Tackling Project Clutter
I need a UFO (unfinished object) intervention before even picking up a crochet hook.
Lately I have this desperate need to get my yarn and stash down to absolute zero. A nice controlled burn to nothing and buy on an as-needed basis only. I know this is akin to fiber art sacrilege here. Everybody needs a hoard, right? I can’t do it anymore. I feel like every weekend for a year is booked with knitting and crochet projects I don’t want to really even do.
Organizing my yarn stash by fiber type into plastic bins helped a little. I could see that I had more than I had room for and purged 2 huge bags of acrylic yarn that was uninspiring to me. A couple of local crafters on Freecycle were so happy to take it away and quickly! Why it took me a 2 years to do this I don’t know!
Here’s the most embarrassing UFO clutter: ends not woven in for, like, 3 years. It took 2 minutes tops. There’s a lot of weaving in the ends sessions going on. I don’t want to think Oh God, I have to do that! every. single. time. I pass by a blanket.
For the rest, I started scarves and hats to try to finish in time to donate to Warm Up America’s Made with Love Event in January and to ship to refugees.
For the wool roving and yarn, I’ll make wool dryer balls to give away or sell.
So why am I still feeling a drag when I now have fiber left that I like? I think it’s because my brain keeps telling me to make stuff! It’s like the Tell Tale Yarn Stash buried somewhere in my closet calling to me. To me it isn’t yarn clutter; it’s project clutter already. I should feel exhilarated that I want to do so many things and could dive right in if I wanted, but it feels more draining than exciting. I guess it’s the same reason I find it really hard to throw anything away: if something is useful, I feel obligated to use it. So minimalism seems the only way for me to go.
I’m looking forward to a clean slate. Please someone back me up here and chime in that the Make All the Stuff struggle is real.
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Which reminds me of my home economics days!Yay!
I find that the hardest thing for me is when another project comes by that needs to be done before what I am working on is finished. I have a gorgeous entralac pullover sweater that I have had sitting around for about 7 years. I have the back done to the armholes and I can’t get back to it. It was shoved aside to do a baby blanket for my granddaughter, who will be 7 soon. Then another grand baby came along and so on and so on. It is so hard to get back to that UFO partly because I have lost weight and it is probably too big for me now! I might take it apart and use the yarn to knit snow hats for the homeless shelter.
Hi Kathy – oh that would be a hard project to tackle! I love your idea of giving your project a new life. Congrats on all those grandbabies!!
Oh yes – I am the same as you but mine is mainly wool fibre waiting to be prepared for spinning – I do have tote boxes of spun wool that I need to donate to the local charity places but its actually getting to and doing it that is hardest – Congratulations – you may have finally given me the push I needed.
Laraine – It’s so nice you give your handspun yarn to charity. I banned myself from learning to spin right now because I imagine being surrounded by piles of it too. Have fun de-stashing!