Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Stash Smackdown

Or maybe use down? In January I started keeping track of all of the yarn that came in to and left my apartment. The goal was to achieve at least a steady state in regards to numbers of yarn "units" (balls, skeins, hanks etc.) in the apartment. Unspun fiber does not count until it is spun, plied, skeined, washed and dried -- then it counts as "fiber in."

On the way home from Indiana I hit a steady state after months of the "ins" outnumbering the "outs." Then my friend came back from China and gave me three skeins of silk. Then I finished plying some yarn that had been sitting on a bobbin for far too long. All of a sudden I had a positive balance again and all I was knitting was cobweb lace. Not a huge yarn user.

Thinking fast, I grabbed needles, worsted weight yarn and cast on for another baby surprise. One ball down and I am back at steady state and approaching negative balance. I even went into Knitty City, bought 3 balls of yarn and promptly mailed them off to my sister-in-law. That's right, nothing for me!

My plan now is to finish the baby surprise and then return to the lace shawl until I finish plying up the lace weight alpaca and wind up in a positive balance again. Then I will cast on another worsted weight project ... and you get the idea.

What do you think? Can I end the year with a negative balance? Even with Rhinebeck looming?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nooooooooooooo! and why would you want to. Don't you know the rule....she who dies with the most stash wins.

I'm not sure WHAT she wins, but she definitely wins.

(At least that's what I tell Steve. So far, it's working.)

Of course, I have to feel that way tonight. I'm going shop hopping with a friend tomorrow.

Mary said...

With Rhinebeck looming? Sorry, nope. You'll be in the positive column. However, if you buy nothing but fiber, then perhaps you'll maintain negative balance. I suggest you bring a calculator, slide rule and abacus with you to keep track!

Susan said...

Anyone that rides 600 miles in a half year can do most anything! Notice, I said *most*. /laughing at the very idea.

Penny said...

negative balance? oy, even if i turned over half of the stash to you (for knit club) i'd still be more in than out. and definitely not counting the unspun wonders that are breeding when i'm not home (and they're not angora so i'm not sure how they are doing it)...

my goal is to just try to bring in stuff with a project in "mind" .. and finally succeed in knitting a bsj. if i ever learned how to COUNT .. but then again i'm a computer scientist so i guess i never will.

Cookie said...

With all the end of the year knitting you will be doing, I think you can do it. I don't see you going crazy and buying your weight in yarn at Rhinebeck, so I don't see it as a factor.

Plus I have faith in you.