Attack My Stash 2021: January Update

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One year ago, I realized that my yarn supplies were getting out of control. I decided that in order to save space, money, and the environment, I needed to use up the yarn I had and limit my crafting spending. I wanted to develop a more minimal and intentional mindset in relation to yarn, so I spent an entire year working to use up my stash. You can read more about this original goal of mine here. I saw great changes within myself, and recognized how far I had left to go, and decided to continue trying to use up my yarn for the year 2021. I reflected on my 2020 goal and modified this goal for this current year in this blog post. I wrote monthly reflections on my progress, which you can find under the Attack My Stash heading in the main menu, and I plan to do the same this year.

In some ways, January this year has felt a lot like just an extension of 2020. But there is still an air of hope as we look forward to the rest of this year. As I continue adapting to my new role as a mother, I am learning to balance my family, myself, my home, and my little crafting business. I went through a phase of losing my “cro-jo” (crochet mojo) but was able to bounce back a little creatively. You can read about my tips for getting out of a creative funk here. I was able to successfully re-organize my yarn stash, consolidating it down to five tote bins (last year I started with around eight bins, so I’m making progress!). I used my new yarn swift and winder to make each skein more accessible to use without tangling. I completed a major pattern test this month, and had a couple small projects I also worked on. Overall, I am making some progress on my stash and hope that my momentum will continue!

My Budget

As I mentioned in my last post reviewing my Attack My Stash 2020 goal, I will no longer hold myself to a strict budget for spending money on yarn. I plan to only spend money on yarn based on my profits from my business (that way I won’t ever be in the red). I also wanted to focus my yarn-buying more on small business/indie dyers. I decided to do this because the environmental impact would be less, the quality would be better, and I could invest and support other small businesses. I spent quite a bit of money in January on new yarn- for the first time ever I really treated myself! I bought a sweater quantity of yarn from Explorer Knits & Fibers so I can make myself a really nice cardigan. My yarn hasn’t arrived yet since it was a preorder, but I am so excited to get those beauties! If I have every purchased hand-dyed yarn, I only bought one or two skeins at once. This was a big leap for me and I am really looking forward to my project.

I spent a little money on a few skeins of yarn for market makes as well. My Sweet Pea Vest pattern is a quick make that I love, and I decided to make a handful for spring and summer markets. I look forward to finishing those projects off this next month and hopefully seeing some sales soon!

My Yarn Stash

The biggest thing that happened to my yarn stash this month was that I finished reorganizing it! It was a really good to go through every skein and wind it up into a cake in order to remind myself what yarn I had. Not only did doing so tidy my second bedroom to make room for my little one to transition into that bedroom, but it also gave me some ideas for what to make with my yarn.

Last month, I purchased 12 total skeins of yarn. It sounds like a lot, but half of those are for a cardigan and they did not yet arrive in my stash (so I’m not really counting them yet). So that means in January, I brought 6 skeins of yarn into my home. I used up a total of 16 skeins, so my net yarn usage is 10 skeins. That’s not too bad, considering how limited I have felt my crocheting time has been. Since my baby is now three months old, she is awake most of the time during daytime hours. And since she is so little, she also doesn’t entertain herself very well. So my crocheting time is squeezed into naps and at the end of each long day, in between all the chores and errands I have to do. I also think I bought more skeins of yarn than I normally would- but we’ll see I guess how the rest of this year goes!

I mostly used up fine weight yarn in January. I used the 11 skeins I was gifted from my late grandmother’s stash last month for a pattern test for Fides of @azramati. I used up a couple skeins of other weights of yarns for random projects as well.

Things I Learned

This month, I felt like I was really just trying to enjoy the process of crocheting rather than just checking things off a list. I have a lot of ideas for designs, patterns to make, blog posts to write, and more. By just focusing on a couple projects and then letting my focus change fluidly between other tasks allowed me to relax and work on my crojo. My goal to use up my yarn stash is a really good aim, but I shouldn’t let the numbers take away from my joy as I crochet.

I also realized just how much money hand-dyed yarn costs. It quickly adds up. While I want to support small yarn businesses I also need to budget carefully when I want to buy fancy yarn. I can buy 2000 yards of yarn for as little as 15 dollars at a big craft store, even cheaper if I buy it with coupons or during a sale. To purchase sweater quantities of hand-dyed yarn, I need to set aside 10 times that amount, often even more. Hand-dyed yarn is not the most accessible financially, especially when I crochet finished objects to sell, but well worth the cost when I can afford it.

When I first started participating in craft fairs, I would get a “great idea” for something to sell and then go crazy at the craft store buying up half of the yarn there. And now I am left with 10 skeins of velvet yarn for scrunchies, and I am honestly sick of making scrunchies. Fortunately, they are still selling pretty well, so I will continue to make them. But I need to make sure that I do not keep buying more and more yarn for my upcoming spring market. I should only buy more yarn if I use up all the yarn I have for the project at hand. That yarn won’t go anywhere in the store, so I don’t need to stock up on all of it.

Things to Change

In the coming months, I’m sure that I will lose my crojo. In order to get through those times, I need to remember to create what inspires me. Whether that is crochet, or another art form, or just some self-care, I need to prioritize what will help me feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I want to use up my yarn stash this year, and I would love to do even more than last year, but that goal should not take away from the process of creating.

I spent a large amount of money on a sweater quantity of hand-dyed yarn (and I have no regrets!) but I want to make sure that I do not make big purchases like that often. I definitely want to make sure I complete the aforementioned sweater before releasing my wallet on another indie dyer’s stock. I am anxiously awaiting for my yarn in the mail! I won’t be planning any other big yarn purchases soon, however.

Since I also purchased less expensive yarn to use for market makes, over this next month I want to prioritize using that yarn up. It does me no good to buy more yarn if I don’t even use it! Otherwise, it will just add to my accumulation/hoarding tendencies. I bought six skeins in January for market makes, and I will make sure to use up those six skeins before buying more cotton yarn from the craft store.

Now that we are more than a year into Attack My Stash, there are definitely trends in my buying and using habits. I had to work through a loss of creativity in January, but I hope to continue my newfound momentum for crafting into the month of February. Follow me along on my journey to #AttackMyStash2021 through this hashtag or through my Instagram @crowchetcreations. I would love to hear about your journey to declutter your own craft supplies this year!

XO, Emily