The following rules are from Wendy's blog:
L-B mentioned to me that she was thinking about attempting to knit from her stash exclusively in 2007. I, of course, laughed at her initially, but started thinking that attempting to knit from my stash exclusively was not a bad idea. Both L-B and I have stashes of epic proportions. L-B had suggested a period of 9 months of knitting from the stash, so that we could go to Stitches East next October and buy yarn there.
So, in a phone call, we sketched out our guidelines.
Knit From Your Stash 2007: Guidelines for L-B and Wendy
1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.
2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone?
2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.
2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.
2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.
3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.
4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.
Anyone else who would like to join us in this is welcome to do so! Feel free to link to this page or to post the guidelines on your own blog. You may also alter the guidelines to suit your own situation.
Back to me:
We all say it "I'm on a yarn diet." "I'm going to knit up my stash before buying anything more." Uh huh. In Wendy's case, she set Stitches East as her goal. We could set the Kitchener-Waterloo show as a goal...but golly, that seems SO far away (actually, it would be BEFORE Wendy's Sept 30 end)! I think I might go with six months. Jan 1 to June 30. I have ALOT of stash I've been saving for after I have a breast reduction, hopefully that will be in the spring :)
One additional rule I'd add is that I can add sale priced yarns to collections I already have, such as Decor, Classic Merino, CountryStyle DK. Oh, and if any Christmas yarns come on sale after Christmas so I can stock up for next year's baby hats :)
Another resolution I encourage all knitters to embrace--becoming critical of your knitting. Not critical in a negative way, but in a more analytical way. Think about why you want to make that pattern. Is your yarn a good choice? Are there any little voices in your head warning you about something? Look at projects you haven't finished but are still hanging on too. Why are they set aside? How about learning some new techniques? A new cast on? Entrelac? Lace? Choose a colour outside your comfort zone. Teach someone. Rip out old projects. Expand yourself, not your stash :)
Coming later--flash your stash! Finally my stash is mostly in one spot. I took a picture...and really, it doesn't look all that out of control :)
3 comments:
Having done a tally of the yarn I've bought this year just at Elann (and I'm not counting next week's silk/cashmere!), I am embarrassed. No wonder I needed more storage bins!
When I add up what I've finished in 2006, it's rather puny. But I'm not finishing the year with many more UFOs than I started with, though a couple of the older UFOs hit the Frog Pond and rejoined the stash.
Long-winded way to say that I'm going to give this a try. However, I am making an exception - not a 'Get Out of This' card - for my LYS's Super Bowl Sunday Sale, when everything is at least 25% off. I have so many WIMs, and the yarn to make them; so many projects, so little time!
Great guidelines. Always tempted to buy new yarn, but I really need to chip away at my stash also since input seems to be greater than output. I was thinking of joining this Stashalong, http://stashalong.blogspot.com/
I think the Stash 2007 idea is great, but I know I won't be able to adhere to it! I have a lot of stash I need to get cracking on. It seems when I do use something, there is no dent made in it whatsoever. It's a thrill to have but at the same time, almost depressing and I worry about not getting to it all before I die an old, old lady.
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