a peek of my yarn stash

One of the real joys of knitting and crochet is of course, the inevitable yarn stash. It's worse in my case because I tend to accumulate yarn wherever I am. I had a yarn stash in London while I lived there, a yarn stash in Sydney, and now, I have a growing yarn stash at my boyfriend's place in Melbourne.

I recently got an IKEA children's toy trunk to store my yarn in Melbourne (the PYSSLINGAR - pictured below). My self-imposed limit is to not have more yarn than fits in the box! As you can see, I am very close to the limit already. Today I wanted to show everyone a little selection of what is inside my very own 'treasure box'....

While I was living in London, I fell in love with British wools from companies such as Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Erika Knight, Toft, and so forth. One of the things I have done on my return to Australia is try to find some of my British favourites back at home. I have been very happy to find Rowan stockists, but not so much luck with the others. Luckily for me, I have online shops like Deramores and Wool Warehouse to help me out! 

I am obsessed with the Rowan Tweed yarn range, both in the fine Tweed and the Felted Tweed 8 ply. These yarns are particularly good for colour work and fair isle, and I love the colour options. One day I want to make the Peerie Flooers mittens using the Rowan Fine tweed (One day! One day!). Pictured above are just a few balls of the yarn I have, which I purchased from a couple of shops in Melbourne that stock Rowan. I have a whole lot more in Sydney.

Another yarn I was really happy to find in Melbourne is the Peter Pan Merino baby range. I was so happy to find all these bright colours at Clegs in Melbourne CBD. I used this yarn previously for my bright range of Blythe hats, and I am very excited by these new colour options!

I first learnt about Regia yarn from my favourite amigurumi designer Lalylala, who uses this yarn for many of her crochet toys! While I was travelling in Germany I asked Lydia for some suggestions of where she bought her yarns from, and I came home with a whole bundle of Regia yarn. This yarn is not too expensive so I managed to buy a few different colours, a few of which are pictured here. My intention is to one day make the complete range of Lalylala dolls. (One day! One day!)

Of course, now that I am back in Australia, it would make sense for me to use Australian yarn! I have to say I feel pretty lucky because we have such excellent brands like Patons, Cleckheaton and Panda making a great range of affordable and good quality products. After I first learnt crochet last year, I got a whole batch of Panda and Patons Cotton Blend yarn, which I used at the time to make things like bunting, pouches and more recently coasters. I haven't used the Patons Dreamtime 4 Ply yet, but I absolutely love the soft colours and have a few ideas for what I want to make already.

And lastly, I have a growing stash of Morris & Sons yarn. Morris and Sons is a knitting shop with locations in both Sydney and Melbourne that also produce their own range of yarns. My first ever crochet workshop was one at Morris and Sons in Sydney, so I guess I have to thank them for my current addiction! Morris and Sons is a bit more pricey than brands like Patons and Cleckheaton, but their wool is of good quality and come in a very large range of colours. Last time I checked, the Estate 8 ply, which is a 100% wool yarn, comes in more than 60 colours! I recently acquired some of their Maya baby alpaca yarn. I'm such a sucker for alpaca yarn, I just love the softness, and I am keen to try out some new patterns with the alpaca yarn. I am thinking maybe a pair of mittens?

Anyway, while this photo post may seem like a lot, the sad and scary reality is how much more yarn I own that I haven't even photographed. In particular, once I move all my craft and art supplies from Sydney down to Melbourne, I am sure I'll need to get a few more of those 'treasure chests' or risk breaking my own rules!