Bustin' Out

I know, I know. It's like listening to a broken record. "Really busy...trying to knit...no time to blog...really busy..." In the last month, we finalized our adoption of Winston, we painted the kitchen, we went to Las Vegas and saw Rush, we ran a 12K and then walked the entire width of San Francisco a second time to get back to our car...so much excitement, so little sharing.

Well, bad news. Today's not the day for changing. No, today I'm here only to plug the first group I've joined on Ravelry.

You know how I rarely talk about my stash in any detail, because I'm sort of ashamed of myself for collecting that much yarn when I average about five finished garments a year? It's not a joking thing to me. I think a lot of knitters say, "Oh, look at how much I have. Isn't it just terrible?" But I think they say it with a barely hidden glimmer of pride at their accomplishment. Not me. I'm not proud of what I've done. While I love almost every bunch of yarn in the bins, and I can describe every one of them in detail from memory, it doesn't make me happy to go out to the garage and see it. I'm sickened at the thought of the money I've spent on the yarn thrown into those plastic tubs, wasted until I can work it into something useful.

I often read suggestions for stash reduction, and I dismiss most of them outright.

"Sell some of it."

No. I love every skein. There's a reason I bought every single ball of yarn out there. It wasn't a random armload grab at a sale. I picked every one of them carefully and dreamed of what they'd be when I got around to working with them. Well, except the horrible mohair I bought from Elann.com a few years back. That stuff is shit.

"Swap some of it."

See above. I love it. Wanting something different isn't the problem, because I have a little of just about every quality yarn on the market. I don't need to trade for anything else.

"Set a goal, and if you don't meet it, you have to give away one project's worth of..."

I'm don't do well when given an ultimatum. I'll take the consequences every time, for no reason other than to not give in. Well, maybe I could sign up for one of those stash busting groups and fail, just to get rid of the mohair.

Where am I going with this? I'm going here.

It's a group on Ravelry, started by the lovely Bobbi. No threats, no deadlines, no thinly veiled boastings, no pressure. Just a bunch of craftfolk, trying to help each other regain control of their money and their minds. Join us! If you're not on Ravelry, join Ravelry! You won't see my stash up there, because if I had the time to take pictures and upload all of it, I'd have time to knit or crochet it into something wearable.

I haven't bought any yarn since Stitches, way back in February. I don't plan to buy any more yarn in 2007. It's a start. (EDITED TO ADD: Uh...2008. I have this 6-7-8 dyslexia thing, see. It's why I can't ever remember my mom's exact date of birth, which might not end in any of those three numbers, but I always think it does, and I always think "the 28th? No, that can't be right. 27th? I can't ask her after all this time. Why do I do this every year? Maybe I'll call her on the 20th and ask her if she has any plans, and hope she tells me which day she's doing something. Yeah, that'll work..." (Sorry, Mom.))