Term of the Week: Stash

There are two things that make our term of the week pretty easy to cover. For one thing, it applies to any artisan who has a supply of materials, and for another, every stitcher has one. Whether small, large, or extremely large (as the case often is), a stitcher’s stash remains the same no matter what kind of a stitcher someone claims to be, and can often be a conversation piece or a bragging right.

So what exactly does ‘stash’ mean? Once again I turn to Dictionary.Reference.com for my technical definition:

Stash

2. something put away or hidden: ex. a stash of gold coins buried in the garden.

3. a place in which something is stored secretly; hiding place; cache.

A stitcher’s stash matches up to the technical definition for the most part: it is a stitcher’s supply of materials, charts, scissors, kits, magazines, needles, fabric, hoops, frames, etc., which is stored in any and all manners of ways. It is generally hidden away from non-stitchers and other family in the house because of the stash’s large size; ask anyone who is a passionate stitcher how large their stash is and often times the answer will be “more than I can stitch in my lifetime.”

Because I’ve only been wholly devoted to cross-stitch for about a year, my stash is very small. I did, however, inherit some of my grandmother’s and all of my mother’s stash, and ever since I’ve started a thrift store hunt for any and all cross-stitch goods my stash has swelled and is swelling. (It doesn’t help that my boyfriend’s parents gave me a generous amount of money for Hobby Lobby from Christmas!)

Here are some examples of a stash:

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“Term of the Week” is a weekly blog post highlighting a new word or phrase commonly used among cross-stitchers but not found in an ordinary dictionary. These posts are to help explain the words’ meanings in context and provide a resource for anyone wondering what a term like “frogging” means. Check back every Thursday!