The Doctor Has Ordered Less Fiber in My Diet

This evening, I finally got around to opening up the mail that has accumulated this month (read: bills I was trying to avoid) and found out
(1 loom + 3 trips to the LYS later) that I *oops* went a little crazy with the check-writing this month. After transferring some dough and praying that there are no other "yarn crazies" I've forgotten to log in my check register
(I swear, it's like I turn into some sort of psychotic KnitMonster at the scent of yarn and suffer yarnmnesia), I decided I must commit.

Knit From Your Stash 2007: Guidelines for Jeanne B. (edited from Wendy's Rules)

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. I will refrain from buying yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

• Sock yarn does not count.
  
  
• Yarn designated for a gift can be bought only after a thorough search of my stash turns up nothing in the right color, fiber content, or amount. Intent is important, though. I cannot intend to knit socks, then change my mind midstream and buy 20 balls of Rowan for a sweater even though I know I won't finish it in time and will wind up having to make socks anyway.
  
  
• If I am knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.
  
  
• I get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card—I am allowed to fall off the wagon one time.

3. I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn. (In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you send yarn.)
   
   
4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt. This is my year to blow the dust off the wheel.
   
   
5. Yarn for weaving is exempt. Hey, I just bought a loom, and I'm registered for a weaving course at my local college which I'm sure will have yarn requirements for projects. Though I do have a small (read: one enormous overflowing box full) stash of cones I could peruse...
   
   
6. Yarn of a neutral color purchased solely for Kool-Aid Dyeing experiments is exempt.
   
   
7. All UFOs must become FOs before beginning a similar project. Example: finish the Central Park Hoodie before beginning Trendsetter's Waterlily Cabled Sweater. Finish the Mountain Colors Double Eyelet Socks before beginning the Traveller's Socks. This includes projects more than 10 years old, even if it means frogging and reclaiming in order to declare it finished.
   
   
8. Non-yarn items are exempt.
   
   
9. All knitting must be done while wearing pants. ;-)

OK. Maybe I need to just say:

I will make a concerted effort to plumb the depths of my stash this year BEFORE automatically pulling out the plastic. Cuz there's no way I'm going to make it with all these exemptions. After all,

1. I love to knit socks.
   
   
2. My stash grew exponentially in the last month because of gift knitting. I started with my existing stash. But the colors were wrong for the recipients. So I went to my LYS and bought a selection of nice sock wools. Then I found out half the recipients don't like/can't wear/are allergic to wool. Back to the LYS to buy cotton/non-wool yarn. Did I return the wool? HELL no! I kept them for myself. *ahem*
   
   
3. Oft times I begin a project, but put it away for awhile. Say, 12 years or so. Like the green sweater I started when I first learned to knit. Gorgeous Brown Sheep wool. Got about 8 inches of the back done before I got bored with K a whole bunch, P a few, K a whole bunch more, repeat... Of course, the dye lot for that is long gone as is the smaller waist I had back then. Undoubtedly, I'll need more yarn to make a current sweater. This is a Caution: yarn will be discontinued by the time I get A Round Tuit. Go ahead and splurge on the extra few balls to ensure I'll have enough of it.
   
   
4. What constitutes "falling off the wagon"? Is it when you have so much yarn in the car that when you open the door you are pushed onto the roadway by the sheer force of yarn expansion?
   
   
5. Ah, yes. The Gift of Yarn. Always the right size (until swatched, washed and blocked)... not always the right color (or fiber content). But those who might actually give the gift of fresh skeins are the ones who go to Your Local Craft Store and blanch at the thought of paying *gasp* *shock* $5.99 for a ball of wool!!! What will they do when they take my Wish List to my LYS and discover the true price of Mountain Colors Bearfoot? "What?!? For a pair of socks?" followed by admonitions about starving babies in Uganda and heating bills etc (with a nod to the Harlot, unfortunately my friends and family do not subscribe to the "yarn as home insulation" argument).
   
   
6. Spinning takes too long. I want to knit THIS year, not wait until 2010 (which is how long it may take me to learn to spin a proper yarn).
   
   
7. Weaving is wonderful but it isn't knitting. I've yet to discover how to weave a sock. Hmm. Perhaps that is my calling. Sockweaving.
   
   
8. The Kool-Aid can take the blame for a LOT of stash enhancement if I play my cards right.
   
   
9. (Do the pants really need an explanation?)
   

It looks like I'll be buying yarn in 2007 anyway, despite the complaints coming from my debit card.

In the spirit of creativity, I whipped up a few of my own KFYS2007 buttons. Feel free to borrow them for your blog; but do me a favor and store it on your own server.

Labels: knit from your stash 2007, WIP, yarn diet

posted by Jeanne @ 4:02 AM