June 16, 2008

Stash Management

Moving made me think about managing my stash.

It's not so huge, and every skein of yarn has its assigned project.  Well, almost all of them do.
But still, it is likely to take me more than two years to use up all of them for sure.  Of course, I have stashed up sock yarns because it's so hard to find them in Japan.  They are not to meant to be used up so quickly. 

And there are more than just yarn.  I quilt from time to time.  I can't just throw away old clothes, so I keep them to make quilts.  My "quilting fabric" stash is nothing more than torn-up shirts.  I have a large plastic pocket binder full of fake-fur fabric to make small stuffed dogs, too.  And some thick strings to make Chinese-style knot accessaries.  My spinning stuff is very small.  Just two drop spindles and 4-5 oz. of roving.  
Each of them are not huge, but they pile up.

Packing several large (medium, according to the moving company, but it's large enough for my daughter to play hide-and-seek) box of yarn and fabric makes me think about "saving."
They are heavy.  Some of my yarn and fabric came with me when we moved to the USA five years ago, and go back again without being used.  How much extra carbon emission did I make to transport them overseas?  How much money did I save not buying fabric from stores? 
Of course there's "keepsake" meaning in making quilts from my daughter's baby cloths.  But will we use the finished quilts?  How long would it take me to make them?

Yet, I just can't throw them away.  I just pack whatever I have and bring them with me, wherever I go.  All I can do is to recognize how big my stash is.   I'll start with yarn.  Thanks, Ravelry.  As soon as I settle in our house in Kyoto, I will weigh all fabrics I have.  
Scary, but I can do it.  I am a big girl.

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