Knitters who love colorwork usually have larger stashes than other knitters. It is something I'm not always completely comfortable with but it is just a fact of life. I do try to think about exactly what colors I need. I used to think I needed to collect every single color in the rainbow which can get very expensive but in the past year I've realized I mainly work with cool colors. I try to simplify by sticking to certain wool yarn lines in 3 weights -currently it is Cascade 220 for worsted, Elann's Peruvian Highland Sport, and Knitpicks' Palette for fingering weight. A few months ago I realized I NEVER use brown so I gave away most of my brown yarns to the thrift store. I do use black a lot for an accent and am always running out so I buy black whenever I buy any other colors. Lately I'm starting to add more heathers to my collection of colors.
I believe knitters who love colorwork need easy access to their colors and that they probably spend more time searching through their stash. I've stored yarns in Rubbermaid containers but it gets to be such a pain in the derriere trying to find something when you have 45 partial skeins all tangling with each other. Perhaps it is different for other color knitters but I prefer to see all the colors at one time. I do pick out colors before I start a project but I often find myself going back to the stash to add or subtract colors while doing a project. Seeing all the colors together is extremely valuable and can help me quickly determine what colors I need to stock up on.
Recently I cleared out a bookcase and used it to house all my colors of Cascade 220. Looking at this photo I can see that I need more green yarn and I am puzzled as to why I have so much pink yarn. I do like having a shallow shelving system like this so it is easy to see all the yarn at once but of course the balls of yarn tend to roll off the shelves.
I'm currently thinking of an armoire with two large doors. I will be able to open the doors to see all the yarns at once but I won't have to worry about our harsh desert sun fading the colors. (Been there, done that.) The yarn will be stored on shallow shelves that will be slightly slanted down for better viewing with a small lip on the front of the shelf so skeins don't go rolling onto the floor. I might also ask DH to light the inside of the armoire so I can better choose colors at night. I'm still unsure about a few things like how to store full skeins alongside small 10 yard bits of the same yarn. Also, I'm currently undecided if I should store other things like my needles in the armoire as well. I suppose I could have him do a system for needle storage on the inside doors of the armoire.
So what do you think? Does anyone have any other ideas for my yarn storage system? I have heard there is a Flickr group where people show photos of their craft room so I'll go look there to get more ideas.