Just thinking

Alex surmised that I might be going on a yarn diet. I'll admit that I've been giving it some thought. Actually, I've been doing altogether too much thinking. We've got a big family decision to make and it's had my brain working over time. I've also been thinking about our budget and consumerism. All this thinking has led to some good old fashioned guilt.

I'm not a yarn collector. I'm a knitter. I buy yarn with the sole purpose of knitting with it. Okay, I admit that I love to fondle and smell it, too (I'm a BIG yarn smeller) but mostly I buy it to knit with. I don't knit large projects so I mostly purchase small amounts of yarn for socks or mittens or scarves. I only buy yarn that I love. Sadly, my knitting does not keep up with my purchasing and over time I've amassed quite a nice stash of yarn. Oh, I know it's nothing compared to others but I'm not comparing myself to someone else. I just know that when I look at my stash it makes me feel guilty and a little sad.

Some beautiful yarns are sitting there just waiting to be knit up. I WANT to knit them. Still, I get caught up in The Loopy Ewe updates because she has such wonderful yarn and it's often difficult to find the yarns when I do want them. Also, some retail therapy often makes me feel good - at least temporarily. There's nothing like the anticipation of waiting for a package to arrive and then opening the package to finally see the yarn for the first time.

Brooklyn Tweed captured a little of what I'm talking about in his blog post today. This is what he had to say: As knitters I think we're constantly in a state of transience between our sense of inspiration (impulse) and our sense of duty. We swing back and forth, sometimes violently, between casting on for the next project which is sure to be absolutely perfect... ahem.. and that ne'er empty basket (or closetfull?) of half-finished projects whose days of divine inspiration have long since passed.

I don't have the unfinished projects calling me. Instead I have the untouched yarn calling my name. Transience between impulse and duty. I like that.

So, Alex, I'm not going on a yarn diet. As I said below, I've never been on a diet. I'm too much of a rebel to follow a diet. As soon as I say the D word I'll start lusting after yarn. Instead, I'm calling myself to duty. I have some projects on the needles now that need to be finished. I WILL finish the toe up socks for my son. I'm almost done the Skinny Dipping socks (and they are beauties) and I can't wait to finish my Apple Pie A La Mode second sock. Then I'm moving on to Project Spectrum yarns for June and July. I've got some wonderful reds and metallics that I pulled out to photograph today. I even cast on with the Zephyr to start my stole.


I'm not going on a diet but summer's almost here and it's time to be more healthy. I'll keep an eye on things. I may treat myself occasionally but I don't foresee any big splurges. I've got plenty on my plate as it is.