Stash Enhancement and Fasting

It is with much sorrow that I announce that I am going on a Yarn Diet. I came to the realisation (while buying yarn at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show) that I really need to start using up some of the yarn that I have been accumulating, because it's all becoming a bit ridiculous. I'm not a prolific knitter, especially during semester, yet I still manage to find time and funds to go hunting for yarn, and it's now getting to the point where I would probably have a couple of years worth of projects just based on stash.

The conditions I have for the yarn diet are as follows:
1). The yarn diet concludes only when my yarn stash is to a manageable size (i.e. 2-3 planned projects worth)
2). The diet can be broken where buying more yarn is essential to finishing the project (I have one project where I still have to buy some black 8ply - this is the only reason I put in this condition).
3). If I am commissioned to knit something that requires non-stash yarn, then the yarn diet can be temporarily halted.
4). The yarn diet extends only to yarn. Patterns or knitting instruments (I can't think of a better word that encompasses needles, stitch markers and counters etc.) can still be purchased.

The 2nd and 4th condition make the diet a bit pissweak, but really my intention is to cut down on the amount of yarn in the house.

In the coming weeks, I might do a few entries on what the various yarns in my stash are planned for. Not sure how that will work out, but we'll see.

Now, on to the skeins that broke the camel's back!

At the Arts Centre Market a couple of Sundays back, I bought this yarn from the Handweavers and Spinners Guild stall:



I'm planning on teaming it up with some brown 8 ply (dang it, I just realised that I need to buy some of that too!) to make the Checkered Scarf from Vintage knits. It's a lovely and soft yarn, and looks very good knitted up. I did have a swatch of it, but I frogged it before I realised that the photo I took of it was very blurry.

I went to the Bendigo Sheep and Wool show on Saturday, on possibly one of the coldest and most miserable days this year. I made sure I was really well rugged up, but I still nearly froze. There didn't seem to be as much in the way of yarn than last year, although the crowds weren't as big, so it may have made it look like there was less there, when there really wasn't. I wasn't overly impressed by what was there - there seemed to be a lot of synthetic eyelash yarn there, but some of the hand dyed mohair and boucle was really nice. I found the weaving quite interesting, and I really want to start spinning, but perhaps after they introduce the 40 hour day.

I did end up buying some yarn, however, it was all yarn that I believe is from the 60s and 70s (and possibly the 50s).



I bought 3 balls each of the black (Sirdar fontein crepe), purple (Embassy crepe), green (Villawool 4ply) and orange (Villawool 4ply superknit). These are planned to be used for multiple pairs of fingerless gloves, all with garish stripes. I bought 10 balls of the white and brown (unbranded 'Hand Knitting Yarn), of which 3.5 balls have been made into an earflap beanie for Matt. I was unable to take a photo of it, as it's nigh on impossible to get it off Matt's head, and he's out at poker at the moment.

This entry is becoming ridiculously long. I should just start writing shorter posts, more often.