Yarn Diets

Are you on a yarn diet?

It's so popular, at the start of the new year especially, to go on a yarn diet. I find it interesting to see how others interpret the word "diet" LOL. Some people will say no new yarns except sock yarn, yet they have enough sock yarn to keep their entire family's feet warm for the next 40 years. Some say no specialty/designer/keepsake single balls because they already have lots of single balls that they don't know how to use up, so they're always buying just "one more". Some say only yarn for gifts, or only yarn on sale, or only yarn for actual projects. Sometimes knitters say these things as a way to justify their current yarn addiction ("sock yarn doesn't count as stash"), or sometimes because they can be honest and stick to a plan.

I'm a frugal yarn shopper to begin with, but for years I felt I was personally responsible to adopt orphaned sale balls of yarn, or thrift shop balls. The poor ball, it's been in the sale bin for months, what will happen to it if I don't rescue it? LOL. I've gotten much better about that. I'm usually able to pass up single balls, esp. if I don't LOVE it, or if it's a sock yarn but less than 350yds, or something unknown. On Wednesday, I did fall off the thrift store wagon though....14 balls of Novita Came, a worsted weight (on the finer side) of 90% Falkland wool, 10% camel, 9 balls soft white, 5 balls dark green. For $1 a ball, how could I pass that up--and it fits my other resolution to buy "project" amounts. I did also pick up 4 balls of Bernat Co-ordinates (which I do already have a tiny bit in my stash), as I'm making baby items for donating (and I actually do have a donation place now, not just throwing them in the Rubbermaid bin in the basement).

When Meg was having speech therapy in Shelburne, instead of Orangeville, I had to resist the temptation to visit the yarn shop there....for 12 weeks. Oh, it was hard. I knew if I could get through the first few weeks, it'd get easier, and I had intended to visit on our last week up there...but somehow even managed to not do that! I'm pretty good when I go to knitting festivals too, and being out here, that's not much of a problem anymore :( The Spinrite tent sale always sucked me in but as they moved from single balls to bagged amounts, it got easier to pass yarn up (even with the "buy 3, get 1 free" as there was often not colours I really wanted). I was still a sucker for the cones and the "tangled skeins" though!

And, in reflecting back since we've moved here, I do still have some trouble spots. When FabricLand was clearing out the Moda Dea Superwash Wool, I bought quite a bit, along with the "Georga" wool from Wal-Mart. Neither match the gauge of other wools in my stash, but there's enough of each to make a lot of mittens or hats. I did buy some wool to make gloves for Christmas presents, but got tired of working with the dark colours. I did buy some other wool to make gifts, and some did get used up, but some didn't. I'm trying this year to not even buy yarn to make gifts! That really adds a new twist to the challenge.

So, since this new year started, all I've bought is the yarn this week. That's not too bad! Oh yeah, I did buy a ball last weekend at Michaels' to re-knit a cowl I made last year...I'm going to keep track here of exactly what I buy, and what I use.

Wow, I didn't think I could write so much about not buying yarn!