A New Year

Hey, everyone.  Well, it's the new year and so to prepare, I spent the last couple of days organizing my stash and getting everything wound and put up.  While doing this, I made a horrible discovery. My beloved wool had been attacked by a tiny creature.  At first, I thought it was a moth that had done the damage, but after grabbing a skein of cascade 220, I caught the little bugger red handed.

Carpet beetles.

I had never heard of these before, but after googling for what the tiny creature was in my skein of yarn, I now know just how destructive their larva can be.  So, please join me in a moment of silence for the fallen yarn.

12 skeins of knit picks palette yarn that was part way knit into a fair isle vest

2 skeins of cascade 220 heathers in a lovely lavender color

1 skein of malabrigo lace yarn in a deep blue

1 skein of dragonfly fibers squishy lace in browns and blues 

2 skeins of unmarked wool 

Close to a third of my stash was wiped out.  I have now put all the wool yarn in plastic sealed tubs and the part that couldn't fit in those is now in ziploc bags.  If I can give one piece of advice, it would be to look at your stash often.  Check it for tiny invaders.  That way, you can catch them early and not take as big of a hit as I just did.

If you suspect an invasion, freeze your yarn for 48 hours.  Let it thaw, then repeat the freezing so you can kill any newly hatched larva that survived the initial freezing.  Store your wool in sealed containers and keep an eye on it.

On the bright side, my stash is now organized and stored much better.  May 2015 bring no more vermin!