Show us your stash

Got a yarn haul to show off? We take a closer look at the stashes of reader Katie Donaldson, and designers Monica Russel ard Siân Brown. Could you be next?

Katie Donaldson

How long have you been knitting?

I have been knitting for pleasure for over 10 years now. I knitted a little with my nanny as a child but had been thinking about picking it back up. One week before I got married my parents went away on holiday and that was it, I drove to the local yarn shop, bought needles, a book, a ball of green yarn and got learning again!

Have you been stashing yarn since the beginning?

Yes, I have always been someone who likes to use up everything rather than waste it. To this day I keep all my ends from my work to use up for seaming or small projects. When | first started knitting, I would buy balls purely for the look or texture without a project in mind, so my stash grew quite nicely. But it has come in handy now that I have a better understanding of what to use where if I already have some in one of my baskets.

Do you have regular clear outs?

No, to be perfectly honest I never clear any of it out. Over the past year I have gotten better at buying with purpose so when I think of a fun bonus project (usually a toy for someone I know) I will go through my stash and use up what I have where possible. That way I have gotten a lot better at thinning things out. In the past couple of days, I have managed to use up two old balls of Wendy yarn that I bought in a charity shop to make a winter hat for my youngest daughter. Using up stash yarn is so satisfying!

What stash busting project are you most proud of?