Last week I decided it was time to sort through my crochet corner, which was becoming ever more disorganised with hooks, books, notepads, yarn, tapestry needles, stitchmarkers, stickynotes and wips.
First I assesed my various tubs of stash and put aside some ‘what was I thinking?!’ impulse purchases of clearance yarn, for the charity shop. Then I went through all my crochet books and separated the best loved from the rarely if ever looked at, which I will sell on or exchange for credit at a local secondhand bookshop.
Next I crossed off my list the cancellation of a crochet subscription box that I just wasn’t loving (Secret Crochet Club), and decided not to resubscribe to Amanda Bloom’s Little Box of Crochet for the time being, purely because I have five beautiful boxes containing gorgeous little as yet unfinished projects neatly stacked on one of my shelves. (Where do the months go?!)
I organised and cleaned my entire crochet space (a corner of our family room, containing a bookcase with a chest at the bottom and sturdy shelves up top, and a desk and chair), and resolutely declared a total ban on all yarn purchases until my planned pilgrimage with friends to Bendigo Woolen Mills early next year.
Needless to say, within days I’d been forced to place a Stylecraft Special DK order with Wool Warehouse because my Stylecraft Special DK stashbusting exercise will require a couple more balls of Meadow and Rose for the border…you understand, don’t you? 😁
I did, however, bust some stash by having a brief but productive facewasher / dishcloth phase (pattern by Catherine Hirst in Granny Square Crochet). It was most enjoyable, and my use of Knitpicks CotLin and Dishie (adore these!) during this time certainly makes up for the Stylecraft purchase. So I tell myself. You get me. Right? 😁😁
Are you overdue a crochet declutter? Are you in the throes of some intentional stashbusting, or a total yarn purchase ban? How is that going for you? ☺
Until next time, I wish you happy hooking 😊
Pam
Hooks and Hills 
Hi Pam. I totally understand! It’s hard to clear out scraps without needing more yarn, you know, like a neutral colour to tie everything together or something. And it’s hard not to start another project when there are just so many good ideas out there, or in your head. My craft room is a mess. I have been knitting, crocheting, sewing, all of which require me to pull out materials, tools, etc. I took a look in there earlier today and OMG what a mess. However I do love spending some time cleaning it all up again – it’s a good job for when I’m between projects. Anyway, back to my knitting…..
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Yes it’s the one organising / cleaning job that I really rather enjoy 🙂 Although the truth is it does tend to lead to the beginning of more projects – but you can never have too many wips, surely 😀
I don’t much care for knitting myself although I can do the basics – but I was thinking the other day that once my youngest starts school in Feb I might get my sewing machine back out ….we shall see! Do you split time equally between knitting, crocheting and sewing or do you go through phases?
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I tend to go through phases. These days, it’s mostly crochet with a little knitting and sewing.
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Way to go with the clean up! I just did this recently and it feels so much nicer to work in my space now. If you’re like me, and I think you are, there are always reasons to buy yarn. I think we just need to crochet more so we have the room 😉.
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Haha yes – always, always! My Wool Warehouse order arrived this morning, a lovely gift to self and I will indeed just have to crochet more, to make more room 😀
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I always find a good tidy up helps get the creative juices running 🙂
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Oh, absolutely! A million ideas and a desire to make ALL of the things – immediately 😀 😀 Some of which necessitate the buying of more yarn!! Nightmare…. 😀
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I definitely need a de-clutter, my stash is approaching mountainous proportions
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But such mountains are so lovely to look at, I find 😀
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Oh definitely, it’s quite a view 😉
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My office/craft room is in constant need of de-cluttering. It wasn’t that long ago that I re-arranged my room so it was nice and clean and now it’s a mess again! I have my own ‘what was I thinking’ yarn in here. It’s that loopy stuff that I thought I would use as doll hair but is terrible for that and now I don’t know what to do with it. I got it for 25 cents each so I just couldn’t pass it up and now it’s just taking up space. But I’m still determined to find some use for it!
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Ah yes, novelty yarn! I too have made similar errors of judgement lol. I once bought Thick n Thin yarn, heaps of it, for a blanket for my daughter, not realising until I started that it is a type of yarn much better suited to knitting than crochet, and a total horror to hook with! I managed to complete a good-sized blanket for a child out of it, but I swiftly gave the rest away and will never buy it again 🙂
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