Psycho Yarn Stash Freakout!

I've been so motivated lately, since joining Ravelry, and since really taking to heart what a frick-freakin' mess this apartment has become, to Do Something About the Yarn Stash. Seriously. When I internalized-realized just how many projects the yarn represented -- not hats, not scarves, not tiny amigurumi animals but full size adult sweaters -- and how much yarn still exists out there in the world NOT owned by me, I found my pretty typed list of Yarn vs Project looked pretty pathetic.

So I did one clever thing, which was to immediately begin a project with the yarn I bought most recently because after all I bought the stuff partly because the color suits this fall's fashions, being deep plummy purple, and being yummy, and gorgeous, and one of the last knitting mags I bought just happened to have the perfect project for it. yay! Now this yarn won't sit around til the next time plummy purple is in all the stores. Not that I won't wear it other years...but sometimes it's nice to be in lockstep when it's not full of fail.

And I thought about all the cheap acrylic and cotton yarns I destashed over the years by giving them away, and realized that those efforts did nothing to make a dent in all the wool that had somehow also piled up. So I looked up charity knitting efforts requiring wool, and I've been dutifully knitting youth sweaters and vests and I am thrilled, thrilled to report that after only 2 weeks of serious effort I've finished 1 sweater entirely, have another waiting for blocking & assembling, have a vest 3/4 finished, and started a new super-bulky project yesterday. How much yarn used up so far...? Well, the bulky waiting for blocking used up--ta-dah!--5 large skeins of really coarse handspun and 3 skeins of soy wool blend, the vest has used up 3 balls of Pingouin fingering (see an earlier post), and the new bulky is using up most of a bag of huge skeins of New Zealand yarn and a few skeins of natural alpaca/wool blend too.

But...uh, I also ordered some wool yarn before I quite realized just how much I still have to de-stash. Well crap. I used up 8 skeins of green on sweater #1, and I'm using 5 of brown on the vest...I can use up the blue combining it with the leftover green and something else...

Still in the de-stash queue: 8 skeins of Soy Wool Stripes, 8 skeins olive Pingouin fingering, 11 skeins gray and white Aarlan wool (ancient!), 4 or 5 large skeins Germantown wool that were knitted up into an unfortunate skirt project but never unraveled/frogged, 3 skeins ugly yellow handspun and 1 orange, whatever is left of the gray NZ wool...and some cool 1 or 2 skein things leftover from olden times.

I have a couple of treats emerging from the stash bags that I'll be posting soon. Including a really strange wool/nylon blend from about 26 years ago that boasts on it's label it was Dylanized.

Dylanized??

PINGOUIN Pingolaine

Pingolaine is 100% Pure new wool, Machine Washable.
200 m/220 yards, 50g/1.75 oz per skein.
Gauge: 30 st, 10 rows per 4 inch square, using #3 US needles.
An early superwash wool, fine gauge perfect for socks and baby items. It's fingering four ply, quite like most modern sock yarns. SOFT and really yummy. Takes a bit of a tug to break it (my favorite test).


This review seems to be about exactly the same yarn as I've got, right down to the yardage and gauge. Year of origin given is 1995.

As this forum thread implies, most recent purchases of Pingouin are made outside the US. Both old yarn and pattern books turn up on eBay too. Other yarn trekkers have discovered Pingouin yarns recently for sale in Paris.

I just love that old logo. Cute! So cute! Aww, cute smelly seabird!!

My intentions were good when in 1982 I purchased hmm about a dozen skeins of this stuff in 4 colors -- olive, orange, yellow and tan -- from Flatlands Yarns on Ralph Avenue in Brooklyn. I wanted a fine-gauge cardigan. But I never made it, the yarn migrated from bag to bag, and now unearthed from its latest mausoleum (the dreaded footlocker in the closet) I'm impressed how well it stood up. No fading, and no moth damage! None! I see no kinder possible fate than baby clothes.