Stash Divestment

I've listed some yarn on eBay if you're interested in picking up some deals. Auctions end June 21!

Muench Bergamo 100% Wool Tape Yarn, Air Blue, 17 balls

Debbie Bliss Wool/Cotton yarn, Cyclamen, 18 balls

Rowan Linen Drape yarn, Indian (859), 9 balls

A Year Later: YNBA

Today is the one-year anniversary of my Yarn Non-Buying Agreement with myself. Last December, I looked at the drawers and shelves full of yarn, and the total on my credit card bill, and decided to try the cold-turkey method of stash withdrawal.

So it's high time I gave a statistical update. I'm happy to report that I did not break my YNBA (although I may have bent it just a little with the Campbell's Farm yarn).

Original number of skeins: 328
Skeins added: 26
Skeins knit: 55
Current total: 299

Here were the additions to my stash:

• 8 skeins of Koigu Premium Merino for the lace christening blanket [purchased for gift]
• 6 skeins of Peruvian Collection Baby Silk for the Flower Basket Shawl [purchased for gift]
• 6 skeins of Karabella Zodiac [won in contest]
• 2 skeins of homespun Campbell's Farm yarn from Saturna Island [I consider this more of a souvenir than a yarn purchase]
• 4 skeins of Patons Cha Cha [gifts for nieces]

At this rate, it will take me six years to finish knitting my stash (or twelve years, if I keep buying yarn for gifts.)

You know, I haven't really felt deprived about not purchasing yarn. I still visit the stores and websites occasionally, but I don't feel the pressure to decide if and what to buy. When I need a fibre hit, I just pull some forgotten sock yarn out of the stash, or daydream about what pattern I will use for the yarn I do have. And I've been more creative about what to do with the leftover half-skeins.

So I declare the YNBA a success, and I will continue to stay the course.

328 Balls

My resolve to knit my entire stash before purchasing another skein of yarn has only strengthened with the new year. Since that fateful day back in December when I wallopped my wallet with scads of expensive designer yarn, I have not purchased a single yard. Not even when I went to Toronto for the weekend and could have visted Romni or Lettuce Knits. My only acquisition has been two skeins of Noro Blossom that my mom gifted to me. How could I turn down that exquisite self-striping blend of wool, mohair, and silk? I envision my third Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf, this time for me!

I have started keeping track of my progress on Operation Stash Blitz at the niftiest website, www.43things.com. This site is crack for list-makers, folks. And I have managed to make it even more neurotic with my whole Goal | Reward | Next Step | Progress schtick. Sometimes I just shake my head at myself. But that doesn't stop me, does it?

So I did indeed create a spreadsheet and record each ball of yarn I have stored in my house. And the grand total is 328*.

*I must mention again, I know there are people out there who have many orders of magnitude more wool than I do. And I also know there are folks who buy one project's worth at a time and no more. Not going for a stash-measuring contest here. Just reporting on mine.

YNBA

So, my profligate ways with the credit card have caught up with me. Last week's double whammy of Koigu Kersti from Rose Haven Farms, and Jo Sharp Aran Tweed from Elann earned me some very sad, reproving looks from my husband. Most of my yarn purchases get posted against the Clothing line item in our household budget, so yarn for me means no new pants for Shawn.

Looking through my project list, I see that I have nine projects on the needles right now (a few achingly close to completion). I also have yarn for 25 more projects, plus various odd balls not intended for any specific pattern. And it occurred to me that it might be an interesting challenge to knit to the bottom of my stash - every single sweater and scarf and sock - before buying any more yarn.

How long will it take me? I would guess at least two or three years. My rate since I started knitting in earnest in November 2002 has been about 20 projects per year, which translates to 4 adult sweaters and 16 smaller items (scarfs, baby sweaters, socks, bags, tanks). Of my 25 stash projects, 12 are adult sweaters. So yeah, three years maybe.

Here are the rules of my own personal Project Stash Blitz:

1. No buying yarn (duh). This is where the Yarn Non-Buying Agreement comes in. Yarn for gifts can only be purchased if there is absolutely nothing suitable in the stash.

2. Receiving yarn as a gift, swap, or contest prize is to be discouraged, because then it will take longer to complete the challenge!

3. No selling or giving away stash yarn. (This one's mostly because I like all the yarn in my stash and I don't want to part with it. Plus, the challenge is to knit it all, not get rid of it.)

4. Books, patterns, and needles are okay as long as they're for existing stash. No sense in making myself covetous for yarn I can't buy.

Am I insane to even try a yarn fast for three years? Am I denying myself unduly? I know my stash is not nearly as large as some, though likely larger than others. But it's all a personal thing. The only way for me to get into a YNBA [sing it with me!] is if I make it an over-the-top marathon, with the emphasis on the challenge of knitting all this yarn, not on the self-denial.

Looks like I have my first resolution for 2005.

Edited to add: Andrea Scher has captured exactly how I feel about resolutions.