Knitting is not a hobby that lends itself to minimalism. Check out just about any knitting blog or forum and you will see posts and discussions about yarn stash and UFOs (unfinished objects) and yarn diets. I am no exception, although I have tried, truly tried, to limit my purchases over the past year. But knitters are like magpies, attracted not so much to glitter but to color and texture. Most of us have pretty good imaginations, and when we see a new or exciting yarn we immediately start imagining the possibilities, and we want to be the one to realize those possibilities, so we buy the yarn. Oh yes, we buy it even though it might be $20 a skein and we know in our hearts there is no way we’ll be getting to that project anytime soon because there are so many projects we want or need to get done first.
I am sure there are other hobbies that have the same risk. There are also hobbies that require very little space, but I don’t have many of those.
I will be attending a knitting event in April, and there will be yarn purchases involved, but other than that I will not be purchasing any new yarn this year. I am declaring a moratorium on yarn purchases for 2010. I need to knit down my stash, y’all. And how will I do that without getting sidetracked? I’m glad you asked, because that brings me to what’s got me excited today:
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s Personal Sock Club. Isn’t it fab? And look at her lovely, organized cabinet. Stephanie is a busy, busy woman with many commitments. I am just a busy woman. How can I make this idea work for me? Hmm…
I don’t want to knit 12 pairs of socks this year – I live in Houston and 12 pairs of wool socks just wouldn’t get worn, even though I belong to that same actual sock club she mentions and I do knit more wool socks than any Houstonian needs. But, I do want to get some projects finished and use up some of the piles of yarn taking up space in my house!
So, I will adapt her idea to my own needs. I have a big drawer and some large clear plastic bags I can use. I will go through my yarn stash and patterns, pull out 11 lovely projects that I think I can finish by the end of the year, and start my own personal knitting club.
This is a great idea for any kind of handiwork hobbyist – needlepoint, beading, crochet, sewing, etc. We all have projects in mind, but the fabric is in one spot, the pattern in another, the thread in a drawer somewhere, the canvas not purchased yet, whatever. So when we have some time to work on something, we run around gathering it all up, then realizing we’re missing something, and by the time we find that thing it’s time to fix dinner and nothing gets done.
With my own personal knitting club, a project will always be ready and waiting for me when I am ready for it.
