Monday, January 18, 2016

Secret

I'm going to share a secret I have been afraid to admit...(no it's not my yarn obsession, that is not a secret!)...It is this....

I just spent about an hour rolling this skein into balls....why do I have so many little ones?  Well...
this...
Carpet beetles!  Everyone talks about moths, but my problem has been carpet beetles.  (We get pantry moths, because we have birds, but they rarely get into my yarn)

I think we got them when birds started nesting in the bathroom air vent....I've been battling them for a couple of years.  They are not as frequent as they used to be...but are really hard to get rid off, unless we replace the carpet (not feasible at this time) or fumigate (the aforementioned birds makes this difficult)....so I battle...

This was my first indication...
My Seedling hat...it had fallen to the floor and been unnoticed for a bit...when I finally found it, it had several holes....I have held onto it, although it's been about 3 years since this happened...I can't bear to throw it away...it was my first knitted hat and I love the yarn!  A crocheted hat also was munched on...I tossed the stash and found a couple of skeins also had been dinner, including the one above...

After that ALL my yarn goes into plastic bags when it comes home, I buy in bulk now..
and then stored in plastic tubs....(as I have read they can eat through the plastic bags)

I take great pains that nothing falls to the floor...on occasion, it happens...and I have found some larval husks in my woolens drawers (which are also all separated and kept in plastic tubs....but I spray the drawers with perfume and keep pieces of handmade soap in the drawers and sachet bags...they don't like strong smells)....I regularly go through my yarn and the woolens drawers, as they don't like to stay someplace that is disturbed often....

I am in fear that the many things I make will be munched on eventually...and am pretty militant about storing them away....

This is my big secret....do you have any craft secrets?




5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, what a shame! Will cedar chips help deter them?

Unknown said...

Mine is horrible and I don't mention it on my blog. I hate crochet. Not just that I hate to crochet, but I hate anything that is made with crochet. I am awful! I don't hate the crafters who make things in crochet, but I just cannot find it in myself to like things made with the technique. I even know how, and used to crochet. But I always wanted to knit, and finally that dream came true. I cringe when I have to use crochet techniques on my knitting. It's like I don't want the crochet to contaminate my knitting. LOL! See, I told you I am just horrible!

Gracey is not my name.... said...

Not horrible...just know what you like....and yes I've used cedar too...but I really can't get rid of them until we move....so I just deal with it...

Alyssa said...

AH! I also keep all my stash in bags, but not because of bugs... just from paranoia.

Corrie B said...

I'm so sorry to hear about this! I have always kept my yarn in bags because I've heard so many horror stories - what I didn't realise is that damp can affect it as well. Wool is pretty mould resistant, but I found some growing on the insides of some bags when I went through my stash, and I had to wash the yarn before I could use it. Now I put a silica gel sachet into each bag too. I have never put my yarn away wet, you understand, but obviously it hadn't been completely dry when I put it away last...

Ongoing battle. I say it's great to get into the habit of protecting your valuable stash just in case.