A Swim Through the Stash

By Melissa Mintern

a blue couch covered in bags and boxes full of yarn
My couch piled high with all the yarn from the various hiding places

My stash is out of control.

Since the beginning of COVID, I have felt the need to purchase yarn from all my favorite yarn stores and indie dyers to support small businesses during these really hard times. I have out purchased my knitting speed and now my tiny home is overrun.

The significant other, while infinitely patient, is wondering where all this yarn is supposed to live. I used to have a system, but between working from home and never leaving my home, the system has become a bit more flexible, so we need to start at the beginning.

Since my stash is also insured, I’ve lost the value of what’s here and need to update my insurance policy.
How would you handle this? What organization methods have worked for you? I’m going to take the upcoming long weekend to get my hands around the stash and to bend it to my will.

Here is my plan:

shelves covered in yarn piled high and messy
This has been the go to landing space for yarn for awhile and its out of control

I will gather all the yarn into one space. I loosely have yarn currently stored in three categories: sweater stash, sock stash, and miscellaneous stash. I admittedly haven’t done a great job sorting my stash in the last two years, which makes this step pretty important. With all the yarn gathered in one space, I want to reacquaint myself with what I have. I will handle and match every skein with any of its siblings. This is also a wonderful opportunity to check thoroughly for signs of pests.

When purchasing yarn, I lean towards buying for specific projects. If the project is still enticing for that yarn, those labels will be marked with the pattern name. Label marking examples: There are 7 skeins of the same yarn in different colors purchased for a pair of color work mittens. Labels will be marked 1 of 7, 2 of 7, etc and the pattern name Logan. Example 2: I buy NFC studio DK in Oliver whenever there is a sale. It’s a favorite for quick last minute baby knits. So all those will be labeled 1 of 4, 2 of 4, etc. with no pattern name. Anything that no longer fits into my knitting life will be donated to the Guild.

Once everything has been matched, labeled and checked for pests, I need to decide on organization. When it was still organized, the previous categories worked fairly well for me. Sweater stash (7 skeins or more of a matching yarn) in one space, sock stash in another and miscellaneous stash in another. In addition, I might create a queue stash. So maybe the next 5 projects I want to make will go in a visible area to keep my imagination engaged. Currently the sweater stash is in one large vacuum storage bag like Space Savers. The sock yarn is laid out on shelves that are visible at any time. Miscellaneous stash is in containers under my bed. Optimally, all stash would be contained to those 3 areas. Send leftover yarn to the Guild.

yarn in bags with all the matching yarn
yarn match with siblings and placed in plastic bags to deter pests

Now that all the yarn has been organized, let’s talk about your investment and how to make sure it’s protected. So in fairly basic terms, all your craft items are covered by your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance under personal property (for condos your master condo policy will not cover personal property and you need a walls-in policy). Your policy has a limit, usually $5,000 for ALL your personal property. Your policy also has either a replacement cost or a what-you-paid limitation as well.

Let’s say I paid (these are imaginary round easy numbers) $1000 for the stash, but the retail value of the stash is $1500. If my policy is a replacement cost, the insurance company would pay me $1500. If my policy only covers my cost, they pay me $1000.

This goes for everything. That spinning wheel you found on FaceBook Marketplace for a steal? You paid $100 but you could never replace it for that cost. Check your policy. What is your personal property limit? $2000?  $5000? Is it enough? Most companies will say you need a special rider for jewelry, but anything of value probably needs a rider, including your stash. Insurance companies won’t ask you about the $5000 investment in knitting.

Instead of doing intense math I estimated $20 per skein and I used that to discuss with my insurance agent. My agent laughed at me when I told them the replacement cost of the wool in my home but in the end we did need to make an adjustment to my policy. Photos are important documentation if you ever need to file a claim. If your stash is photo’d and uploaded to Ravelry, you’re ahead of the game here.

Once all the stash is categorized, planned out and insured, I shall sit back and enjoy my organized stash for 5 minutes. And then I’ll probably go order more yarn.

Misc stash ready to go under the bed
organized sweater stash

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Our spinning demonstrations are sponsored by Get Bentz Farm. 

Theresa Bentz of Get Bentz Farm, Northfield, MNAfter growing up in the city and suburbs, the owners of Get Bentz Farm felt a need to be closer to nature and to be more connected to where their food came from. 

In 2014, they found a farm house for sale and later that year they decided on and purchased their first two Icelandic sheep. 

Once they had a good size flock they began marketing the amazing meat and wool. Initially, they found that many mills in the area do not process dual coated long wools, which slowed down their growth in yarn, but they did find a great market for wool filled bedding products and batting for spinning. 

Today, they have a variety of yarns, batting and roving as well as finished products like dryer balls, sheepskins, and wool bedding. Most recently, they opened their own Get Bentz Wool Mill as well as their own line of yarn – Badgerface Fiber.

Jean

Vice President

(Term 1, Year 1)

Jean Gross has had an interest in all things fiber since, at the age of 5, her mother gave her fabric scraps to keep her occupied. She is fluent in knitting, crocheting, tatting, embroidery, sewing, quilting and spinning, thanks to her mother, Janice, and grand mother, Clara. But Jean’s favorite thing to do with fiber is help others to explore its possibilities. She has taught at the Iowa State Fair, Des Moines Library, Freedom for Youth, the Des Moines Knitting Guild, Shepherds Market, local yarn shops and also teaches privately. Jean has served on several non-profit boards including FiberSmiths of Iowa and the Des Moines Knitting Guild. Jean lives in north central Iowa with her husband, Dave, and faithful canine, Rolo. She has published several knitting patterns.

Thyra

Marketing Director

I grew up watching my mom knit. She tried to teach me as a kid and I never enjoyed it, but after finishing college I found myself with extra time and no hobbies. In the last 20 years I have dove in all the way and love to learn new and challenging techniques. As my fiber love has grown, I have also started raising sheep in order to go from sheep to sweater. I love interacting with the sheep who have big personalities and learning to process and spin the wool has been a great adventure.

Open Position

Yarnover Committee Chair

The Guild is currently looking for a new Yarnover Chair. If you are interested or have any questions, please contact our president Meg, president@knitters.org

Currently Open

Marketing Director

The marketing director position is currently open. For more information contact the Guild President, president@knitters.org

Melissa

Technology Director

(Term 1, Year 3)

Melissa has been knitting for 15 years. She loves socks and sweaters. She is a new member who hopes to use her marketing background to lift up the MKG. While she isn't local to MN, she really loves the atmosphere created by the Guild. Melissa and significant other Al enjoy traveling, wherein Al graciously offers to drive so Melissa can knit in the passenger seat. (she, her, hers)

Nikky

Membership/Programming Director

(Term 2, Year 2)

Nikky was first introduced to knitting in 2012 when her visiting sister-in-law taught her the basics of casting on and the knit stitch. A few weeks later, she learned how to purl from her mother-in-law. From there, it quickly became a passion and she has taken on each new project with a desire to expand her skill and discover new techniques. She loves a good mystery (knit-a-long) and knits way more shawls than a single person can wear in a month.

Deb

Service Director

(Term 1, Year 1)

Deb learned to knit in the early 1980s as a happy by-product of Hill Street Blues fandom. For a couple of years, she and a gaggle of other students met weekly to watch the show, and one of those friends was always knitting. As it is with so many knitters, that friend was enthused to teach someone else. Deb has been knitting ever since and particularly enjoys playing with colorwork and knitting sweaters. She is constantly astonished at the skill, enthusiasm, and generosity of MKG members. (she, her, hers) (See our Service Knitting Page for more information about our current projects and donation process.)

Open Position

Programming Director

(3-year term)

This position is currently open. If you are interested in volunteering for the Guild board, please contact our president, Kelly, at the email me link below.

Rose

Treasurer

(Term 2, Year 3)

Rose learned to knit from her mother at the age of ten. She started knitting on the ends of small paint brushes. She continued to knit off and on through her teenage and young adult years and became a more avid knitter after taking a Norwegian sweater knitting class through community education. Today, knitting has become a passion and she knits for charity, herself, and her family her stash. She enjoys meeting other knitters and learning new techniques.

Kendra

Secretary

(Term 1, Year 2)

Kendra lives in the Twin Cities and learned to hand knit from her mother in middle school. In the last few years, she has also learned crochet and machine knitting. Kendra enjoys knitting items to donate and challenging herself with new techniques. She prefers knitting in the round with colorful yarn. (she, her, hers)

Meg

President

(Term 1, Year 1)

Meg grew up surrounded by makers. Her mom, a master quilter, former Home Ec teacher, and 4-H club leader in Duluth, taught her to sew, embroider, and cook. She won a trip to the State Fair as the Dress Review Princess at 13! Another MKG member taught her to knit continental style 15 years ago. Meg can’t sit still and NOT be knitting, embroidering, rug hooking or sewing. Favorite thing to knit? Mittens! She loves taking classes and learning new things – absolutely amazed and inspired by all the amazing knitters in the guild! (she, her, hers)

Kathy

Webmaster

Kathy has always been into crafts, but didn’t teach herself to knit until after college. She really got hooked while living in San Francisco when a friend opened a knitting store. To pitch in, Kathy started knitting up fun (and odd) things for window displays, as well as teaching classes. In the last couple of years, she has started designing her own knitting patterns (many of them available for free on Ravelry!) with toys and mittens being her primary obsessions. (she/her/hers)