Colorwork Knitting Miniseries #1: How I Store My Colorwork Yarn Stash

[@TheElliephant89]

Looking forward to part 2! I am always thrilled when I see you have uploaded because I always learn something and find your content style very relaxing while it's informative

[@melmakesstuff]

I’m so happy to hear that, thank you!

[@redlabel7833]

Great video! Can't wait for the rest of the series

[@ptty44]

Great idea for a mini series. I love colourwork and have lots of yarn but squashed into a plastic vacuum sac. Your idea of the shallow underbed crates is giving me ideas for better storage solutions . Thanks

[@belindaf8821]

I got so lucky, in a way... My LYS had been stocking Jamieson and Smith, then decided not to keep it in stock. It sat there for ages, until she marked it way down, and then I got a heap of the colours as well as bulk amounts of the neutrals and basic background colours. It does mean I don't have anywhere to buy more and see it in person, but it really helped build my stash up!

[@christinevalentine3373]

Thanks Mel. Your filing system is really neat. I like the shallow drawer idea, it’s very practical and easy to see at a glance, obvious . . . Now you have pointed it out! I don’t buy fibres which have been superwashed or with any synthetic components any more, my own personal choice to move towards self sustainability. I have also been trying to think of ways to utilise my existing furniture to make it as easy to see as your drawer system. You have given me a lot of ideas, thanks heaps! I’m really looking forward to episode 2.

[@JuliaMajaKnits]

You made my day! Your podcasts are always such a treat! Looking forward to part two! Take care Mel! 🙌🏻

[@kleostraub]

So excited for this miniseries! Love the way you organize and present information. And the way you store colorwork yarns by color is so practical (and beauitful!).

[@melmakesstuff]

🥰 thank you!!!

[@whatiknit]

So excited about this series. Please transfer all your colorwork knowledge to my brain thanks!!

[@tiateri541]

Hi Mel - just wanted to say how much I enjoy your channel! I found you on my home page a few weeks ago and have binged all of your videos 😍. I like the way you explain your choices for each project you cover - yarn, modifications for fit, and construction. Love all the details! Looking forward to the rest of this series on color work yarns. Thanks!

[@melmakesstuff]

Yay! Welcome and thank you so much for the nice comment!

[@user-fk2ww9fr7l]

ahh love this! seriously love those wooly yarns and the swatches and the cardi you are wearing!! especially the drawer of moody reds and blues 💙

[@vickistanton9078]

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtful, reasoned approach to the podcast! I always get helpful ideas. I get excited when I see you have a new podcast. Plus, what a freaking badass you are! I saw you lifting weights at the gym in a podcast, I think you should change your title to "Don't Mess With Mel". I seriously think you are the best.

[@melmakesstuff]

LOL!!! Thank you so much Vicki ❤️

[@julieedwards6937]

Lovely thankyou ❤

[@annmarieborman6670]

Thank you!

[@janetheknitter1628]

This was great! I can't wait for #2!

[@crivensro]

I am so happy I discovered your podcast today! I found it so well done and interesting that I have subscribed to it immediately after watching this episode. I love Fair isle and colour work and over the last 30 years I have accumulated quite the stash/treasure trove 😉 which I store in bins. I create colour cards of those yarns where I can't buy any and store them never too far to be pulled out when inspiration strikes. I have also made yardage lists so that I find rapidly similar yarns suitable to be knit together. Your storage idea with the drawers is excellent! Yet how do you insure that they are mothproof?

[@melmakesstuff]

I was careful for the first few years when I moved to this house, but luckily moths don’t seem to be an issue here. I move my stash around a lot so they don’t have much time to get settled 😉

[@ginny8549]

Would love to know the pattern for your buttonless cardigan. 😍

[@melmakesstuff]

It’s the Oak Cardigan by Marie Wallin! I talked more about it in episode 10-11 (I think!)

[@coolspigeons]

Thanks a lot for this series. Unique, interesting and very detailed as always. Just one practical question: how do you avoid moths in your stash? I can see that the plastic boxes are ideal for that but the drawer has openings...

[@melmakesstuff]

Luckily I don’t seem to be in a very moth-prone area here; I do move the yarn around frequently and am always on the lookout for signs of bugs. At other places I’ve lived, I would definitely need to be keeping things in plastic.

[@coolspigeons]

Thanks!!

[@faithlevesque6073]

I’ve been binge watching your videos. Thank you for making them. Who is the Elizabeth that you reference for the sleeves?Thx.

[@melmakesstuff]

Thank you! I’m always referencing Elizabeth Doherty’s top-down set in sleeve book, it’s well worth a read if you’re interested in sweater construction.

[@marybethirwin9684]

Fantastic idea for a series! I always get fresh ideas from your videos. I appreciate the time you put into producing them and delivering the content in a professional way. My colorwork stash is crazy. Also accumulated over decades, but still, it's a bit much. LOL! I wonder if you will cover your go-to resources for working with color. Radcliffe's "Essential Guide to Colorwork Techniques", and of course anything by Alice Starmore are great resources. Looking forward to future episodes!

[@melmakesstuff]

Thank you, I really appreciate that! You definitely see where I’m going with this, one of the Alice Starmore books is going to play a part in the third video 😉. I somehow am not familiar with the Radcliffe book, but I’m going to check it out asap now - thanks for the tip!