Moth Heaven?
(Stole the title from Julia FC-you must see her awesome gloves!) The contest is going well (see July 26th post). Make sure you take your hand at guessing (or finding) what national treasures are in southeastern Utah. People are very creative in finding the answers and some have even visited our fair state. The rest of you should come on by.
Eilene asked a very good question. Should your stash be protected? Is it safe if you put it in air tight containers? With needlework silks, cottons, wools and other threads we think they should 'breathe'. Is that the case with knitting yarns? Is it best to keep things separate? Should rovings (they are untreated, right) be away from other wools? Should we have moth proofing in our stashes? What works? My bins are not "airtight" but the lid does shut tightly. Is this safe enough?
I bought a lovely silk/wool at our local Fiber Festival a few years ago. After dyeing it with indigo I am knitting it into gloves. At the same time another friend bought the same yarn. LOTS of it! She was saving it to dye and knit at a later date. Last winter when she went to use it she found it was full of moths!! What happened? Was mine safe because it was dyed, in a different place altogether, just what? Are most yarns treated? It would be interesting to hear if others have lost stash to moths, if they know why and what they have done since to save, protect and care for “the stash”. Any comments?
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What!? No helpful comments on how to care for stash...?
That is one gorgeous glove. And oh..the color. I have a beautiful pattern for cable gloves that I'd like to knit up this winter. I've done socks, but not gloves.I hope you get some helpful comments on stash protection. I'll keep checking.
Happy knitting!
Posted by: Eilene | July 28, 2004 at 07:38 AM
Thanks Margene..I just changed it. I Love, love, love Koigu also! I'm a junkie. I must have been thinking about that exotic island and lost track! ;-)
Posted by: Eilene | July 28, 2004 at 11:08 AM
I had a horrible episode with moths a few years ago. Since I'm extrememly anxious to never, ever repeat it (I lost a lot of yarn) I keep everything in ziplocks. It's an obsession.
Posted by: Stephanie | July 28, 2004 at 02:54 PM
We have a cedar closet in this house, so I have been keeping my yarn in there. I have read that keeping bars of soap with the your yarn helps--lavendar especially. What I do with my knit sweaters (my AS from my mother) is freeze them once a year.
Posted by: Kathleen | July 28, 2004 at 04:07 PM
It is my understanding that is just bad juju to store wool in plastic for the long term. It's a precaution against moisture buildup. I have most of my stash in bags inside of Rubbermaid, so I am courting disaster. I do take things out every once in awhile for a quick airing. Nothing is more fun than a hour spent rearranging the stash. The best way to store things, as I have been told by people wiser than me is in paper. As in, acid-free sheets of paper wrapped around the wool like it was a gently-tended parcel from a dry-goods store of a more gracious era. Since I have a resident population of moths who refuse to vacate despite the re-painting of closets and the presence of herbs and freshly sanded cedar and sticky traps, I have settled on double layers of plastic, because I don't trust people who proport to be wiser than me who haven't seen hos stubborn are my moths.
Posted by: julia fc | July 28, 2004 at 06:46 PM
Because no paper product, neither books nor tissue nor cardboard, is safe with the dogs of the family around, my stash has had to find its home is good old plastic. I do scatter some of those cedar balls and blocks around the wool to try to stave off the dark hairy flying beasts. (I mean the moths, not the dogs. The dogs are fairly light colored. And they rarely fly.)
Posted by: Shannon Andrews | July 28, 2004 at 08:48 PM
I'm terrified to go look. I keep most of my yarn out in baskets and bowls for what is supposed to be a yarn shop chic decorating scheme. ("supposed" is the operative word here) I have not found moth holes in any of my storebought wool garments, so I haven't worried about my yarn. Should I?
Posted by: Sharon | July 28, 2004 at 10:57 PM
Those gloves are really pretty- dyeing with indigo sounds fun.
Posted by: Sarah Elizabeth | July 29, 2004 at 12:10 PM
I recently did a speech for my Public Speaking class about knitting/fibers/fiber care. I read during my research (I have not tested it myself, so I cannot vouch for said info) that if you enclose a bag of certain spices it will help keep your knitwear (and I'm assuming stashes) from moths. It suggested lavender, rosemary, thyme, dried orange peel, cloves, or (of course) cedar chips. I assume that you just pick a desired scent, throw it in a satchel, and keep it with the fiber.
Hope it helps and if so, blog about it please!
Posted by: Kristina | July 29, 2004 at 12:26 PM