Ivy says:
As I posted before, we have been cleaning out my Grandma’s stuff following her death. By the way, I appreciate all the condolences. It gets easier every day. And some days, I can laugh. This was one of those days. Earlier this week, my uncle asked me if I wanted all my grandma’s yarn. Being the avid crocheter I am, I told him I absolutely wanted all the yarn. “Are you sure?” he asked. “It’s a lot.”
Of course I wanted it. A lot of yarn? I’m down, homies! So he brought me some yarn last week:
He told me there was more at the other house, but I needed to come pick it up. So today I went to pick it up. Remember I said my grandma was a borderline hoarder? Might change that to just hoarder. I’ve never seen so much yarn in one place other than in a yarn shop. Here’s what I got:
That’s just all the worsted weight yarn in skeins. All told, there were 16 moving boxes full of yarn. Here’s a picture of the worsted plus the sport weight and the yarn balls:
My original plan was to take a picture with everything all piled up in front of the door. The whole lot fell down before I could do so. Here’s the crochet thread:
And, the rug yarn. Both of these boxes are giant boxes full. If I had been able to pile *everything* up, it would have been a very impressive pile:
And, here’s the mess after it fell down:
Sorry, yarn snobs, it’s mostly acrylic. Only about 10% of it is plain wool, and there’s nothing particularly fancy. Even so, I generally buy acrylic yarn anyway because I’m po’, and I’m excited to have all this yarn. Well, not quite this much.
What am I going to do with it all? I’m going to donate at least some of it. I’m going to teach a friend’s girl scout troop to crochet. And I’m going to crochet a LOT. I doubt I will ever have to buy yarn again. But dang, that’s half the fun of crocheting, buying yarn, right?
Now, for the ask the audience part. I’d like to know how you guys store your yarn. I have always stored mine in a drawer, but I have never really had that much yarn before. Clearly I’m not going to keep this much yarn, but I’m going to keep quite a bit of it and I need a better storage method. What ideas do you guys have for yarn storage?
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there are a LOT of charities that would LOVE some of that yarn! project linus and the preemie project spring to mind. the girl scouts could work on squares to become linus blankies or each could do a hat for preemies, and any girls who really get into it could be sent home with a bag of yarn to make more!
I would say the best way to store it would be in plastic tubs, organized by colors.
Another idea is to share it with me! You’d have less to store!
You could also sell it in lots by color etc on Ebay and then use the money to buy yarn that you want.
That really isn’t much in comparison.
http://mochimochiland.com/weblog/?p=111
That is the largest stash I have ever seen.
I wonder if you could donate some of it to HAP
http://www.rectangle6×9.org/
Oh. My. Word! That is just…wow!
You can come to my Brownie troop and teach us to crochet, too!!
I think whatever you’re going to store should be in airtight containers. Whatever you want to keep close at hand for immediate and current projects could be kept in a trunk/footlocker in your house.
OMG! You said you had a LOT but this visual is just shocking! Awesome dude!
I’m so excited you said you’d come and teach my girl scouts how to crochet – let me know what we need (needles, sticks, whatever they’re called?).
[...] I just have to link to this post on Home Ec 101. My friend Ivy inherited her Grandma’s yarn. She had no idea it was so much and I’m also dumbfounded. She’s agreed to come to [...]
[...] Even Though I Know You’ll Think Less of Me Posted on January 9, 2008 by Aunt B. I’m going on a one-house crime spree. [...]
Oh. My. I need to think of a yarn-based project, stat.
Wow, that’s a lot of freaking yarn. I knit like once a year and I just keep my yarn in a bag in the closet (hung from a clothes hanger so the cats can’t get into it). Don’t think that’d work in your case unless you have a big bag and a big closet.
Wow. What a great photo!
Yarn should compress very well for storage–have you ever seen those vacuum travel bags?
You can do the same thing at home with a high quality trash bag and a shop vac (or any vacuum with hose attachment).
Wow, that’s a lot of yarn. I was going to suggest one of those big wire racks with a bunch of spare parts bins, but with all that you might need a couple racks full of bins.
haha! I’ve stored yarn but not those amounts..wow.rent a room for yarn? . even if acrylic.. you could make like 90000 totebags or mesh bags..
My cat would be in heaven if in your living room!
much luck!
Oh. My. God.
That is shocking and brilliant and hilarious.
I would think using those wire racks with the clear plastic bins to organize them by color or weight, but that is so much yarn it may cost you a fortune.
That is a lot of yarn!! I store mine in plastic containers under the beds. You might want to check over the wool carefully in case the moths got into it.
Makes you want to fall backwards into the heap, just like a leaf pile.
Since nothing particularly eats acrylic, I find mesh storage containers perfectly acceptable: I have a lot of my acrylic yarn in milk crate-type stackables. I think sorting by color/weight is helpful, myself, so I tend to do that with my yarn stash. The wool I’d put in a plastic bin with lavendar or cedar sachets, to keep moths at bay. Definitiely agree that charities and community orgs are useful recipients for donations, if you choose to destribute some of your largesse: you might also approach an elder care facility, as many have craft activities, and residents who enjoy knitting and crocheting; or a community center that offers arts and crafts instruction.
woah! bedspreads for everybody! Yeah, I’d suggest the clear plastic boxes so you can see shat’s where. Get Mr. Ivy started on that back yard storage building now before the wet weather sets in…and padlock that sucker to keep Aunt B. out.
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OH. MY. GOSH. That is the most yarn I have ever seen in one place, other than the store. This definitely took hoarding to a whole new level. I am sure some of that was really overwhelming to go through!
I hope you can find a great storage solution for all of it! I always love your sense of humor towards a situation and your awesome writing style, Ivy!!
I second the vacuum storage bags for the acrylic yarn. As long as it’s put in flat and not overstuffed – it worked well for smaller amounts.
Most of my yarn is stored in knock off rubbermaid bins either under the bed (wool) or in the garage (acrylic).
Also, if donating any of the yarn – check at local senior centers. I “inherited” a lot of older acrylic that I had no use for and one of the senior centers in the area was thrilled to have it and offer it up to the area residents who knit.
We need to become better friends
You’re welcome to store it at my house but you might not get it back!
I store my yarn in ziplock bags labeled by potential project but i third the vacuum bags for a pile that size.
I think my jaw just hit the floor.
I 4th the vacuum bag idea. You can store 4 times the amount in your plastic tubs and nothing will get to it.
Hubs owns more wool socks and winter gear than any other man I’ve ever met. It used to suck up an entire closet all summer long, now it just sucks up two shelves during the off season.
Clutter is a beast. Acrylic is cheap.
Keep only what you’ll likely use within a year, plus a few extra skeins for the children who visit (or yours?).
I keep 2 baskets of yarn in the studio, but regularly give away a skein when I buy a new one, to keep the stash down. Because you’re right — buying yarn is half the fun!
Ahem, I have never seen this much yarn at once before: ) Even in a yarn store!
It reminds me of my Grandma’s 1000 year supply of plastic beads to make Christmas ornaments. Who knew it was nesecary to have 200 varieties of beads.
Take Care,
Trixie
Wow, that is — impressive.
My grandmother was a hoarder, too, as well as a crocheter, and yet, when she passed away she didn’t have anywhere near as much yarn as she had Ziplock bags. Oh well.
For storage, I keep mine in wine racks, though I don’t, well, have as much to store. I kind of wish I did.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70369548@N00/1109978975/
At any rate, if I were you, my first step would be to check out wine storage, maybe ask around some local liquor stores and see where they get their wall-cases and if they’re available wholesale, or perhaps build your own. I got mine from Pier 1.
[...] ~Ivy’s ridiculous photos of her yarn mountain. [...]
I followed Shauna’s link and have to chime in: that is a mighty HUGE pile o’ yarn and some fabulous pics of it!
I’d say: weed WAY back – keep what you’ll use, give/swap the rest away! And if you want to do a craft swap with someone in Chicago (yarn for ???)…let me know
I honestly feel better about my mom’s stash now. It is the size of a 12×12 shed with a 8 ft ceiling.
Mom’s is well organized though. first she sorts by type, thread, acrylic, wool etc. then she takes just one type and further sorts it by color. she then puts it in labeled Avon boxes though I would recommend clear storage totes so you can see what color group at a glance. she then moves on to the next type.
My first suggestion is to go through it and find all the yarn you can’t stand (undesirable color, just don’t like for some reason) and donate it first. Then go through it again and find all the ones you just can’t live without. sort it and store according to directions above. Then look at what you’ve already picked out. Make a firm decision on how much yarn above that amount you will use in the next 5-10 years max. Pick out and store no more than that amount. Donate what’s left. Why a 5 -10 year max? because as frequently happens with those of us that do crafts that require small hand movements, you may get arthritis in your hands at some point and be unable to continue using up that stash.
Sorry to hear of the loss of your Grandmother. As for storage of yarn, I use those new jumbo zip lock bags. One for each weight of yarn. If I get super organized I might start going by color someday. Enjoy your new stash!
[...] on hand for every Girl Scout and old lady in the world to make 6,900 projects each. In addition to all that yarn I inherited, I also inherited a ton of sewing stuff. Not quite as much sewing stuff as yarn, but I [...]
Wine racks may actually work for this. It doesn’t even have to be those fancy temperature controlled ones.
Just so you know what I mean, check out <Classic Wines – Reviews, prices, ratings, that should lead you right to some wine rack examples.
best of luck with that yarn!
I store my yarn in a bookshelf. Using a 6′ by 2′ bookshelf, I sort it by color and put like colors or types on the shelves. If you push hard you can really squish a lot in