My yarn stash is… well, more along the lines of a squirrel hoarding acorns against a long winter than a few future projects saved and waiting to be used. There are odds and ends in all sorts of weights and colors that definitely do not go together. It’s hard to pull a cohesive project from the general chaos so I find myself spending tons of time just looking at the piles instead of actively knitting my way through them. I spent this past weekend trying to impose some sort of order. While the pile hasn’t gotten any smaller (in fact, it’s gotten a tad bit bigger after the office stash swap party last week) I do think I’ve found a way to make starting projects easier.

I’m taking advantage of a few medium sized baskets to currate mini collections of yarn from the greater stash. This way I can group small amounts of yarn by weight, color or project and feature them on my windowsill. These baskets are both decoration and a constant reminder of projects waiting to be crafted. The whole process feels a little bit like getting ready to paint a room… there are so many colors out there that it sometimes helps to paint a small section or hang a few paint chips on the wall to see how they sink in over time. If I’m going to be spending hours knitting something, I want to make sure that I love the colors before I start rather than half way through.

It’s a super simple idea that has really changed how I think about my stash. Now it’s library of yarns just waiting to be played with!