It's I Love Yarn Day!

The Craft Yarn Council of America has declared Otober 12 as "I Love Yarn" Day...although in my case it might be more accurate to call it I Love/Hate Yarn Day! Yarn and I have a "tangled" relationship - if yarn was a man, I would constantly be changing my Facebook status between "in a relationship" and "single", lol.

Don't get me wrong, I DO love yarn in all its myriad colors, weights, and textures...I love all the things you can do with yarn; from the obvious (crochet, knitting, weaving) to the not-so-obvious (a replacement for string, instead of ribbon for gift wrapping, making nifty little pom-poms)...turn me loose in the yarn department of any store and I can guarantee I'll spend way beyond my budget, usually with no specific projects in mind, just because I can't resist the color or the "feel" of it.

Chair full of ongoing projects

But there are also lots of times when I HATE yarn...when it seems to have a mind of its own and decides it just isn't going to cooperate! How does a brand new skein manage to tangle itself up inside its deepest, darkest regions? Why is the end of a pull skein so totally invisible and elusive? How in the world can I store all this yarn and have a vague idea of what I have on hand? Why does the strand I want elude my hook when all the others I don't want are leaping up to be grabbed? If I had a dime for every minute I spend untangling snarls and rewinding the loose, loopy ends of skeins into balls, I could pay off the mortgage on my house, lol! And never mind the traditional image of cats and yarn...dogs are just as talented when it comes to creating a mess - and they always want to snuggle (or make me get up to let them outside) when I'm in the middle of counting a pattern!

Anyway, in honor of ILY Day, I made an attempt to organize some of my "stock on hand". I can't remember if we got this handy-dandy over the door hanger from the dollar store or Walmart, but since my daughter moved out and no longer needs it for her shoes, I snagged it off her door and repurposed it for my own use! It works so well for the skeins, I want to get another for finished projects; the pockets are a perfect size for hats, scarves, and other small-ish items.

Hey, this works!

What's YOUR relationship with yarn?

Coming soon - other storage ideas, and how to keep those balls of yarn from running away when you're trying to use them!