Where did I get all this yarn?

There are various motivations for knitting. Most of the time I knit something because I covet whatever it is I decide to knit. I see myself wearing that elegant sweater or beautiful shawl and I buy the yarn fully intending to wear it. More often than not, I end up giving away what I make. But, even so, it is covetousness pure and simple that initiates the project. Other projects begin with a more generous attitude. A pregnant young woman takes the seat next to me in a class for hospice volunteers and I resolve to make something for her baby. I see the Statue of Liberty done in intarsia on the front of a sweater and resolve to knit one for my son, an immigration attorney (I don’t think he reads this.) But my most recent knitting project is a product of embarrassment I felt when I realized the amount of yarn I have accumulated.

When my mother moved out of her house, I took her blanket chest, a very plain old pine box-like trunk. Its straight rectangular lines, hand cut dove tailing, simple lock, and the name and address written on the bottom suggests it carried its owner’s belongings to California many years ago. My parents found it in 1945 in San Jose. It lay discarded in the storage shed behind their first house. My father cleaned it and for more than sixty years it held my mother’s blankets. Now it would hold my yarn.

I placed the familiar old piece in my office, feeling smug that my yarn would be neat and orderly, all in one place, and began pulling yarn stashed in fabric baskets on my bookshelves, in a carpet bag brought back from a trip to Turkey, in plastic bins in my closet, and in bags on the floor. I had yarn set aside for three sweaters. I had lace weight yarn for at least five shawls. I had baby yarn. I had the yarn for the Masters swatches. Not to mention that Peaches & Crème I just bought! Nor all the skeins left over from completed projects because I’m deathly afraid of not having enough to finish. I didn’t even get to the yarn in my sewing room! There was more yarn than the chest would hold.

It’s time to get this under control. My hands can’t knit as fast as I can dream up projects and buy yarn! It’s time to knit down my stash. I’ve made two resolutions: (1) I’m going to knit those bits and pieces of left over skeins into hats to give to charity at Christmas. By Christmas they all have to be gone! And, (2) I’m going to knit one project from stash for every project for which I buy new yarn.

Now…what about all that fabric in my sewing room?