yes, I need to buy some more project bags too.) ;)

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  7. I have kept project notebooks in the past with great success, not so this year. Love the sheep bag! I have a mug with those sheep on it...my favorite!

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  8. I love the sheep bag! I think you have a good system and you know where everything is! :D

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  9. i agree with previous commenters, must buy more project bags and less yarn.

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