A Stash of One's Own: Knitters on Loving, Living with, and Letting go of Yarn

Once I started reading this book, I was really hooked. I read every chance I could. I am rotational hobbist! I start on one hobby like working large jigsaw puzzles and when I tire of that I switch to another hobby and another! Knitting will be coming up for me. I used to have a stash before I moved

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and parted with it with regret. Then I started winning books in contests and began a book stash which I am now working my way through.

Each story in this anthology is written by a different person is so unique. My favorite knitting author Stephanie Pearl McAfee is included. If you have a hobby, it is likely that you have a stash of some kind.

A lot of the stories tell of personal experiences like grief that they associate with different pieces of their stash. Many, like me have an urge to knit that builds and builds but when in crisis or grief, the urge to knit gets to be overwhelming. Many of the authors in this book have said that in crisis, they felt that their hands had to do something. It is the same with me. I knitted all the while my husband was in ICU. It real helped.

I loved this book., it was a joy to read about the knitter's lives and their opinions on what a stash is, to accept it or not, and what part it plays in their lives.

I received a finished copy of this book from the Publisher as a win from FirstReads but that in no way made a difference in my thoughts or feelings in this review.

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Knitters and crocheters have 'stash' - a collection of yarn designated for future projects, leftover from previous projects, and acquired simply because they like it. This series of essays by those who love yarn is a loving confirmation of what all knitters and crocheters know: you can never have

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too much yarn. The writers run the gamut, from a woman who grew up on a sheep farm knowing yarn from the very beginning, to a man finding connection to the women in his family through knitting.

For knitters with a significant stash, this is a comforting collection of stories; the writers touch a cord with those of us who know there is something good and fulfilling about our collection of yarn.

On a practical level, the format of short but potent essays lends itself to those who can't put down their knitting long enough to read an entire book...

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I really enjoyed this collection. 4.5 stars. Eminently readable for a lover of yarn, the essays run the gamut from humorous to serious, the collections described from minimalist to SABLE-level, and the stashes from yarn to fiber to fabric.

Some of my favorites essays: I loved the beautiful and

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generous spirit behind Jillian' Moreno's fiber stash, and how easily it flows into her own creativity and to others. I appreciated Eugene Wyatt's tale of giving yarn away - it was a good reminder of how much you gain from giving instead of trying to get money before you'll let go. Franklin Habit's essay gave me all the feels and brought me to tears twice (on the bus commuting to work, no less!) - from the joy of reconciliation and recognition, and the sadness of loss.

Perhaps the most moving to me was Lilith Green's story of how her stash is part and parcel of growing to love her body - the one that society was always telling her wasn't good enough. I have three lots of sweater quantities in my stash, purchased 8-10 years ago, and I still haven't knit myself a sweater. Maybe it's time to stop waiting for the body I may never have and knit a sweater for the one I have. Also, I immediately followed her on Instagram after reading the essay - I want more people like her in my social media.

And, of course, I thought a lot about my own yarn and fiber stash when reading the essays. I'd _like_ to be a minimalist collector of yarn, buying when I'm ready to cast on, but I'm not. (I probably have 10 years' worth of knitting in my stash*, in part because I'm a slow knitter, but also because I'm a spinner. About a quarter of my stash is fiber, and about half of my yarn is my handspun.) I try to knit from stash - and I like that when I jumped on the Find Your Fade bandwagon, I was able to pull two Fade sets from my stash. (I also like it, that after I finish knitting those Fades, my sock yarn stash may be small enough that I couldn't do that again).

I do feel weighed down by the burden of all my yarn, even though I have culled it enough that most of what remains is yarn I really do love. I think I'll take some inspiration from this book to give some yarn away, especially some of that handspun I don't have projects in mind for, and open myself up to maintaining my stash through generosity, as several essayists have recommended. And embrace that sometimes the spinning is all the project ends up being.

* My Ravelry user name is potentialofyarn and my stash is up to date :-)

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Three and a half stars is my true rating. I used to be a knitter and this took me back to those happy days. ‘Stash’ in this circumstance is the collection of wool, books, needles, anything really, involved with the craft. The anthology comes from mostly professional knitters, men and women who

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are just as crazy about having wool put aside for a latter date, as the rest of us! It’s a delightful read and if you knit or have ever thought about learning you’ll enjoy it. I loved hearing the reasons why they all kept a Stash and smiled quietly to see none of them were embarrassed by the fact. Their great love of knitting that permeates throughout is truely inspiring….. I wonder where my needles are these days?

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