The World’s Biggest Stash?

Posted on by Anna

Update: Read an interview with Bonney about her stash!

While we’re on the topic of my lovely mother-in-law, and while we happen to be visiting my in-laws for the 4th of July holiday, let’s take a peek at her awesomely huge yarn stash:

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Viewing this stash is like walking into a gothic cathedral: it inspires those in its presence to renew their belief in God (or knitting, as it were).

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The room itself is sort of separate from the rest of the house, and may be the quietest place I’ve ever been. Thanks to the yarn, it has recording studio-worthy soundproofing, so it’s just you, the yarn, and that unsettling sound of the blood rushing through your head.

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Bonney has been collecting this yarn for years, bravely taking in stride her family’s varied remarks about it. Personally, I can’t help but feel honored to be in the presence of all this fiber. At the same time, I like the lived-in quality of the stash room – it reflects the way that Bonney actively uses her stash as a resource and inspiration, instead of an untouchable Museum of Yarn.

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Though if she wanted to, I think she could start charging admission.

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I feel obligated to say that this isn’t all of Bonney’s yarn. The living culture that is her yarn stash has long since spread down the stairs, and into several other rooms, where it’s started growing baby yarn colonies.

It’s easy to make fun of someone who has such an obscenely large collection of yarn, but really, aren’t you just deeply jealous? Not me, because I get free yarn!

91 thoughts on “The World’s Biggest Stash?”

  2. HOLY CRAP! I’d pay to get a peek of THAT! I think she has more yarn than several stores COMBINED!!! Wow…Have to show this to my DH to let him know that my stash is really, really SMALL!!!

  5. Before I read the post, I thought you were going to say that this was my MIL’s yarn shop or something…

    I’m speechless. And wanting some of that yarny action.

  6. Oh my word. Thats truley fabulous. I would kill for a stash like that. I’d probably never finish anything either.
    If she ever wants to offload any I bagsy first spot in the queue. I firstly want to pile it all in the middle and swim through it then want to go through sorting it all out neatly :D

  7. Nice. I thought I’d seen it all, but this tops everything! I mean, that’s a really big room, too.

  8. Well Anna, now that we’ve exposed this room to the world I think we are obligated to set our goal to knit through all of it! Are you up to the challenge?

  9. Well I am glad that so many people are able to appreciate the stash!! I myself feel a bit overwhelmed by the quantity of yarn in this house, particularly when, for example, I find a ball of yarn in the bathroom. Yes, that HAS happened! If you look hard enough, you will find a ball of yarn in every room of the house. A bit like a treasure hunt!

    Daughter of the Mother of All Stashes,
    Jenna

  10. Gasp–I’ve been in yarn shops that don’t have that much fiber! Speechless…jealous…ready to go in there and have church!

  15. Holy Sh*t! I’ve heard of SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) but this is SAB-A-LE (Stash Acquisition Beyond ANYONE’S Life Expectancy)!

    You have married well, my child.

    Deeply, deeply jealous!

    P.S. Is she the one that taught you to knit or are you really just that lucky to have married into that kind of wealth?

  17. *jaws dropped to floor*

    Just about last week, my dh assigned a 4 ft wardrobe just for my stash… and I thought it was sooo nice of him and really grateful… But now that I see this… I know exactly what to aim for if we will have more space ;o) heh…heh..

  18. I hope no one is counting that giant stuffed Oscar Meyer wiener as yarn.

  20. Can I have the address please? I would like to come shopping. I spied some Patons Classic Merino in there just taking up space.

  21. Now I know where to find yarn to finish a project when I run out of something. And she will probably have the needed dye lot as well.
    I’m just dumbstruck!

  24. I can no longer say that my DW has a large stash. It pales in comparison and I will stop giving her grief regarding it. LOL.

  25. I thought you and John were a match like none other, but now I think it’s more that you and the mother-in-law are a match like none other. Where was this room during the wedding weekend?? It should have been on the scavanger hunt!

  26. that is the best room ever! and I am so deeply deeply jealous. One of the very best things about knitters is that they love to share. Your MIL is my hero.

  27. What great comments! Bonney is very pleased to see that her stash is getting more praise than ridicule. And yes, didn’t I luck out with the in-laws? She has been a great big inspiration to me and my knitting.

    Cindy, we’re checking – I’ll send you an email.

  31. Jealous is a gentle word for what I’m feeling :) And I owe her, too– now I can just laugh at the next person who mocks my measly five bags of yarn.

  32. Pingback: people who make me love knitting stuff « Jiva the Erasmamum

  33. Wait, is there a grand piano in there, too? There needs to be some kind of official state plaque out front.

  36. WOW!!! I’m envious! :-)

    I do hope that she’s got some kind of extra insurance on her homeowner’s policy. (I’m a little paranoid–too much flooding around here lately!)

    Thanks for sharing the pictures!

  37. I love all the kid toys scattered throughout the room. That’s the way Bonney, assimilate them while they’re young. LOL

    And Bonney, you have the sweetest hubby! Must be related to mine. :)

    And now, I have something to aspire to when it comes to my stash which only takes up 1/3 of my walk-in closet. (I am so loving the glass-fronted cabinets/shelves.)

    Question: Do you store the yarn by fiber content, or does it kind of end up where ever?

  38. Oh. my. goodness. That’s a whole lotta yarn! You could easily open up shop! Makes my stash look like a joke!

  39. No one is going to ridicule Bonney here. For let she who has not acquired her own stash (or wished to do so) cast the first stitch/skein.

  40. Wow! I have to admit I wouldn’t want to live with all that, it’s just too overwhelming, and yarn can get *very* demanding! But having an option to visit and use, free? Well, that’s just about as perfect as it gets, so it’s YOU I envy!!!

  41. Wow. It is a sight to behold. I am just imagining being able to knit whatever I wanted because I always would have the yarn available immediately. Amazing.

  42. oh my gosh! that is awesome…It sure looks like a great place for all the local knitters to hang out! where would that be? LOL

  45. HOLY CANNOLI. The bar has officially been set. At first I thought there was a mirror involved. Truly awesome. She should be very proud… you obviously are!

  47. OMG I’m speechless. I’m going to send a link to my DH as he’s convinced I have way TOO much yarn & maybe he can calm down a bit now.
    Thanks for sharing….

  48. Wowsers! That is a lot of yarn. Have you ever counted it? I wonder what it would all weigh? I would quite happily set up a little chair in the middle and look all day long!

    Impressive, makes my meagre stash look pathetic.

  49. I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven if that was mine!

    That room is bigger than my whole flat.

    Do you want a lodger, Id be happy to help with chores?

  51. I am in awe.

    I’m going to show this to my hubby and he will never, ever complain about the size of my measly little stash again.

  53. Oh boy…

    And I was getting worried.

    Now I realise I am only down there in the kindergarten!

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

    Now I know to what heights I should be aspiring.

    Ireland sends you its total admiration.

  54. ::THUD::

    I want to shop the black shelves; most of the skeins there look particularly yummy. But then there’s the hutchfull… And the shelves between those two pix… And, and, and…

    I think you’ve just shown us the Shrine of Knitting. If only we could make pilgrimages. There’s even a nice couch where we could sit and stare in reverent awe! These are some of the *best* pix I’ve ever seen, any subject, hands down. Thank you!

  55. Your Mother-in-laws stash has made the comment section of the Yarn Harlot’s Blog. This is an amazing room… It is a shrine to yarn, wonders about making a pilgrimage to visit the shrine.

  56. I am available for adoption.

    Seriously – you say the word and I’m all yours!

    Heck . . . got another son? My in-laws’ legacy is classic cars. Phfft. Ya can’t knit a classic car.

    You are my knitting hero.

  58. I think she has more yarn than my store. Good going. My Mom used to have the biggest stash I had ever seen. This beats it and she is jealous.

  59. As my little 18-month-old granddaughter wails every time she sees shoes in a catalog, “I want it, I want it, I want it.”

  62. Does she have any more sons? I can get divorced asap! ;) That is amazing. Does she remember all she has, or does she have to go hunting often?

    Imagine trying to get all that up on ravelry, lol

  63. Can’t…form….coherent…..thoughts.

    In deep yarn stash envy…..

    Please convey to your mother in law the following

    “I want to be her when I grow up.”

  64. Thank YOU! because I pointed people in this direction thru another friends blog I won YARN!! How appropriate :D

    If she ever needs money I am sure that there must be many people who are looking for some wonderful yarn that is discontinued and in just the perfect color way for that project you needed 3 more balls to complete and she has it….. ebay could be a grand thing.

    Not that I am saying get rid of any of that yarn — no way Nah UH — just in case you know — like my hubster occasionally tells me of some new purchase of his — “It’s an investment”

    I am in awe and also think her hubby is wonderful to provide the perfect spot to store that marvelous stash!

  67. *goes ‘Where’s Waldo-ing’ for the giant Oscar Meyer Weiner…*

    Wow. There truely are NO words. *boggles*

  68. I am deeply impressed !
    Wonderful comments by both your mother and father in law. You certainly married well.

  69. WOW. I think I could live in that room. I now want nothing more from life than to walk around in there and fondle yarn.
    Truly beyond words.

    That’s awe-some, truly awe inspiring.

  70. Even in my wildest yarn dreams I couldn’t imagine having a stash like this :-o This is the most wonderful place I’ve ever seen!

    Overwhelmed and speechless

    Tina from Hamburg, Germany

  72. What a beautiful room. Jo of Celtic Memory Yarns sent me over here and I am so very grateful to her for the pointer. I used to feel guilty about the size of my stash. No more. I may continue to feel guilty about how slow the rate is that I get it knit up compared to how fast I add to the stash but my stash is just a fraction of the size of your MIL’s. I had been feeling odd about putting my stash up on Ravelry because of how much I have compared to how fast I use it. I think I’m over that now. Please give your MIL a big hug from me. She’s really inspirational in a “taking ownership of her craft” or something way. Also a “use your tools and stash” way and a “broaden your horizons” way too for that matter since there seems to be quite a range of yarns. I’m betting she never has to wait to start something she wants to start just because she doesn’t have the right yarn.

    You did indeed marry well.

  73. Tell me that you are in her will!!! I have a 15 year old daughter. Does she have any young boys I can betroth her to? She just started knitting. Does that help? OMG- I have a goal and my husband can no longer complain!

  75. That’s multi-generational SABLE!

    I think I’d find a stash of that size intimidating. I’d also spend more time wondering which yarn to knit with than actually knitting.

    I’d love to come and dig through it though.

  76. Okay, I bow before you. I thought I was the stash Queen, but now I am truly back to amatuer status. This is going to be shown to my husband to back up my maintaining that I do not have a problem – I am just a collector!

  79. WOW!!!!

    Wer soviel Wolle bunkern kann braucht keine Angst vor Langeweile zu haben!

    Mein Mann würde mich wahrscheinlich erschlagen, wenn ich soviel horten würde. Ihm reichen diverse Säcke im Keller auf dem Regal und auch in diversen Kisten und Kartons in der Wohnung. Obwohl ich alles fein ordentlich weggeräumt habe.

    Aber trotzdem: Hut ab bei dem super Stash!

    Lg
    Carmen (aus Bremen/Germany)

  81. “It seems that even Germany is impressed.”

    OH YES, INDEED :))
    This evening I´m gonna show my husband this pictures and then he NEVER has to say a word about my tiny little stash again!!!!!!!!!!

    :D

    The Replays of this post are so funny – I could laugh the whole eve-

    “Holy Cow” didn´t know this word existing in english.

    Eva

  82. It’s a lot of yarn to be sure, can’t help thinking how much money must have been spent on that and how much good could be done with it rather than it sitting looking pretty in a room.

  83. Eve, if you knew how generous the owner of this stash is with her time, money, AND yarn, you would not be so quick to find fault.

  85. A marvelous room filled with wondrous fiber and, apparently, owned by fabulous people. What a testimony from daughter-in-law, daughter, husband and more… fab, fab, fab.

  86. This is the BEST stash I’ve ever seen! I’d love just to walk it’s hallowed floor and reverently (and not so reverently) “ooh” and “aah” at the glorious treasures. Thanks for sharing this wonderful room – can I put my eyes back in their sockets now?

  87. I love my mother-in-law dearly, and frankly, I think I now love yours as well.

    Oh my goodness–I have a sudden urge to go yarn shopping….I think I’ll go hide the Visa.

  88. Hi Bonney,

    I am truly impressed, excited by the pictures, and drooling. What a GLORIOUS! stash you have there!

    And might I also say, what a lovely husband you have. Nice comments he left for us to read. You’ve got a sweet man.

    Your Knitting Friend,
    Robyn

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