Off the Wagon

Why do knitters stash yarn away? Is there a yarn shortage coming?

Do knitters feel as though the yarn will run out? I know that even if I were to knit every day of the rest of my life, I'd be hard pressed to use my entire stash. And yet, more yarn beckons.

I have to admit to being really impressed with knitters who don't stash. They buy yarn for a specific project, start the project upon receiving the yarn, then finish the project before buying yarn for the next. These knitters are few and far between, (or they are just quiet in the face of rabid stashers) and have my deepest respect!

On the other hand, knitters that put yarn away for a rainy day show forethought into the knitter's process. If they find themselves, say at midnight, with the undeniable urge to start a new project, say something to wear to Maryland Sheep and Wool, they are prepared. These stash knitters know how to think ahead. Sale yarn is put by for when money is tight. One of a kind yarn is collected like fine art. Some stashing knitters know where they have bought each skein, who they were with, and what the weather was like. (Happy Birthday Barb!) These knitters think of their stash as a collection. It isn't how many skeins you own, but the type of yarn that is important.

In January, I decided that my stash was plenty big, and my guestroom might benefit from a few months without any additions. I knitted from my stash for two months without even a glimmer of an urge to buy yarn. On the whole, I didn't knit enough during that time to make a noticeable dent in the stash. On my first visit to a LYS after that time, when I was free to buy yarn, I bought no yarn, just tools and patterns. (I'm guessing that I was still in StashAlong mode at the time.) So why is it that in the three weeks following that visit I have bought all this?


(Dale of Norway Baby Ull on the right, lots of sock yarn on the left)

That's just the backlash from two months' restraint! I've decided to sign up for the StashAlong for another 5 or 6 months. Today's investment advice: buy yarn futures.