Knitting from Stash in the New Year.
Wendy came up with a great idea for a New Year's Resolution: knitting from stash for nine months. I like the nine months thing, but I'm going to modify the rules a bit for myself (this is not cheating, this is encouraged by Wendy herself. So there). I waver between thinking that since I modify the rules I really should go all 12 months, but I worry that there will be some internet frenzy in September marking the end of Knit from Your Stash 2007 and I'll fall off the wagon just because I don't want to feel left out.
So I'm keeping the 9 months, but I will assess at that time and see if I want to/need to continue.
Here are my personal rules, adapted from Wendy's:
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 not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2.a. I'm having a baby. and I have a toddler. If I find myself in need of making either of them some specific item, I must first attempt to use stash, but if i can not, I may buy yarn for a specific project only. For me the object of this exercise is to not add to stash. So if I buy yarn and use it immediately, then it's ok.
2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that I really and truly do not have the yarn for, I may buy yarn to knit that gift. See above.
2.c. If I are knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.
2.d. I get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- I am allowed to fall off the wagon one time, but only if the yarn is a one-of-a-kind find, an extraordinary deal, etc.
2. e. Yarn needed for work-related knitting is exempt, provided I buy it with intention and use it immediately.
3. I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn.
The two big changes between my version and Wendy's version are that I am giving myself a "with a specific project in mind and to be used immediately" clause. The main reason I am doing this is that in all honestly, the bulk of my stash are single and partial skeins used primarily for toymaking. It's the exception for me to have multiple skeins of a particular yarn lying around, so not giving myself that clause means I will either be stuck knitting small things all year, thus utterly stifling my creativity and will to knit, or I will have to buy yarn on occasion.
The second big change is that I am not exempting myself for sock yarn. I don't have a huge sock yarn stash, to be honest, and since I gave myself the "with a specific project in mind and to be used immediately" clause, I imagine most sock yarn purchased I'd be tempted to make would qualify.
So I'm keeping the 9 months, but I will assess at that time and see if I want to/need to continue.
Here are my personal rules, adapted from Wendy's:
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 not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2.a. I'm having a baby. and I have a toddler. If I find myself in need of making either of them some specific item, I must first attempt to use stash, but if i can not, I may buy yarn for a specific project only. For me the object of this exercise is to not add to stash. So if I buy yarn and use it immediately, then it's ok.
2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that I really and truly do not have the yarn for, I may buy yarn to knit that gift. See above.
2.c. If I are knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.
2.d. I get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- I am allowed to fall off the wagon one time, but only if the yarn is a one-of-a-kind find, an extraordinary deal, etc.
2. e. Yarn needed for work-related knitting is exempt, provided I buy it with intention and use it immediately.
3. I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn.
The two big changes between my version and Wendy's version are that I am giving myself a "with a specific project in mind and to be used immediately" clause. The main reason I am doing this is that in all honestly, the bulk of my stash are single and partial skeins used primarily for toymaking. It's the exception for me to have multiple skeins of a particular yarn lying around, so not giving myself that clause means I will either be stuck knitting small things all year, thus utterly stifling my creativity and will to knit, or I will have to buy yarn on occasion.
The second big change is that I am not exempting myself for sock yarn. I don't have a huge sock yarn stash, to be honest, and since I gave myself the "with a specific project in mind and to be used immediately" clause, I imagine most sock yarn purchased I'd be tempted to make would qualify.
posted by Marnie at 5:18 PM
4 Comments:
I'm gonna try and stick to this. Good luck!
Good luck with sticking to your plans! :)
Whoa! 9 months. Quite a committment.
Hmmmm. Not sure I could do that but it is a lofty goal - and it would save me quite a bit of $$...
You have given me something to think about.
I made peace with my stash via the Summer of Stash and a particularly productive year where I knit a lot more of my long-stashed yarns and long-thought-of losers. I realized that I will eventually knit with most of the yarn that I have, or give it away.
These seem like pretty do-able resolutions, though.
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