If you are a knitter or crocheter you've probably bought some yarn on impulse. I know I have many, many times. You see the yarn in the store - a whole mountain of colour and texture just calling out to you. You touch it gently - imagining it's potential. And then you make the decision to take it home with you. To give it a place of honour in your stash.
Once you get it home you spend a couple of days thumbing through magazine and knitting books, sufing the net, looking for that perfet pattern that does this yarn justice. After a few unsuccessful days you decide to put the yarn in your stash. Hiding it away in those baskets, bins or closets.
We've all been there. It's part of the obsession. Sadly we all have far too many of those impulsive moments and I know we try to train ourselves only to buy on a per project basis. Pattern before the yarn! But it doesn't always work.
When my stash got too big for one room - and yes, I have a room! - I made a commitment to find a use for the yarn before I bought more - even with a pattern in hand. The stash had to go! That's when I learned how to design. I could see an image of the finished piece my yarn was meant to be in my mind. I just couldn't find a pattern to match the image. So I set out to design the pieces myself.
I've had success and the stash is steadily shrinking. I've a ways to go but I can see the light at the end of my needles.
Check back for some images of my own designs.


