Stashbusting so far this year has been so easy. I haven’t even been tempted to get online and buy fabric. I surely haven’t been near a quilt shop. I feel so strong . . where fabric is concerned. I know . . don’t be bragging yet . . February isn’t even halfway over!
But what about sock yarn . . oh, a definite weakness. But I think I’ve crossed the threshold on that too. When I’m asked how I’m being so strong with the fabric issue, it’s because I realized that there’s a good chance no matter how many quilts I make, I may never use all my stash. Think of the fabric you’ve been given from someone else’s stash . . some lovely quilter who gave up quilting or passed away. Do you love it as much as you love the fabric you bought? Probably not. It’s outdated or not the color or pattern you would have chosen. Do you want that to happen to your stash? Do you want your stash given to the guild’s charity table? Do you want it sold at a garage sale for 5¢? (Remind me to clean that “alt” key! It’s still sticking . . Dr. Pepper is never good for a keyboard.) No, you don’t! No, I don’t! I want to use my stash. I want to make quilts with it. I want to use every crumb of it! So, that line of thinking has given me the determination to use my stash and not add to it til I absolutely need to do so.
Now . . about that sock yarn. I always wind the yarn into balls as soon as it comes in. But lately it’s been coming in faster than normal and I haven’t taken the time to wind it. It was piled up on the ironing table, on the computer desk, on the sewing machine . . and I dumped it all in the floor, sorted through it to find a couple I want to use soon and here’s what I saw:
52 skeins of yarn in the last couple of months! If I make one pair of socks each month, which is about what I do, that’s over four years of sock yarn right there . . not counting what I already have . . which means I have enough sock yarn to last the rest of my life. I don’t want it sold at a garage sale for 10¢ (darned “alt” key stuck again!). Unless there’s yarn out there that I absolutely cannot live without, I’m laying off the sock yarn too.
Now I have to make a decision on which yarn to start next. I’ve narrowed it down to these:
This is Bugga “Love Bug”, a special color for Valentine’s Day. Bugga is 70% superwash merino/20% cashmere/10% nylon. I’m really wanting to knit Bugga . . haven’t done it yet.
Also Bugga. The color is “Northern Purple Gold Beetle”. Love this deep purple!
This one is String Theory’s Caper Sock which is 80% superwash merino/10% cashmere/10% nylon. The color is “Mardi Gras” which makes me really want to get these knitted so I can wear them next week! I’ve never used this yarn either.
This one is Wollmeise 100% superwash merino. The color is “Skandal um Rosi”. Normally I wouldn’t knit the same yarn back to back since I just did a pair in Wollmeise but this color intrigues me. I think it will stripe but I don’t know how well it’s doing to look in socks.
This is Fiesta’s Baby Boom. It’s 90% extrafine superwash merino/10% nylon. The color is chocolate strawberry ganache which was dyed for The Loopy Ewe for their valentine’s packets. Just seeing this yarn makes me hungry for strawberries dipped in chocolate so knitting this might not be a good idea.
Which do you think I’ll choose?
The last week or so, my mail lady has been my best friend! I can’t wait to see her. That’s all going to change though. Two more packages and I’m done. Really .. no more sock yarn. I mean it this time.
