Do you buy yarn with a project in mind?

[3doxies]

Or do you just see something you like and buy all of it ? Lately I have been buying (not too much though) yarn "just because". I'm becoming more of a yarnaholic than I used to be. I'm also neglecting my other hobbies and delving full force into crocheting.

[TamKing]

Sometimes I'll go shopping with a particular project in mind, but I have been known to buy something that catches my eye!

Tammy

[DesertCrocheter]

I started out with the determination to only buy with a project in mind (limited storage space). But I have recently bought a few things just because. I may be tipping over the slippery slope into collecting. And hoarding. I spent this weekend moving most of my stash into 2 old small bookcases (I'm going to make some curtains to hang over it to keep the yarn clean), and happily most of this stuff has plans:

 

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a383/DesertCrocheter/yarnstash.jpg

shelf 1: threads (bookmarks and snowflakes) on left, leftover yarn from previous projects on right (incomplete skeins for the most part)

shelf 2: sugar and cream on left (for place mats and dish cloths), Jamie baby white on right (50 cent skeins at Jo-Ann's; some have already been used up in charity blankets)

shelf 3: red and blue boucle (draped sweater; have already started the practice one in blue; will make another out of the red once I've mastered the pattern)

shelf 4: three yellow skeins on left (to finish my sis's sunshine lace afghan); yellow baby boucle on right for charity blanket

shelf 5: cotton tots (not sure what to use them for, but they were only $1 at Jo-Ann's; how could I pass that up? )

shelf 6: 4 skeins of red yarn for hat and scarf for a Christmas gift next year; some miscelanneous, including some leftover from Mom's Project Linus blankets earlier this months

 

On top are 9 skeins of straw boucle for an afghan for sis no.2 for Christmas. In the two bags are WIPs: the sunshine lace afghan and a pair of socks. The only yarn not there--several skeins of fisherman's wool I'm dyeing for totes for the sisters for Christmas presents this year.

 

Look what you people have done to me! Next, I'll be creating a spreadsheet to keep track of what I have, what dye lot, etc. But I'm happy to report that most of the yarn is slated for a particular project. At least now the yarn is no longer in a dozen bags, stuffed into various closets and kitchen cupboards and weird places with just enough room for a bag o' yarn.

 

Patty

[deneen]

It started out with what I needed for a project, but quickly went into hoarding mode. I bought some yarn specifically for projects, I have other stuff that I'm waiting to talk to me, I have other stuff that has no clue why it's there, but it is. Certain yarn, stuff I can't get anymore, gets allocated. I just have a lot of yarn and a project is a great excuse to buy more, even if I don't use that yarn for a project.

[gingerrtay]

I buy yarn with a project in mind, but by the time I get around to it I forget what project it was originally for. I do buy yarn when it is on clearance, but who can pass up clearance yarn

[Me&P]

I mostly buy for a certain project - but I have a LOT of projects in mind so who knows if I'll ever remember what it was originally for!

 

I have bought several "lots" of yarn on Ebay if it is something I like and know I can use for something, eventually. It comes in handy, occasionally (ex: I have a stash of Lulu baby yarn. Friends of mine had twins at 27 weeks - 10 weeks before expected, a week I was completely broke. I was able to whip up a couple blankies for them out of the Lulu.).

 

I also go through my stash every couple of months to weed out stray yarn that I have decided I'm not going to use. I either trade it here or sell it on Ebay.

[HookandCrook]

New crocheter and new bride & very little money = buy only what I need.

 

More accomplished crocheter, a few pay raises later with a few bucks to spare and more patterns and more WIMs/WIPs = buy yarn because I like it.

 

Fairly accomplished crocheter, many pay raises later and the internet and lists available plus money to spend and plenty of encouragement from internet pals = BUY and HOARD!

 

Accomplished crocheter, both now retired, preparing to move with money to spare, plenty of WIM's and WIP's = get rid of it because I don't want to pack it.

[xantha]

A little of both. Usually I have a project in mind if it's a lot of yarn (many hanks/skeins worth) but when it comes to something like, oh, say, sock yarn, I just buybuybuy. If you asked me if I had a project in mind for it all, I would say, "sure... socks!"

 

I will say that most of my other yarn I buy specificially for projects though. Whether they get started is another story...

[Ambersafghans]

I normally go into a yarn store and get what I came for. Once, I picked up a skein of some pretty stuff because it was pretty and on sale and I figured it would work for a scarf.

 

Amber

[Karen C.]

I almost have to have a project in mind before I purchase yarn! Before my stash got out of hand, I would go and get it whether there was a sale or not.

[CraftyShannon]

At first, I promised myself I'd buy only for projects I knew I was going to finish soon. It didn't take long for me to want to try new colors or a new kind of yarn, and if they happen to be on clearance, how can I pass that up? After all, I may find project for them later and either have it not be on sale or just not be there. I can't let that happen, can I? Next thing I knew, I promised myself "just this once" I'd buy something else.

 

However, two small cabinets later, I'm trying to hold myself back until I get some of this under control again. I'm not a big fan of clutter and collecting stuff, and this is beginning to drive me crazy now.

 

If there were only a few more hours in the day.....

[Layna]

 

I usually do I see something that I want to make and then think about what yarn I want to make it with. But the downfall to that is once I start making the project then sometimes I dont like the way it looks in the yarn I bought so there goes the yarn on the shelf for something else

 

Then I start all over again looking for yarn to make that project I want to make

Or it can go the other way around I find the yarn I want to make my project with then after a few days or so I see different yarn that I think the project would look better in Crocheting can be confusing sometimes

 

But I Love It

[Stephanie]

I suffer from a fabric addiction already, so I'm very good. I only buy yarn for a specific project. Now, the fact that I won't be starting the project for 2 years is beside the point. Right? On the other hand, I make stuff only for adults (who are either fluffy or very tall) and any lunge into the yarn store often involves $100 or more just for one project. Guess this will be the diet motivator, huh?

[yarncat]

Unless a specific yarn/project is requested,I buy yarn on clearence and design projects around it.

[jenuine226]

I used to only buy yarn for specific projects. Now I've moved on to hoarding/stashing because I see yarn on sale and I think to myself, "I've always wanted that yarn before, but it was never on sale; I'll just buy it now so when I want it for something, I'll have it." You can imagine what a money/storage/stashing problem this type of thinking becomes ... I'm a total sucker for sales.

[threeolivemartini]

i jsut buy yarn.. then i let it speak to me..

 

its more fun that way .. LOL

[Tampa Doll]

I basicly I buy yarn for my project. Problem is that I always buy one or two extra skeins. Never know if they might be short.

 

 

Then when I find a pattern I want to make, I just look in my stash for the yarn.

You would be surprised how many projects I made from left over yarn and thread.

[mythunderbird]

i buy it if it is something i like. i know i can always find a project for it. i just let it tell me what it is going to be lol hehehehe, right now all my yarn is saying shawls :devil

[klouised]

Unless it's for an order, I generally buy yarn/thread with a vague idea of what I want to make. I never know exactly what I'm going to do, or how it's going to come out. That's what's so fun about crocheting. It's the discovering of what you're making. I buy more than what I think I'm going to need, so many times I end up with left overs. That is how my stash grows and grows and grows. It just keeps growing.

[pbnj]

hmmm a lil' of both i guess. there have definately been times that i've gone into a store looking for something for a specific project and then saw something i just couldn't do without (even tho i had no clue what i'd make with it, heh).

 

being frugal (thankfully since im also broke... go figure, heh) i dont buy often, i tend to "stock up" so i have enough supplies to keep me busy for a while.

 

i haven't bought yarn online but ive gotten plenty from thrift stores, garage sales, and family/friends/co-workers that once-upon-a-time-but-no-longer crocheted/knitted/plastic canvas/etc.

 

it not unusual for me to buy yarn for a project and then decide that the yarn would work better for a different item. recently i bought yarn for a dress, then decided to use it on a ponco, and finally settled on a sleeveless turtleneck, lol.

 

ahhhh i love crochet, LOL.

[CraftyShannon]

Well, so much for me trying to hold back! I went to Hobby Lobby with my mom yesterday. I recently told her I was trying to use up my stash, but she handed me $25 to buy whatever I wanted and kept pointing out some of the colors she liked. I couldn't hurt her feelings by refusing the offer, could I? I now have 4 new skeins of Red Heart yarns (Carrot and Dark Teal, I think), 3 different skeins of varigated novelty yarns that match some other yarn I have, and a yard of Christmas fabric with cats. The only thing I know for sure what I'll be making are some cat stockings with the fabric.

 

Now, where am I going to put all this stuff???? I'm one of those neat freak people, and I cannot stand for stuff to just be thrown around. I've got to get myself busier on finishing projects. I am having a bad habit of starting something, putting it aside, beginning something else, and I need to finish a few things to make room for new things.

[whitedtu]

I just love to look at and buy yarn, when I finish something, I just go to what I have and start somerthing new

[jenksie]

I have a list of projects that I need yarn for, that I carry in my purse. That way when some of the more expensive yarns (or projects) have materials on sale I will pick them up. But 9 times out of ten I ALSO find something clearanced or new that I absolutely must have.

[crochet mama]

I do both. I have purchased yarn because I absolutely love it, and, in fact, have 2 balls of this wonderful stuff I found at JoAnn's that reminds me of pussy willows. I just don't know what to make!

 

Mostly I purchase yarn with a project in mind..

[mimi_mia]

I usually buy what I like and think of something after.....I buy at a flea market or thrift shop and buy what's available if I like the look of it........it's how I feel more than what I need.....isn't that the right way to buy yarn?