self-restraint
I biked over to Stitchers' Crossing this afternoon. Well, actually, my main goal was to buy some new swimming goggles at the swimming shop (I lost mine last week, and I can't do without 'em!), but since Stitchers is in the same little shopping center, essentially next door, I couldn't resist popping in for a look.
Oh, my.
First of all, they have the most wonderful fabrics. I'm only an occasional quilter, so I don't accumulate fabric very quickly, though it takes me a long time to use it up. They have such gorgeous fabrics, though - Moda, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, French General. If I actually had time and space to sew, I'd be all over those, yo.
Second, the yarn selection there has really expanded in the last year. Stitchers is the only shop in town who carries Spud and Chlöe yarn, which is irresistibly soft and comes in wonderful colors. I have used Spud and Chlöe Sweater already for these hats and this sweater, and I just might have a couple skeins of the sock yarn waiting to be knit up into fall socks for my kiddos. Only a couple of skeins, though, I swear.
They also have nearly the entire line of Berocco yarns and patterns, and that, my friends, is where I nearly fell off the wagon (or on the wagon...whichever). I have several of the new pattern booklets, which contain many gorgeous sweater patterns, all of which I would love to knit myself this fall. In fact, at one point some Ultra Alpaca and Ultra Alpaca Light just sort of found themselves in my hands (for this sweater), and I'm not even sure how they got there, but I walked around the shop for a while, just holding them, wanting them to be mine. But just as I was squatting by the shelf full of the new Blackstone Tweed Chunky (oh, it is delicious!), I shook my head to clear my clouded thoughts, talked some reason into myself, and walked out of there empty-handed.
I want to interrupt myself here to say that I am a frequent shopper at Stitchers Crossing, and nearly the entire staff knows me and greets me kindly, and I have already spent more money there than I care to admit, and every time my folks are in town my mom and I go shopping there and buy things without meaning to...all this to say I don't feel guilty about browsing for 30 minutes without buying anything this time.
You see, I just have so much yarn already, and not nearly enough time to knit it all. One way I keep myself from buying yarn when I really, really want to but shouldn't is to say to myself "Can I cast on for this project TODAY?" and of course the answer is always No because right now I have a birthday project on the needles with a quickly approaching deadline*, and when those are done, plans for many more socks and sweaters and baby things and perhaps even a foray into more lace knitting, all with stash yarn. Realistically, if I had bought that yarn, it may have turned into a sweater next week, or it may have sat in a tub in the basement for the next five years, forgotten for the next new design I discovered and just had to have.
Stash, stash, stash. Why do we stash? Some people love to collect. Some people love to shop. Some people can't finish what they start. In my case, I think I just spent the last few years being way too ambitious, thinking I could knit about 100 times faster than I actually can, and suddenly - no, not really suddenly, but the realization is sudden - I have enough to make myself and my children and perhaps a few friends while I'm at it many sweaters and socks and everything in between. That doesn't stop me from wanting more, but I am a reasonable, rational person, so most of the time I practice self-restraint.
We'll see how long this lasts, though. That Blackstone Chunky is awfully nice...
*You'll see, all in good time.
Oh, my.
First of all, they have the most wonderful fabrics. I'm only an occasional quilter, so I don't accumulate fabric very quickly, though it takes me a long time to use it up. They have such gorgeous fabrics, though - Moda, Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett, French General. If I actually had time and space to sew, I'd be all over those, yo.
Second, the yarn selection there has really expanded in the last year. Stitchers is the only shop in town who carries Spud and Chlöe yarn, which is irresistibly soft and comes in wonderful colors. I have used Spud and Chlöe Sweater already for these hats and this sweater, and I just might have a couple skeins of the sock yarn waiting to be knit up into fall socks for my kiddos. Only a couple of skeins, though, I swear.
They also have nearly the entire line of Berocco yarns and patterns, and that, my friends, is where I nearly fell off the wagon (or on the wagon...whichever). I have several of the new pattern booklets, which contain many gorgeous sweater patterns, all of which I would love to knit myself this fall. In fact, at one point some Ultra Alpaca and Ultra Alpaca Light just sort of found themselves in my hands (for this sweater), and I'm not even sure how they got there, but I walked around the shop for a while, just holding them, wanting them to be mine. But just as I was squatting by the shelf full of the new Blackstone Tweed Chunky (oh, it is delicious!), I shook my head to clear my clouded thoughts, talked some reason into myself, and walked out of there empty-handed.
I want to interrupt myself here to say that I am a frequent shopper at Stitchers Crossing, and nearly the entire staff knows me and greets me kindly, and I have already spent more money there than I care to admit, and every time my folks are in town my mom and I go shopping there and buy things without meaning to...all this to say I don't feel guilty about browsing for 30 minutes without buying anything this time.
You see, I just have so much yarn already, and not nearly enough time to knit it all. One way I keep myself from buying yarn when I really, really want to but shouldn't is to say to myself "Can I cast on for this project TODAY?" and of course the answer is always No because right now I have a birthday project on the needles with a quickly approaching deadline*, and when those are done, plans for many more socks and sweaters and baby things and perhaps even a foray into more lace knitting, all with stash yarn. Realistically, if I had bought that yarn, it may have turned into a sweater next week, or it may have sat in a tub in the basement for the next five years, forgotten for the next new design I discovered and just had to have.
Stash, stash, stash. Why do we stash? Some people love to collect. Some people love to shop. Some people can't finish what they start. In my case, I think I just spent the last few years being way too ambitious, thinking I could knit about 100 times faster than I actually can, and suddenly - no, not really suddenly, but the realization is sudden - I have enough to make myself and my children and perhaps a few friends while I'm at it many sweaters and socks and everything in between. That doesn't stop me from wanting more, but I am a reasonable, rational person, so most of the time I practice self-restraint.
We'll see how long this lasts, though. That Blackstone Chunky is awfully nice...
*You'll see, all in good time.
Comments
It's insane, but it's who I am. I try to keep it in check.