Going "Cold Sheep"

The best way to make crazy things seem normal is to get people to do them with me.  (Just ask Andy about the month-of-not-buying-anything-new project)

As I embark on Year of the Stash Part 2, I have started a thread on Ravelry's Stashdown group for people who also want to go "cold sheep" on yarn purchases this year. I have tried yarn budgets, I have tried buying yarn in moderation, but I can't do it. For me, it's all or nothing, so for the second year in a row, it's "cold sheep" for me! And this time, I'm taking people with me!

I know a lot of knitters have huge stashes and enjoy them, revel in them, draw inspiration from them. I have a huge stash and I'm slightly afraid of it. What if it smothers a cat? Is it a fire hazard? What if it attracts a colony of moths? What if I can't knit it all during my lifetime? How long until it needs its own living space?

For me, knitting from stash only accomplishes two things:

1. saves money, which I can put toward a second sewing machine
2. frees up closet space (and floor space, and rubber tubs, and bags......) and might even make the sewing room easy to move around in. And give me room to actually HAVE a second sewing machine.

So, those knitters who have stashes but no stash issues--wonderful. I applaud them! Me, it's Year of the Stash Part Deux.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Best of luck on this (probably) unprecedented effort. Now there's probably someone out there who couldn't buy yarn for 2 years and therefore knit from stash that whole time, but I've never heard of anyone doing it voluntarily. My hat's off to you. Or it would be, if I wore hats. As for me, I'll stay in denial, propped up by having refused to calculate how much stash I actually have, or even to keep it all in one space (as if I could). Still, I knit quite a bit from stash and I have quite a few yarns I've put aside and not played with yet, so I'm gonna see how long I can go without hitting the yarn store (even online). So I'll be with you in spirit, at the very least. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
January 4, 2009 at 7:13 PM
tinebeest said…
My stash has grown over Xmas, mainly through taking bits of my mum's stash into mine. I've gone down the dangerous path of giving it a larger basket to live in. I'll keep your example in mind as a warning of what might happen when things get out of hand :-)

Good luck on the 2nd year of the stash! I'm really looking forward to reading all about it!
January 5, 2009 at 2:45 AM
Anonymous said…
I think I might be joining you in this. I'm not sure I'll be going completely cold sheep (or even cold gossypium), but I don't think any yarn purchase of mine should be allowed to expand the stash storage requirements whatsoever. So, if I want to buy yarn, I have to give away or sell an equivalent weight of yarn from the stash in 'payment'. I would go for an equivalent length of yarn, but realistically, this effort is not going to shrink the knit-down time of my stash in any significant way, so I might as well go for the storage space option. And weight is easy to calculate, too.

Hmm. My security word for this comment is 'widist'. Is this a novel prejudice, do you think?
January 5, 2009 at 6:59 AM
RobinH said…
Wow! Go, Toni! *waves pompoms*

I'll have to cheer from the sidelines as opposed to joining in, though. If I stopped buying yarn, I'd be completely out of yarn (down to scraps) in under six months. If that.

Now, reducing the fabric stash- that's something I may be able to get behind- mine is overflowing available storage, and I refuse to get more tubs.

I'm swooning over that Snow Queen scarf(?, drape?) pattern. Gorgeous! I can't wait to see how yours comes out.
January 5, 2009 at 8:29 AM
Daniele said…
Hmmmmm.... I have noticed lately that I'm buying way more than I'm knitting. I do feel a little scared when I put it away and notice what else I have. I'm close, Toni, but not close enough.

I usually only buy yarn in March (birthday), May (wool festival), October-December (anniversary, Christmas, etc.) so, that's kind of a "cold" sheep for a few months here and there, isn't it? Sorta? Plus, I've just come off my three month high and the fiber is still "trickling" in.... :)
January 5, 2009 at 8:35 AM
Qutecowgirl said…
I have just scared my mom. She saw my tallies on my side bar. =)

Here is to '09
January 5, 2009 at 1:13 PM
SpongebobTanu said…
oh so it was you who started that thread! LOL. I'm totally joining up and going cold sheep with festival exceptions.

good luck to you dear and remember, wool is a fire retardant!
January 5, 2009 at 7:30 PM
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