But wait, why do I need a yarn diet? My stash fits neatly into two milk crates (yes, the small kind). It's nothing compared to what other people have: if you are on ravelry, you can find people with more than 100 TYPES of yarn in their stash. It would get lost in the roomS containing the world's largest stash. So what's the problem?
The problem is two-fold: yarn takes money, quite a bit of money, especially if you like to work with nice yarn. Secondly, whenever I get new yarn, I am very tempted to cast on for a new project. Evidence:
Ordered on Monday, shipped on Tuesday, received on Thursday (I love elann's shipping speed and rates), cast-on on Friday. The Voyager Stole, done in the original Elann Special Edition Cash Tweed or whatever. Great pattern, great yarn, awesome picot cast-on / cast-off. The problem? I have two other stoles on the needles, plus another shawl just beginning (I haven't even blogged about this last one, in an effort to deny that I have started so many damn things lately!). I don't need yet another lacy stole to take away from the time of the other two.
I want to finish projects. I want to become reacquainted with the skeins hiding in those two milk crates. I know they are beautiful and they deserve to be made into beautiful things. And finally, I need to save more money, I really should. The local yarn stores have received my support for the year.
Rules: there's only one. No more yarn purchases until the end of the current calendar year. If I get really hardcore about this, we might say no yarn purchases until Maryland Sheep and Wool 2008. Includes knitting books, needles, notions, whatever.
Exceptions: running out of yarn for a project (hello, Notre Dame). Breaking a needle in the middle of a project. Winning the lottery or discovering rich aunt who makes me her sole heir. Yarn for Venezia (already ordered, but will take forever to arrive. It looks like they need to shear more sheep on the Shetland Islands, or perhaps wait for next year and raise some more lambs. Why is this yarn taking so long??).
