Gearing up for 2010

I originally started this blog to feel connected to other knitters and to keep a journal of my knitting projects. Then Ravelry came out and I really don't have a use for the blog anymore. I'm going to keep it going for the free patterns and comments I've made on past projects but I need to figure out what I want this space for.

Speaking of space . . .

My yarn is running out room. I have a beautiful yarn cabinet with class doors that is very full of yarn. Not just any yarn either. Beautiful, hanks of alpaca, silk, wool and cashmere just waiting to be knit up into something fabulous. I have a lifetime supply of lace weight yarn now thanks to 3 Knit Picks lace sampler packs from my parents for Christmas. I have 4 Shakespeare in Lace kits (still untouched) and 4 more on the way for 2010.

It's quite necessary for me to declare a moratorium on yarn purchasing. Specifically, I need to stop buying yarn to knit other people stuff so that I can use the yarn I already own to knit myself stuff. It's not that I don't like knitting for others, I do, I really do. The problem is that my gorgeous stash just isn't getting knit up and my hands are just itching to work with all of it.

So no yarn buying in 2010. With the only exceptions being sock yarn purchased from the Finger Lakes Fiber Arts Festival in September and Rhinebeck in October. I'm going to have to be strong the next time a baby is due and just hop on over to Target instead of the yarn shop. Too much guilt lies in that yarn cabinet just staring at me day after day.

First step - accept there is a problem
That would be me purchasing yarn whenever I go on a trip. I like visiting local yarn shops but there's no need for me to buy yarn when I go. I can still browse the yarn but maybe buy a pattern or a set of needles instead.
Babies don't always need hand knit items. Sometimes wipes and baby wash make great gifts too and they'll probably get used more.

Second step - create the solution
This will be a work in progress but will start with a revamp of my current To Do list. I do have a couple deadline projects that I already have the yarn for so I want to make sure they're accounted for. The trick will be to not add any more deadlines and take breaks with projects that are for me.

Third step - be realistic
I will probably not work on the Great American Aran Afghan this year so it makes no sense for me to add it to my To Do list. Even one 12 by 12 square is too much to do if I don't feel like doing it.
Also, knitting up just one Shakespeare in Lace project would probably take me a couple months so it giving myself a goal of knitting all 4 in one year doesn't exactly work.
It's going to take me a couple months to knit up a sweater that I already have the yarn for so planning this project will be key. I need to make sure I'm not working on it in the middle of summer but I also don't want to get overwhelmed and crank it out ASAP. I'm thinking about working in a pair of socks after I finish each section of the pattern to break up the monotony .


I'm going to also work this week to get all of my yarn photographed and uploaded into Ravelry to help with knowing what I have and finding the perfect patterns.