Everything this year has started off new; a new apartment, a new city, a new job, and a new knitting space. To celebrate all this newness, I thought it would be fitting to share my new knitting studio. The space in which I store my yarn, notions, knitting and crochet books, where projects are conceived, made, and blocked is incredibly important and before now, I have lacked a room just for yarn. In Korea, my first two apartments were too small for a closed off space dedicated just to knitting (my first apartment was one tiny room that had enough space for a twin bed, a chair and a small desk). For the first three months back in the States, I was at my parents’ house, and while I had a bedroom and could use space in the den, it wasn’t my space, there was no cohesive, organized set-up. Now I am thrilled that I have my own little room to store everything, a little room whose door closes and can keep out the cats. My cats, Jabberwock and Maena, are wonderful and adorable and silly and I love them to bits, but they are incredibly attracted to yarn, which wouldn’t be such a big problem if they didn’t love sitting on and rolling all over it. Picking out cat hairs from skeins of yarn and WIPs is not an enjoyable task, and was one of my major problems in my other spaces; no matter how the yarn was stored, I’d find cat hairs all over it, as I had no door to close and my cats are masters at opening anything (seriously, Jabberwock could have a career opening sliding windows and doors), especially whatever bins the yarn was stored in. So now, I can close my door and have a cat-free yarn room. This isn’t to say they approve; in fact the first few times I came into this room and shut the door on them they both sat outside and yowled their displeasure at being excluded.

This room is wonderful. In fact, this apartment is wonderful; it’s in an old house with cracked wooden floors that tilt, long windows, and the whole thing is a little off-kilter. It’s lovely and charming, and sitting in my knitting studio, writing this blog, looking out the window onto my neighbor’s backyard garden, I am happy.

Speak friend and enter

Storage! The bins are full and the bags are WIPs, or future WIPS

Crocheted pillows from leftovers or yarn I didn’t know what else to do with

My grandmother (who taught me to crochet and knit) bought antique chairs from yard-sales and had the seats re-caned

Project table! Can’t wait to use it for blocking

The first ball of yarn I spun! And a seashell from Jeju

No bookshelf yet; but the floor works well too

The storage containers for yarn are full, and even overflowing into the bags on the floor. I shall be busy for a very long time, and have made a pledge to not buy anymore yarn, unless it’s needed to finish a project already begun. The layout of the room and the organization of it will probably change, as I’m forever moving furniture around on whims. On my wishlist are a full-sized mannequin and blocking boards, and far in the future, after taking a few more classes and confirming that I really do enjoy it, a spinning wheel. 

How is your yarn organized? Do you have a special room for it, corner, or wall? What’s on your wishlist? I’d love to know.

Happy yarning!