A Little Yarn On The Side

So, remember last January 1 when the yarn Andy had picked out for his next sweater and which I was going to order on that day, had sold out?  Remember yesterday when I said I had resolved not to buy any yarn until January 1, 2011? Guess what? For the first time ALL YEAR Elann has their Highland Donegal in Licorice --the color Andy wants. THE VERY NEXT DAY!!!!!  Guess this proves those knitting gods DO have a sense of humor--albeit a very sadistic one.

After time, mature reflection, and a white chocolate martini, I have decided that checking the size of my stash was a GOOD thing (so you guys are totally off the hook).  If I buy NO MORE YARN and knit furiously for the next 13 months, I could perhaps be below 100,000 yards of yarn in my stash by 2011. This is exciting. Granted, 28,000 yards of yarn would be a lot to knit in one year, but my Ravelry account doesn't reflect yarn as being "used up" until the project is actually finished.  So, if I finish up a couple more WIPS by the end of the year--and several more next year--I may knock 4,000 yards off that total pretty quickly.  So.... I am NOT buying yarn at the end of the year.  I will, however, be picking out some sort of reward/bribe for myself, though I haven't decided what exactly.  It needs to be something good--maybe something I wouldn't normally buy for myself..... In the meantime, the kimono shawl is "zipping" along as much as lace eve...

So, in deciding whether or not to buy yarn at the end of the year or do another year of Cold Sheeping OR do both, some helpful person--whom I will eventually be forgiving--suggested I reexamine my stash to see where I was at.  According to Ravelry, I have 674 balls of yarn and 128,777 or 73 MILES of yarn in my stash. Oh my.... Granted, some of that yarn is involved in my 14 wips, and Ravelry really doesn't account for yarn used until a project is finished....but there is also still some yarn that isn't on Ravelry, so they probably even out.  Part of me, of course, would argue that as it's my hobby and something I enjoy, why not just go ahead and have a really large stash and to heck with the cold sheeping.  Generally, I would be of that opinion, but the fabric and yarn stash has become a bit of a space problem.  I have it all crammed INTO the sewing room, but sometime I'd like to be able to put the doors back onto the closet and perhaps be able to walk around...

In spite of all Mr. Sparky's attempts, I did actually finish the pajamas on Friday in spite of the pattern being a bit off--the way they had the pieces laid out for the medium was just impossible--I even got out the ruler & did the math--but luckily I had extra material this time, so I still got pajamas. Yesterday I finished a fleece blanket for winter though I might add our names to it later, or maybe a few beads or something.  BUT, I have now used over 60 yards of material this year.  Whoo hoo!!!!! The pajamas are just in time, as it's gotten quite cold here.  The cats no longer want to go outdoors, so they have to find new ways to amuse themselves.  Calisto has taken up yoga and Theo greatly amused the piano tuner on Friday by hopping up on the piano bench and playing some of the keys to watch the hammers hit the strings once the front of the piano was removed.  I've had my grandmother's piano for quite some time, but Andy refinished it this y...

Mr. Sparky has been part of the Chateau Sutton-Goar household for about 3 years, but until the last couple days, we were unaware of the tricks Mr. Sparky can do.  He started off his show by setting off the smoke alarms in the house TWICE, though we're still not completely clear how as there was no visible smoke or steam pouring out of him.  I thought perhaps there was something clogging his "pores," so I ran some vinegar through him to remove any mineral deposits, at which time I was introduced to a new trick--constant beeping and flashing of lights and screen.  It had a pretty decent rhythm, so this might have been the musical portion of the evening.  When unplugged and plugged in again, he introduced his next trick--a constant clicking & flashing of lights, sort of like a festive timebomb--then finished the entire act by setting off the smoke alarms again.  As we seriously hate to hold anyone back from his or her true calling, Mr. Sparky has been invite...

To summarize how MY day went...... did you know it was possible to set the smoke alarm off while ironing?????

So, there are 57 days left in the year.....which means I can buy yarn in 58 days.  Of course, since I have only used up 57 skeins of yarn so far this year, there hasn't been much of a dent in the stash overall, so the question is......... Do I Continue Cold Sheeping in 2010? I'd like to say I have grown & matured enough to be trusted with the option of buying yarn without going on a total free-for-all with the Visa, but I'd like to be taller too, and that hasn't happened either. My original plan was to buy yarn for one sweater each for Andy & I, then go back to cold sheep, but that little naggy voice in the back of my mind that is always SUCH a kill-joy has nicely reminded me that I still haven't finished the Kauni cardigan, which was my reward yarn for LAST year.  I'll probably just Beginend up ignoring Little Miss Buzz-Kill, but that does raise an interesting point. Before I started the FIRST year of Cold Sheeping, I bought--well, and insane ...