Tossing isn't just for salad

There is one thing that strikes fear into the hearts of wool lovers. Moths. Moths that could be quietly noming away at our wool. At least one podcast I listen to has talked about moths of late, possibly two. As a result, I haven’t been able to get the little critters off my mind. It was time for action.

It is a good practice to toss one’s stash at least once a year. Tossing your stash is simply getting all of your yarn (or fabric or books.. Or whatever it is you collect that may be edible to bugs) and checking it for damage before stowing it away again. I do it… mostly once a year. Sometimes I am more motivated by reorganizing than moth threats. So, a few weeks ago I dug out nearly all of my crafting supplies and had a good toss and organize while the Husband was at work.

All my craft supplies minus the books and broken sewing machine.

ALL the yarn! Sorted by weight.

I did manage to set aside a few things to donate to my lovely friend’s efforts to spread knitting to the world. I also found *gasp* a suspicious bug on top of a yarn container. I smashed it too quickly to check if it was the yarn eating variety or not. Thankfully there were no signs of damage, but it did lead to the hasty use of the Amazon buy now button for some cedar oil. Cedar is one of the scents that moths do not enjoy (lavender is also a good deterrent). The trick is having a strong concentration of the scent in an airtight container. Over time the oils in cedar  wood chests and blocks dissipate and need to be replenished. I just need to chuck my blocks in a container with the oil or wipe it all down and pop them back in with my yarn. Easy. ​

For those who are curious about what to do in the case of moths in your yarn, I’ll give you an overview. The larva are really the problem and, like most of us, they do not enjoy extremes in temperature. If I remember correctly, the trick is to place everything in temperatures over 120 F or under 18F long enough to kill them. Depending on where you live and the time of year, that isn’t too hard to come by. The dash of your car in the summer will do the trick. Iowa is cold enough right now, I could just set my stash outside for a few days to get the job done. Hopefully I never have to.

An added benefit of the toss is rediscovering yarn for long planned projects. Hopefully, some of that will get knit up soon.
- Joanna