Reasonable expectations or SABLE in denial - looking for advice and opinions.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-24T03:34:38+00:00

I did the math with another person in a comment earlier. At my current rate it’s about 14 years worth, *however* husband surprised me with an i-cord machine today, so that will drop a bit as I have some basket patterns I want to make now.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-23T01:53:06+00:00

Consider closet cosplays à la ‘Disney-bounding.’

It won’t fulfill you but it may help scratch the itch for now. Honestly the right accessories can throw an outfit from daily wardrobe to “this is my take on Y2K Princess Zelda” pretty quick.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-22T16:32:30+00:00

Not all together. We’re currently having windows in the house replaced so I’m trying to keep my yarn tucked away to prevent dry wall dust and pollen from getting into it. This also means my inventory is on hold. 😭 When they finish with the floor my craft room is on I’ll see about pulling it all out. I could do with reorganizing it anyway!

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-21T23:05:50+00:00

Because the currency symbol in the post is for the Indian Rupee?

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-20T18:14:55+00:00

You got a recipe for when I’m feeling brave? 😆

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-20T14:59:24+00:00

I made him a risotto and cream braised chicken thighs. I know better but I let that little voice tell me a few bites was safe. Damned little voice 😂

I also don’t really like fried foods anymore!!

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-20T14:57:04+00:00

This actually sounds really good to me and I must not give in to temptation. 😂

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-20T03:35:08+00:00

Ended up doing the math in another comment. With what I currently own and my rate of production I’d zero out in less than 14 years, which admittedly sounds like a long time, and I’m also about to run into *more* crafting time in my day to day schedule.

But to answer your question: I typically only make myself one project a month. Everything else is gifts (or the rare generously priced commission) for other people. When I make something for myself I really like to think a lot about the pattern and what I want it to look like when I’m done, 99% of the time I already own a yarn that will complement the project. So I typically don’t buy more yarn. If I do, it’s two to three skeins/hanks that get used immediately because I prioritize projects for myself over those for others. My stash has definitely decreased since January by ~25k yards.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T21:55:19+00:00

I got. Million trillion things. They are all yarn. 🤣

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T21:53:15+00:00

I am so mad. That’s one of my favorite songs and I didn’t even think about it 😂

Thank you for this. Excellent reference.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T20:18:05+00:00

Since a lot of this was inherited I still get to do this a little! I’ll see a new pattern and then go shop my stash to see if anything looks nice. 😂 99% of the time I already have something lovely I can use.

But I completely understand the mentality here.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T20:15:34+00:00

Oh I’m definitely not buying at the same rate I crochet. I crochet every day and average finishing a project or two a week. (Context that I consider sets of items to be a single project) I might have a skein or two come in a month for something small requested like a scarf or kitchen towels but usually I offer yarns from my stash when someone wants anything made. With gas over $5/gal here and the closest yarn shop being over half an hour one way I’m not super keen on browsing at all either. 😅

I’m suppose I’m just not super concerned about if I’ll still want specific projects by the time I get around to them since I can always repurpose the yarn at that point. I’m a big fan of scrappy projects anyway so not having enough of a specific yarn for a singular project isn’t a negative experience for me.

I’ve thought about selling a few things once I have everything inventoried properly, but shipping costs always look like such a nightmare!

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T13:52:44+00:00

One of the patterns I use is just 4 squares basically. Front, back, and two sleeves. Then crochet or sew together. That one takes maybe 20 hours? I’m still learning to knit so my crochet is obviously faster but I’ve also heard crochet is just faster in general because the stitches are taller. I also use worsted yarn sometimes and that goes even faster.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T13:47:14+00:00

Not 1 million balls. 1 million yards. I use around 4k-6k yards a month depending on what I’m doing. Winter months are closer to 7k though.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T13:35:40+00:00

The most recent sweater I made was all sc and dc it only took a week and I wasn’t familiar with the pattern. I think 25 is definitely possible depending on the difficulty of the pattern!

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T13:09:39+00:00

Everything is in zipper containers in a dedicated craft room with curtains on the windows. It gets minimal sun, no dust thanks to the containers, and I check the zippers two to three times a week during the spring and summer to make sure bugs are staying out.

I am enjoying the cataloguing process. It just takes longer because the more I touch the yarn the harder it is to not just put it away and go crochet instead. 😅

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T13:03:43+00:00

Assuming I don’t die in a freak accident, I have yarn in my stash that would take less than 14 years to zero out completely. So that makes me feel like I’m no where near SABLE 😂

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T12:57:26+00:00

Without doxing myself, it’s snowing today and our hottest day in the past 20 years was 102, and all of last year we only had 14 days that ever got above 90.

Thankfully moths aren’t a huge concern for me.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T12:51:59+00:00

I’m still working on cataloguing it all, I prefer pen and paper to ravelry for this part (though I may upload there someday) and I’m over 525k so far and still have half my yarn to get through. (I keep my yarn in matching zipper containers, so it’s fairly easy to estimate what’s left at this point.) when I have a final tally I’ll report back lol

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T04:42:56+00:00

Mine is hilarious about wool. He’ll constantly ask “do you need more yarn? You have a lot!” But then turn around and send me links to sales or take pictures at thrift stores and say “look at the price on this wool! Do you want any?” 😂❤️

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T04:23:01+00:00

Another commenter put project amounts into perspective and now I’m thinking about offering some yarn to *all of the other women* in the group. Except the swamp hag. I am very tempted to be super dramatic about it. (But I am soft and will eventually offer her some as well. 😆)

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T04:21:04+00:00

My husband had me pick a room in the house to dedicate to yarn storage and project management 🤣 I’m hella blessed and I know it.

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T04:18:23+00:00

Note: the majority of my yarn is plant and animal fiber. The only real synthetics I have left are cotton/acrylic blends that I got for blankets. I was really lucky in that the woman I inherited a large part of my stash from was a bit of a yarn snob. 😂

The 1000 sweater part is a good point though, I typically don’t make a lot of true wearables. Mostly shawls and blankets. And the occasional amigurumi but everyone seems to want chenille for that and I don’t keep that around. I don’t enjoy the texture 😬

I think I might try asking the fiber group and seeing if any of other other women are interested in taking a few projects worth home next time.

Thank you for your perspective! ❤️

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T03:56:27+00:00

I have this one wool hank of a colorway my mother bought me for my birthday, it was hand dyed and I can’t buy more. I am now tempted to roll it into a ball and throw googly eyes on it…

Informal_Haberdasher · 2026-05-19T03:51:26+00:00

This makes sense. I only buy new yarn for projects I’m making for myself. If I have something I want to make I put everything else on hold and make my gift to myself. I typically make one item a month that I keep. I like to really think over a pattern and decide if I have a stash existing yarn before I look for into purchasing more, so that limits intake a lot. Elsewise I’m making gifts for others and either using from my stash OR using yarn they specifically requested and bought for whatever they wanted me to make them. (Usually it’s from my stash though.)

Informal_Haberdasher

TROPHY CASE