The Holy Stash: One Year Later / El bendito alijo: Un año más tarde.

It has been a little over a year since the last time I put some order in my stash. It was starting to get so TERRIBLY MESSY that I did not want to get close to it!

Ya ha pasado un año desde la última vez que ordené mi alijo. Ya era hora, pues se estaba empezando a poner tan HORRIBLEMENTE DESORDENADO que ¡ni siquiera me daban ganas de mirarlo!

Now, the stash was not only getting messy but it has also grown quite a bit since last year... that means that I either have to stop buying yarn (which is something that probably won't happen) or I need to knit more!!

Ahora, el alijo no sólo se estaba poniendo muy desordenado sino que además ha crecido un poco desde el año pasado... eso quiere decir que tengo que dejar de comprar lana (cosa que muy probablemente no sucederá) o ¡¡tengo que tejer más!!

Let's take a look at the mess:

Este es el desastre:

So, I started with I have most: plötulopi and léttlopi. Lopi is ALWAYS and will always be in my stash.

Comencé con lo que más abunda en casa: plötulopi y létt lopi. Mi querida Lopi siempre está en mi alijo, y siempre estará.

I assigned one box only for Plötulopi, which is my favorite kind of lopi because it is softer and absolutely fun to knit with! I highly recommend to try it :)

Una de las cajas es sólo para plötulopi, que es mi variedad favorita de lopi porque es más suave y además es una pasada tejer con ella. ¡La recomiendo MUCHO!

Then a box only for létt lopi, another kind of lopi that is ALWAYS around the house:

Luego, una caja sólo para létt lopi, otra variedad de lopi que siempre hay en casa:

Then half a box for Einband (to the left), the lopi lace wight, which I use a lot to make shawls (it is very cheap, comes in wonderful colors, blocks incredibly well and it is very light, though it is rather rustic).

And the rest is Kambgarn, the only non-lopi yarn produced by Ístex (that I really don't use so much but strangely I have a lot of it), a skein of angora and two skeins of a swedish red yarn.

La tercera caja está dividida en dos: a la izquierda puse Einband, que es la variedad lace de lopi, la cual uso mucho para hacer chales (es muy barata, viene en colores preciosos, bloquea increíblemente bien y es muy ligera, aunque es más bien rústica).


La otra mitad es Kambgarn, la única lana no lopi que produce Ístex (la cual en realidad no utilizo mucho pero curiosamente tengo montones), una madeja de angora y dos madejas de una lana sueca roja que me regaló una amiga.

I made another box with the most luxurious yarns, most of them are lace weight (silk, merino, alpaca, some blends like wool and linen, etc.):

Hice otra caja con lanas y fibras más lujosas, la mayoría son de tipo lace (seda, merino, alpaca, algunas mezclas como lana y lino, etc.):

Finally, the a little-bit-of-everything box:

Finalmente, una caja que contiene un poco de todo:

As you can see in this box there is an unfinished sock... yes... it is the same sock that I found last year in the same box... I started it almost two years ago! I will finished them this summer!

Como pueden ver, en esta caja hay hasta un calcetín que no he terminado. Es el mismo calcetín que encontré en el alijo el año pasado... calcetín que empecé a tejer hace dos veranos. ¡Soy lo peor! Me he propuesto terminar el par este verano.




These are a few of the latest things I have bought (and can't wait to use VERY SOON!!):

Estas son algunas de las últimas cosas que he comprado (¡¡y que apenas puedo esperar para usarlas!!):

Two skeins of Llama Wool that I found in a very cute shop in Reykjavík called Litla Prjónabúðin (The little knit shop) that you can find on Facebook. I am very excited about this one, I have never knit with llama.

Dos madejas de lana de llama que encontré en una tienda muy bonita en Reykjavík que se llama Litla Prjónabúðin (La tiendita de tejido que pueden encontrar en Facebook). Tengo muchas ganas de probar esta lana, nunca he tejido con llama.

These super cool stich markers made with lego pieces. They are from Finland and made completely with recycled materials. And those cute darning needles.

Estos marca puntos súper entretenidos que están hechos con piezas de lego. Son finlandeses y están hechos completamente con materiales reciclados. Y esas agujas de lana súper chulas.

Three WONDERFUL skeins of silk from Greta and the Fibers. I tried it once already to knit the Rock Island and as soon as I finished it I NEEDED to get some more!! And also two skeins of sock yarn also from Greta and the Fibers.

Tres MARAVILLOSAS madejas de seda de Greta and the Fbers. La probé una vez ya para tejer el Rock Island y en cuanto lo terminé ¡¡sentí la NECESIDAD de tener más!! También dos madejas de lana para calcetines de Greta también.

I went with my friend Kristín Hrund to a yarn store downtown in Reykjavík and this cotton yarn caught my eye... I HAD to buy it! It will become a crocheted present for a good, good friend (I will tell you more soon!)

Con mi amiga Kristín Hrund fuimis a una tienda de lanas en el centro de Reykjavík y este algodón se llevó toda mi atención... ¡tanto que tuve que comprarlo! Lo usaré para "ganchillar" un regalo para una queridísima amiga (ya les contaré más)

Talking about what I have on my needles (and my crochet too, hehe)... I am about to finish a shawl that has been taking me forever!! Just one more chart to go! I am very happy with how it is coming out (more details soon also!)

Un poco sobre lo que tengo en las agujas (y ganchillo también, jeje)... estoy a punto de terminar un chal que me ha tomado muchísimo tiempo terminar. ¡Me queda sólo un esquema y termino! Me gusta mucho cómo está quedando :) (más detalles pronto también).

The blankets... the one with flowers and stars is almost done!! We are making the stars now, then the border and block! The hexagons... they are going very slowly. No rush with that :)

Las mantas... la que lleva flores y estrellas está casi, casi lista. Estamos haciendo las estrellas que conectan las flores, luego el borde y ¡ya!. Los hexágonos van lento, pero no hay prisa :)

I am also starting with the bobbins again! It has been too long since the last time I did something related with bobbin lace... the reason why I am starting again is because I needed to practice a little bit since I got a pupil! I have a very dear friend who called me a few weeks ago to ask me if I could teach bobbin lace to a friend of hers who is very interested... IMPOSSIBLE to say no! Especially after having met her... she is ADORABLE!! In return she will teach me some japanese and will cook japanese food, yes!

Estoy empezando a jugar con los bolillos nuevamente después de una larga pausa. El motivo por el que estoy empezando es porque necesito practicar un poquín ¡pues tengo una alumna! Una muy buena amiga mía me llamó hace unas semanas para decirme que tenía una amiga que estaba muy interesada en aprender a hacer encaje de bolillo... ¡IMPOSIBLE decir que no! Especialmente después de haberla conocido... ella es ADORABLE! A cambio me va a enseñar japonés y cocinará comida japonesa, ¡sí!

So, I will be teaching her the super very basics that I know... which I hope it will be useful for her at least as a start.

Le enseñaré lo súper básico que sé... lo que espero será suficiente para que empiece en el mundo de los bolillos. 

I am working on a bookmark. I am using 20 pairs of bobbins and cotton nº20. The bookmark is made on a torchon ground, it has a few spiders, and half stitch and cloth stitch diamonds.

Estoy trabajando en un marca páginas. Estoy usando 20 pares de bolillos y algodón nº20. El marca páginas está hecho en base de torchón (a medio punto), tiene arañas y diamantes hechos a medio punto y punto entero. 

It is looking like this:

Y se ve más o menos así:

If you look carefully there are two SILLY mistakes :(
Si miras con cuidado hay dos errores ¡¡MUY tontos!! :(

And to finish... my beautiful stash (that I hope will stay like this for a loooong time) all together:

Para terminar, mi hermoso alijo (que espero se quede así hermoso por muuuucho tiempo, jeje):

HOW IS YOUR STASH!?
¿CÓMO ESTÁ TU ALIJO?

The Holy Stash

Last week I decided that I needed to do some stash diving and see what was there. My stash is a little bit all over the place. I have three boxes: two of them hiding behind the sofa with all the staff that use the most and the third one under the bed (mostly with létt-lopi, lots of leftovers that I always think I should just throw away but Gummi never lets me do so!)

Messy Stash

So, I took all three boxes and took everything out of them and tried to find a way to arrange the stash somehow.

Most of the stash is plötulopi, I think this is because we were making a lot of "bottle warmers" (that are really quick to make so it is almost instant gratification and it is possible to play a lot with the design and color combinations) to give to our friends or as "emergency gifts" for any occasion, so we were always buying some to have more colors to make new bottles. We got to have something around 30 to 40 of these bottle warmers! During Christmas time we gave many of them to friends that needed presents to give (especially to their relatives or friends that are abroad).

There is a lot of létt lopi as well. The reason... I have no idea! I can't recall any reason why there is so much of it in the stash. Maybe is it mostly left overs (and some new balls) of old projects. All this went to a box (along with some other things like bulky lopi, álafoss lopi, kambgarn and a couple of balls of sock yarn) that is now under the bed.

The third box contains the most "luxury" yarns: lace yarn from Evilla (one of my favourites), merino lace, alpaca, cashmere, some blends and others.

In the process of putting some order I had to get a fourh box to put all the yarn I was going to use to make a  pullover that I finally never made. It is Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed . I have NO idea what to do with it. I bought it in a sale (and it wasn´t really SO cheap), I really like the color but now I think it is way to chunky!! What to do?! So, this new box went straight under the bed!

Not so messy stash

I am very satisfied with having put some order in my stash but while I was doing it I couldn't stop thinking about how much I would like to have a proper place to keep all the yarn, a place with an easy access to everything, that allowed to arrange things in a more logical way and that didn't involve having to dive into the stash to find something. By now, unfortunetely I don't have the space to think about something like that... but SOMEDAY!

Now to finish, when I was doing all this a couple of surprises came up. I found some things that I had totally forgotten about! But  that will be a story to tell in another post... hehe.