Stash Less - I got a gold star!

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

Stash Less began as a challenge to myself last year - to regain consciousness over my stash over the course of a year. And because I made it up, then I got to make up the rules. And so I'm giving myself a gold star this week - the highest achievement possible of the challenge! "What did I do to achieve it?" I hear you ask? I finally cut the Nani Iro! Not just any Iro but the Iro.

Those of you who have been around since The Craft Sessions began will remember the image below. It was our homepage image on the day we launched in June of 2013. And the blue Nani Iro is still on our homepage as part of the new stack. But my history (and attachment) with this piece of fabric goes back much further than that. I looked up my Etsy purchasing history and can see that I purchased it way back in Janurary of 2011. In a strange way it is not as bad as I thought. So I've held on to it for four years. Loving it way to much to cut into it. Waiting for the perfect pattern. Too special to do anything but sit there. I just think it is beautiful. 

My hope for Stash Less was that I would start to use my stash. I would stop the purchasing that had me avoiding cutting my favourite fabrics and I would use it. Because I had to. Because in order to make pretty things, I had no other option. No avoidance mechanisms at my disposal….

This week I achieved it - so GOLD star for me!

"OK….but Stash Less has been going for six months already and you hadn't touched it. There must have been a final driver that got you there?" I hear you say. Well you would be right…. I did need a push.

Last week I was asked to do interview about Stash_Less for an ace publication. It was lovely they thought of me, and I was feeling pretty chuffed about it, until they sent a second email which stated that they needed to have someone take a photo of me. OK….. so just a little confronting - I've been pretty happy running around in a headless fashion for the last two years - so I was feeling pretty awkward. Knowing I was going to do the interview however, got me to thinking about Stash_Less, and how it was starting to change me and my habits. I sat and went through my original thought process. I thought about what I was trying to achieve, what I had achieved, and I realised there was one thing I hadn't done yet. I'd skirted around the edges using less precious Iro here and there. But not the big guns. The blue Iro was my white whale. …..Alright, maybe that is taking it a little too far. But it is big none the less.

I decided to make an effort. Y'know you have some big event, you make a frock - right? Well this was that for me. I was going to be talking about this project I created - I should try to achieve all it's aims right? I would make something to wear for the photo! As we have been talking Simple Sewing a lot lately, so I decided I should go with what I love, and I love a woven Hemlock. The woven Hemlock fits my everyday wardrobe like a glove, and who wouldn't want to wear the blue Iro everyday. The simple shape of the pattern was made for beautiful fabric. 

Lucky for me the actual photo taking was a dream due to the skill, generosity and kindness of Emma Byrnes from Heartland Projects. We had such a great day, full of ideas and joy, and she had me totally comfortable. I'll show you some of her photos as soon as they get published. Emma's photos are totally stunning and some photos even have heads. You can find her gorgeous instagram feed here. 

Your stories always make me happy so to celebrate with me, tell me what is the thing/s that you are avoiding using. Or if you used it, how did you get there. 

Felicia x

Stash Less - Falling Off the Wagon

In the last Stash Less post I wrote about how I thought I had found the key - and it was true. Having the budget meant that there was opportunity cost in everything I purchased. Having the making list meant that I knew what I really wanted to make and could be more focused with less buzzzzzz about all the ideas floating around in my head and on the interweb. Having the list of triggers meant that I had something against which I could review all potential purchases. All of these things have made a big big difference to my thinking. But we still have a way to go….. 

We are now nearly five months into the process and I've learnt a lot. One thing I've learnt is that the whole thing is hard. Another is that I really need to practice new habits. 

But in the last week, for some as-yet-unknown reason I've had a little blip. I've practiced my little heart out over the last week. And well, I've also fallen off the wagon.

More about my fall in a minute. But first let's look at where we were at.

A review of the spending so far.  

$5 - Knitting needle gauge 
$10  - Knitting pattern Flet (gee it's pretty) (gee it's as-yet unused)
$39 - Cotton and needles 
$24 - Cotton and pattern tracing stuff 
$10 - Knitting pattern Keel (on the needles)
$52 - Kate Davies new book Yokes (with postage) (again as yet unused)
$67 - Liberty in one of my all time favourite patterns
$54 - Fabric for kids Christmas stockings and cotton
$1.50 - Zip for star cushion
$88 - Wool for the boy's birthday jumper (swatted and ready to go)
Grand total until the fall was $350

The great thing about having this list and reviewing it is that I can see that for the most part I am on the right track. The only thing that I really was off base with was probably the pattern Flet and Yokes. Everything else is either being used or will be used soonish. 

This makes me happy!

A little pre-fall information

Before we go into what I did, I think it's really important to note that in the moment I've managed to justify all of it. I have been masterful in my reasoning and my rationale. It's been really interesting to look back on - now that the moment has passed - I'm really quite admiring of how I justified it.

In addition to the falling-of-wagonness you will hear about in a moment, I also spent a good thirty minutes with $90 worth, of (super pretty) wool in a shopping cart, uhmming and ahhhing about whether I should hit the go button. I shouldn't. And I didn't. But I wanted to. A combination of FOMA and wanting to own the pretty. Wanting the thrill of the purchase. An hour after walking away I felt really good. I don't need wool. At the rate I am ripping things out, I have enough yarn to last me at least two years of solid knitting. 

The fall

So what happened. I spent $219 in the last week. And $127 of that was on totally unnecessary stuff that doesn't follow the rules. 

Exhibit A. I spent $77 on new season Nani Iro. It will arrive by mail sometime soon. I did cleverly avoid an old habit of only buying a little bit to make the purchasing less "bad". I purchased enough for a dress. I do have quite a stack of dress fabric - which I showed you in this post. I forgot momentarily that...

“Enough is as good as a feast.”

— Mary Poppins

And so it is. 

Exhibit B. Another purchase that fell into the same category was the 1m of new Cotton and Steel Mustangs I purchased to make the top shown in the photo at the top of the post. I purchased it because I know my kid would love it - but she does have more clothes that she will ever wear out. I can't decide if I care about this one or not. It wasn't FOMA or any of the other reasons. It was joy for the kid. 

Exhibit C. My third and final totally frivolous non-rule-following purchase was that I purchased 1m of another Cotton and Steel Grey Cross fabric. Again it was super pretty. But the reason for purchasing it meant that I came up with a new trigger - "Just in case" purchasing. Hmm. I justified it by saying that I didn't have the right fabric for part of the boys quilt and needed the grey "just in case". I didn't need the grey. At all. 

The final two things were necessary for the making list. $82 for batting for boys quilt and some baby quilts and $8 on cotton. Totally fine.

So all in all - I spent 4.5 months worth of budget in a week. And 2.5 months of that spending was unnecessary and just because I wasn't paying enough attention and really being conscious about why I am doing Stash Less. I'm chalking it up to a learning experience. 

Where does that leave us?

Spending to date since October 1st. About $570. 

What is really annoying about it is that even as I am writing about it I'm still justifying it in my head - "Beautiful Nani Iro that you love is only released once a year (or so)". "Your little girl will totally LOVE the mustangs dress and how fun to be able to do that for her". "The crosses will come in handy". But you know what…..I know, and you know, that none of it was necessary. All of it was excessive. And while I don't want to waste time feeling bad about it, it was a good reminder that I can be very clever at tricking myself when I want to be.

I'm feeling just a little frustrated with the whole idea, with the budget, with the process and with myself. That said, I am also really happy I thought it up, really happy I'm doing it, and really happy I'm learning things. But frustrated none the less. 

Some successes - small but important 

Just so we don't totally finish on a bum note. I wanted to tell you about some successes I'm having. Over the weekend I cut into some Nani Iro I've been hoarding and made the beautiful Alice from Tessuti you see above. And I made a Grainline Hemlock with some cotton that wasn't expensive but that I was holding on to (hoarding) onto "just in case". Feeling totally chuffed with myself for making two things I will wear all the time, and two things that I needed. And two things that I would have previously have had a hard time actually cutting. 

I'd love an update if any of you are working on your own stashes. What you've learned? And if you've had frustrations or setbacks I'd love to hear them too. Setbacks are where it is at today.

In solidarity and wagon-fallingoffedness.

Felicia x

PS. I have now made a Stash Less page that includes all the posts to date in this series. 

Stash Less - I may have figured out the key!

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

Stash less has been a learning process for me. With practice, and with putting my ideas out there online, I've been able to more clearly understand my own behaviour and triggers around stashing. Over the last week or so, I've had a really big realisation; for me, the key to stashing less is actually a combination of having a budget, and having a plan. And not for the reasons I thought. 

I thought that the budget was a way to control my spending a bit, and my making list was helping me be a better planner. I was planning to ensure I was making the things I really wanted to make and to help me not be so caught up in my crafty whims. But what I've found is that the combination of the two helps to eliminate many of the reasons why I stash.  

Allow me to explain. My Making List 2015 is only a few weeks old, but it changed things for me. The first thing it changed was that I am not making so many random things. I did make some socks* but other than that everything I'm making are the things I should be making. This is unheard of. Often when I get the urge to start something, rather than starting something that needed to be made, I go blank about what to make and start something totally random. Then I feel pressure to finish the aforementioned random thing. Pressure that keeps me away from the things I really want to be making. 

Having made my making list I can see my plans are slightly unrealistic. That is a bucketload of knitting for a person who knits in life's gaps. But knowing that my expectations are probably unrealistic is kinda good. It means that I've gained some drive to stay focused, while being aware it probably won't all happen. I want to reiterate that the list is actually a list of things that I really want to make. These are all the things that I often postpone because I am crafting to my whims. There is still time for whims but by having the list I am making things that will be much more satisfying to me. 

I stated in the list post that writing the list clarified that I have all the materials I need in my stash. Before I wrote the list I was buying materials "just in case I have time" or "because I really want to make X on a whim". This type of purchasing  now makes no sense as I really just don't have time for them. Win! Big win!!

This picture is a combination of a FOMA purchase, using stash that I was saving for "the perfect project" and making from the list!

So I've got rid of many of my reasons for purchasing. I'm not buying for time poverty reasons (to have things just-in-case I get the time) or for perfection (to have the perfect materials) as I know I already have the materials I need for the list. I'm not buying for having the pretty as I can see I have no use for it anytime soon. So the only reason I would be buying for stash would be for fear of missing out (FOMA) - and for me there are only a couple things I worry about missing out on - Nani Iro or Liberty releasing a new seasonal collection - and I'm trying not to wander internet shops so I am less likely to be tempted.

Oh my goodness! The joy of being free; free from desire and free from want!

Now I've heard a few rumblings from a few folks, in comments and whatnot, that a budget isn't for them. That they are the kinds of people that a budget wouldn't work for, that they like their freedom too much. And I'm with you. I love freedom! I love the idea that I get to choose and no one is stopping me. But the thing about stash less is that it is ME that wants to change my behaviour. So I'm the one creating the rules and wanting to put the brakes on. I've already talked about the freedom that has come from having the list, but then you add a budget, and the freedom only increases.

I set my budget at a level that meant there was some room for joyful purchasing, and I said I wasn't going to be super strict. I could still buy a grownup sweaters worth of yarn for myself if I wanted to, but as I can see I don't have time to knit anything for me that requires new yarn, I have extra cash to play with. I would really really like to stick to the budget and that creates opportunity cost; if I buy one thing I can't buy another. Knowing what I have to purchase for the list means that I am aware that I only have about $200 left for the year as a discretionary fund. Yes I may spend more than that. But I want to be really really careful to not overspend just to own the pretty or FOMA. I really want to put thought into it.

And here is the key….without the budget I could justify many many things for FOMA. And for owning the pretty. With a budget I have to make a choice with which kind of pretty I want the most. I need to really really want it for it to fit into the $200. $200 means maybe two purchases this year. And I want them to be for something truly special. I love that it has come to this. That this will be when I make a purchase!

The budget and my making list combined have made the process of stashing less feel like freedom rather than restriction. Freedom I have given myself. Such a useful thing to figure out.

Useful ideas, or not for you? Have they changed what you think about budgets? Or lists for that matter?

Felicia x

Click the link for other posts in the Stash Less series.

*Yes I did make socks. Totally random thing to make as it is the middle of summer here. But they are pretty! And make me happy so play on I say!

PS. There is another aspect of freedom that has arisen from not stashing. In the past I would buy because I wanted to own the pretty, but then it was like a big chain around my neck. I would see a pattern that I really wanted to make and more often than not I didn't have what I wanted to use in stash. Because I had purchased the pretty already I would feel pressure to use it and not be able to follow my creative whims. A big bummer and a clear case where the stashing itself is the restriction.

Stash Less - A habitual practice.

Stash Less is a series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash. Other posts in this series can be found here. 

Habits are changing

I thought it might be good to start the year with an update on Stash Less – about practicing new habits, the projects that are coming out of Stash Less, and of course the cash!

We are just over three months in and I’ve learnt many things about my purchasing habits, initially through examination, and then observation along the way. At the start of this project, when I looked through my stash and tried to figure out why I had what I had, I came up with four main reasons why I purchase (more about this examination in this blog post).

1. Time poverty - Getting the thrill of making, without having the time to actually do the making.

2. Fear of missing out - (FOMA) on special materials

3. Beauty - Wanting to own the pretty things.

4. Chasing perfection - Wanting the perfect materials rather than making do with what I have.

Changing a habit involves practice - yes? Now, whenever I am thinking of making a purchase, I use the list above as a critical lense through which I can examine my motivation. This then allows me to determine whether making that purchase involves engaging in a behavior I am happy with. So simple but this has totally changed things for me!

Due to the budget I have set myself I am having to consider carefully what I spend, and when. I can still spend but I need to spend consciously. Which is where the practicing my new habit is critical. I’m asking myself the following questions.

1.     Which one of the four reasons above is the trigger for the desire to purchase?

2.     Do I need XYZ or do I have something in stash I could use instead for the project? Would that material be good enough?

3.     When do I intend to use it? (If the answer isn’t “straight away” then I am generally saying “no for now”.)

4.     And again, do I need it?

The other key thing I have become super vigilant about is how I engage with inspiration online, and then the subsequent shopping carts I might flirt with. I’m trying not to shop at all. This applies to physical stores also. I’m trying to only head to an online shop when I have identified an actual need rather than “just having a look to see what they have and wistfully look at all the pretty”.

My making is changing

I’m finding my making is changing. No longer am I just putting things that have not quite worked into a corner. I am actively seeking out ways to reuse the materials, or fix them, rather than moving on to the next thing. I’m being much more conscious about looking at what I need to make – finding the gaps in my wardrobe – rather than following my latest whim. 

Although much making was done over the holidays, the stash isn’t decreasing at the rate you might expect. Most projects this summer have used materials that were either already in use in an unsuccessful project OR were leftovers from another project.

Recent Project 1
I made a Wiksten Tank – that I showed you yesterday – from my existing Scout Tee, the sack like one that didn’t really work. The tank is a total winner and I have worn it at least three times in the last week. Can’t argue with those statistics.

Recent Project 2
I began working on Keel by Bristol Ivy using yarn that I salvaged from the gorgeous but too small Stranger cardigan. Keel has been slow going – there were 266 stitches to begin with and now 12 inches in I am at 242 per row. Even writing this down is a little painful. That said, it is a helpful process given all the pondering I have been doing about stillness. This is a mindfulness exercise (disguised as a cardigan), keeping me in the present with it’s teeny tiny stitches. Reminding me that I can’t just zoom through to the end, so I can move on to something else. I need to stay right here with this cardigan and enjoy the process. It's a cardigan I really want and will love, that fits into the whole what do you really need mindset I am striving to have.

Recent Project 3
In a recent post I talked about how restrictions can rock your creativity – and I talked about wanting to start the cardy in the pictures. It is really my first project where I experimented to see if I could come up with something I liked from a restricted position. And I am pretty chuffed with how it is going so far. 

In short this project involves taking five different balls of leftover grey 5ply yarn and figuring out whether I can make a cardy for my middle kid. I started with a ball of Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette, a ball of Milla Mia, and a ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino – these yarns are all very similar weights, construction and composition. I also had a ball of Blue Sky Sportweight Alpaca and another ball and a half of Blue Sky Metalico leftover from my James. The greys however were all different. Some blue, some flat, some silver, a purple grey….

The idea came together when my girl-child saw a Norwegian sweater in a EZ book. “I love that mama” was all I needed to decide that the transitions from one grey to another could be managed via some kind of Norwegian-style colourwork. We are calling it a deconstructed Norwegian sweater.*

I was hooning through the knitting – due to my excitement – but in the last few days have hit a little snag. I had added the silver Metalico down the bottom after a gorgeous row of blue tree-like structures. The silver shimmered and shone and looked so pretty as a sweater bottom….

BUT the fella saw it and said “No”. Direct. Unyeilding. I knew the truth of the matter (that he was right!) but didn’t want to let the idea go - the idea I could use all of my 5ply greys. He stood firm and pointed out the glaring issues – “It is a different weight Felicia, it’s too light. You know it has to go, so just get it over with!” Harsh - but ultimately fair. It would have been pretty but would have sat funny and been jarringly different. Unravelling appears to be a key part of any experimental project for me.

So now I am down to three grey’s (as I can’t use either of the alpaca based yarns) and a mid blue. Not enough yarn for a cardy for a 7yo who is growing fast. I’m still at the beach but when I get home I know there is a few more balls of blue in the Cashmerino – a duck-egg and a navy. I’m going to have to rethink the design a bit. This new sweater by Kate Davies contains an inspiring solution that I could use somehow? Maybe it would work?

This kind of experimental project is relatively new to me. It involves stepping into the uncertainty of not knowing if a project will work out which is something I have only been able to consider in the last year or so. In the past I wouldn’t have wanted to waste my making time by making something where I couldn't be sure I would get the result I wanted. Now uncertainty is part of the joy of making. The fact that the project could be totally rubbish or total genius is so exciting!

Cash update.

Cost wise I was at $205 since October 1st but the holidays added $54. We arrived at my mum’s house for Xmas, after a 7 hour drive, only to find that we had left the stockings at home. Spotlight held the answer. Three metres of stocking fabric, some buttons and $54 dollars later and we were sorted. Truthfully, I’m a little sad to spend a month’s Stash Less budget on something I already had.  Ho hum….

So the budget is slightly exceeded at $259 three months in - but I’m totally OK with that. Every decision has been conscious and that is a good enough result. 

Love to hear how you are going and whether the Stash Less series has caused any changes in your habits over the last few months….?? 

Felicia x

Previously Stash Less - Selling Discontent

*I actually have no idea whether the patterns I'm using are really Norwegian. 

Stash Less - Selling Discontent

The series where we talk about having a thoughtful stash.

We were talking about stillness on this here blog last week and it seemed to be a post that resonated with quite a few of you. I'm sure this struggle is probably something that many of us face, especially in our society, at this time, and especially at this time of year. Your comments on that post got me to thinking about how I craft, why I craft and how much I make, and whether that crafting fulfills its purpose. See I think that mostly we craft to satisfy our souls. Creating feels good, and I truly believe it is one of the most deeply satisfying activities we can take part in as humans. 

BUT ….then we add all these very human layers on top of it. Layers of pressure about what we are making, how much we are making, and judgement about how well we are making it. About whether we can make what we see in our minds eye and practising in the gap. And it complicates what should be a simple and joyful process. It should simply be about getting into the flow of creating and taking that joy with us into the rest of our lives. 

Belinda's comment on the stillness post really hit the mark for me. 

“I have decided that, for me, the problem itself isn’t exactly that crafting is replacing stillness. Because I find that crafting, when set aside and done alone, allows me to enter a kind of meditative state and/or be alone with my thoughts, similarly to what yoga or running might do.

It’s about the compulsion to craft (that fills my mind when I’m not crafting and therefore takes over other parts of my life), the crafting multitasking (podcasts, etc), and the obsessive focus on creating the perfect end product that are the three core problems for me.”

The buzz we were talking about in last week's post; the idea of creating beautiful things, adds up to a lot of possibility roaming around in my head. Part of Stash Less for me is to be more conscious about how I make, what I make and hopefully calm the buzz down to a dull roar so I can be more mindful in the rest of my life. I really think Belinda is onto something. For me the sheer volume of ideas and things I want to make are the problem, and not the actual crafting.

And then last week I was reading the wonderful Dumbo Feather magazine and there was a feature on Seth Godin with another idea that I think adds to the mix. He said ;

“The average person 125 years ago in Australia and the United States owned two pairs of shoes and two pairs of pants. One of the challenges of the industrial revolution of the early 1900s was that the industrialists were petrified that the new machines they were installing would make stuff faster than people could buy it. They were really sure there was going to be a demand problem. Let’s say you can figure out how to make 500 pairs of shows a day, instead of five, you say, ‘But everyone already has shoes! If I make a hundred times as many shoes a day, who will buy them?’ What they had to do was sell us discontent; you are not happy if you don’t have as many shoes as someone else. You need another T-shirt, you need a new garden set, you need a better this, or a better that. This discontent fuels demand, and demand is met by industrialists. Discontent is not inherent - it is merely inherent in the Western world, with money to spend on stuff that’s getting advertised to you.”

— Dumbo Feather - Issue 40

And although the context is slightly different (Seth was asked a question about status anxiety), I've been thinking how discontent and the quest for more, impacts on my making. And how our culture definitely plays a part in creating that discontent, and from a very young age.  

I'm currently avoiding (boycotting!) one of Australia's two big supermarket chains. Their main marketing approach in the lead up to Christmas is all about marketing to kids. After you have paid for your goods they hand you cards with animals on them. The more you spend, the more cards you get. So the kids beg (yes beg!) us to go to Supermarket X rather than Supermarket Y, when we are buying our tinned tomatoes and toilet paper. And here is the hook. Not only are they giving out cards, but they are selling folders to put your cards into. The animal folder details ALL of the possible cards you can collect. So not only are they giving you something for free to collect, which kids love, they make it clear that there are many more to collect and you don't have them all. When you put the cards in the folder there are all these gaps. The folder (which could be fun if you looked at it from a particular point of view) makes it clear what you don't have!! The whole marketing plan is around telling you that you don't have enough. You need more! You aren't finished! You aren't complete until you have them ALL! And my kids fall for it hook, line and sinker. Chasing cards - not happy with the cards they do have, full of desire for the ones they don't have. And I hate it and have been actively seeking out Supermarket Y wherever possible.

We have been trained to respond to the "more is better" "bigger is better" song. Fear of missing out and wanting to own the pretty. Add the internet to mass marketing and it is no wonder people are leading lives filled with unnecessary desire. And even if one of our main family values is "stuff doesn't make you happy", I know I am affected by it and need to be conscious. I go through my pinterest page of pretty frocks it's like the idea part of my brain goes into overdrive. I would love to make this and this and this and this. I would love to wear. I would love to…..

I never feel like I have enough time to make all the things I want to make. I often feel dissatisfied with the amount I achieve. The sheer volume I expect to make is totally nuts. Totally unrealistic expectations and making that is filled with underlying pressure for more. A fine example is the picture at the top of the post. That is about half of my frock fabrics. I have ideas (and the fabric) for at least twelve frocks for myself. Twelve frocks. Really. Who needs twelve frocks? Why am I wasting time and energy thinking about that many frocks. Each one of them takes up some brainspace; a tiny corner filled with the niggle of desire. 

Reading Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed's blog post a few days ago I saw this;

“That touches on something I think about a lot—how handknitting (and home sewing, by the same token) is such a dramatic departure from the “fast fashion” of our consumer culture. I think once you slow down and start making garments with care, you really start to see some of the benefits of creating your own wardrobe pieces. And also, being more invested and passionate about them as a result.”

I am invested and I am definitely passionate about making my own, but I've been thinking that maybe my view of how much I want to make for myself is more akin to buying fast fashion. I want to make ALL the things, in the same way I could buy ALL the things. I don't just have one or two ideas, I have thousands of them, and I don't rein them in by consciously dumping those that are less worthy or unrealistic from a time perspective. So I am left wanting. It's almost like my craft can't fill me up the way it should or could, because my expectations are so out of whack with what is possible, and would make me happy. There will never be enough time to make all I want to make. BUT nor do I need all I want to make.

Maybe setting some realistic goals of what I could achieve next year and working hard to make those as beautifully as I can - getting them right? - will lead to less buzz and more satisfaction. It will mean letting go of some ideas but I'm game.  I feel excited that Stash Less is making me more conscious.

Any thoughts on this post my friends?

Felicia x

Previously Stash Less - Why Restrictions Rock!