that's why they call it a stash

One thing I've discovered in the process of moving from Pittsburgh to State College is that I have entirely too much "stuff." Some of it I wouldn't part with, like my quadrillion books, many of which I have not and probably will never read...but they sure make it look like I'm intelligent all sitting there pretty on the bookshelves. I have a living room full of chairs, which is sort of silly because generally it's me, myself, and I in the apartment along with Joelle, but she's not allowed on the furniture. A butt can only be in one seat at a time...so unless I become more hospitable (which I ought to do) it seems rather ridiculous to have so many places to select from to sit down (...or throw extra junk, as the case may be). Nevertheless, the books and the furniture and all the other things I have way too much of (...including cleaning supplies...) have lots of potential for use without too much of a time or effort investment.

However. There is one Thing that I'm not going to run out of anytime soon - partly because it will take time and effort. But mostly because there's so much of it: YARN.

I got a little embarrassed as some folks were helping me move in when I said out loud, "Wow, I have a lot of boxes labeled 'yarn,'" and one of them replied, "Yeah - I see lots of yarn, but not many things made out of yarn." In my defense, I have indeed made a lot of things out of yarn, many of which were packed in the boxes labeled "clothes" and many of which have been given away to various people. But it's true...there is a lot of yarn that isn't used.

I remember realizing this the last time I moved, in June/July of 2006. Back then I had a Big Trunk, a Little Red Trunk, a few bags, and a couple boxes of yarn or projects on needles. ...Now I fear...I have more!

Some people have a yarn closet. Due to the fact that I don't have an entire closet to spare for yarn, I have to "hide" it in multiple places. And thus far in my unpacking, that has included the following locations...

on the shelves of the coffee table
in one corner of the bedroom closet
in the other corner of the bedroom closetsmushed into the big, black trunk
in this little cabinet
in the bottom of this shelf...and just in case i run out, there's the drop spindle and pencil roving so i can make more yarn...

It kind of reminds me of what my Mom always told me when I went on a long trip: put a little money in a number of different places (purse, backpack, suitcase, pants, etc.) so if one of those gets ripped off, at least you'll still have some. ...Right, like someone's going to bust into my apartment and steal the coffee table so they can get that pretty German sock wool, eh?

I feel like trying to find places to enclose the yarn is sort of like trying to hide an addiction. And I think that's how a "yarn collection" turns into a "stash."

So, I guess the question now is...what to do about it? Do I just try to do more knitting? Do I sell it? Do I bring it with me on my mission trip to Honduras in a couple weeks where we're helping ladies start a knitting business? I don't know. All I DO know is that I ought not to buy any more yarn!!!!

And I've also concluded that, despite my yearning to learn how to quilt and the fact that there's a quilting shop a couple miles from my apartment, I really ought not to do that either. There are so many pretty, pretty fabrics that it would be lovely to quilt with...and you know those will just end up thrown in a drawer or cubby somewhere, too!!

Yuck - I feel disgusted with my more-more-more attitude!! Perhaps it's time to down-size. Or at least stabilize!! Or even better: utilize.