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Organized Yarn

I never really understood seasonally knitting and crocheting, that is until this past summer… Many knitters and crocheters trade their crochet hooks and knitting needles for gardening or other warm weather activities. This was always a mystery to me, until I accidentally did the same this past summer! For some it’s a conscious choice, for others, like me it just happens. This summer flew by and was nice and hot as far as Chicago summers go. I knitted until the end of May and then got caught up in all kinds of other activities. Nights were spent out with friends and weekends were spent running in preparation for a race. Now that the summer is winding down, it’s time to get back on track!

Here are some great ways to get back into the knitting groove!

Make a list

If you’re like me, you have a mental list of all the people you’d like to make Christmas presents for or projects that you’d like to make. That list will be much easier to conquer if you write it down, check it twice and start figuring out what you’re making for whom. Once the list becomes tangible, it’s easy to evaluate if you’ve bit off more than you can chew and help prioritize and set timeline benchmarks for all your projects! I especially love making my list in Google Sheets or Excel because I can make columns for the yarn I’m using, assign due dates of when I need each project completed by, note the project and pattern I’m using, the possibilities are really endless! If you’re not into Excel and don’t want to create your own sheet, then use Ravelry’s favorites option or add the projects to your Revelry queue.

Get Organized

Organized Yarn Stash

Grouping like yarn weights and colors together helps to locate yarn quickly!

Notice how sometimes knitting needles and yarn seem to find their way into odd pockets of the house? Or how an impulse purchase never quite made it to your Revelry stash list? Now is the time! It’s so easy to get inspired by your yarn collection and think up amazing projects for each skein in your collection (AKA stash.) Winding down the summer I’ve been reorganizing my yarn stash and getting everything uploaded to Revelry. With the exception of odd bits that I picked up at a thrift store, it’s making pattern searching and shopping so much easier already. I’ve been dreaming up wonderful projects, trying to creatively mix and match various yarns in my collection and also determining what needs to get purged so I can make more room for beautiful fibers. If you have knitting needles strewn about, it’s time to get them organized as well, figure out if you have all the tools for the projects on your list and get your knitting books and magazines organized and in one place.

Shopping!

Cascade 220

Part of the fun of knitting is visiting the local yarn store!

Now that your list is made and you’re fully organized, the next step in getting back into the knitting groove is to go shopping to fill in any gaps. While it’s good practice to pair as much yarn from your stash with your project list, sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. This time you’re shopping with a purpose and if you plan strategically, you can support your local yarn store when they have specials going on, take advantage of clearance options and coupons at chain or online stores. I also like to take advantage of any local yarn store offerings when traveling. It’s so much fun to pick up a locally made yarn and tell the story to the recipient of the gift.