One of my biggest challenges when it comes to crochet is how to go about organizing my yarn.

I tend to keep the tools in once place, so when the tool space gets overrun, everything is within arm’s reach, and I can sort through my holdings and donate the tools I am not using to a nearby non-profit.

Using a bookcase and the alphabet, books are also relatively easy to put in order. I like to organize mine first by publisher, and then within that, alphabetically by title.

Yarn, however, is a challenge for many reasons.

One reason is that on a personal level, I have two competing impulses. I want the yarn both out of the way and easily visible so that I can see what I have and immediately know what is available. In my recently completed Mamy bag, I used 15 different colors, and as I worked on it, one of the biggest challenges I faced was how to transport the 15 or so colors I wanted to choose from as I made each hexagon.

Another reason is practical, yarn, when used, does not have a constant shape, so even if it comes in an easy to use pull from the middle skein, it will eventually devolve into a tangle of some sort if you are not careful.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I recently came across a stash bag pattern that I have found to be very nearly transcendent. After I completed the first bag, I filled it with as many skeins of yarn as I could fit. I then made a second bag, and when it was done, I did as I had with the first, and filled it with as many skeins of yarn as would fit.

I also felt that I was onto something that would be a workable solution for my yarn holdings, so I started on a third bag.

In my first two efforts, my gauge for the diameter of the circle was smaller than the gauge given in the pattern, so for my most recent effort, I used Red Heart Super Saver Light Coral, and J hook. To my delight, the diameter of the bag was much closer to that given in the pattern, and when all was said and done, the latest bag was able to hold even more yarn than the first two:

The stash bags are (for a crochet project) instant gratification, and as I continue to work on the other projects that have my attention, I will continue to make a stash bag here and there until I have my entire yarn annex and all of my yarn holdings in order.