Stitches West and the Dreaded YD

Every February there is a knitting and yarn convention in Santa Clara. I was introduced to this amazing event about two years ago, and since then my yarn purchasing habits has revolved around this event. Now for those that do not know this event or have never been to this event, just imagine to yourself a huge warehouse (and I mean huge) filled to the maximum of your favorite things/hobbies/foods/etc. Imagine the joy: the pure, unadulterated, full-of-wonder joy that would fill your heart, stomach, body. It would be enough to explode, right?

Well...that's what Stitches West is for us knitters and fiber aficionados.

The rules about Stitches West (and there are rules...duh, it's a humongous convention center filled with yarn and knitting/crochet patterns) is that 1. you don't bring your credit card. Not even for emergencies because when you see a yarn that is absolutely to die for you will think it is an emergency to get that skein (ball) of yarn. And if you do have to bring a credit card, it better have the lowest limit possible ($50 or so). Because...you will be spending up to $500 at the end of it (what happened last year).

2. Bring your true friends. Don't think you will benefit from going by yourself or with acquaintences. Because your true friends will say, "Put that gorgeous purple yarn down...no...no, no, you have three more like that at home. PUT. IT. DOWN..." They will save you money and the dread of "Why the hell do I have all this purple yarn?"

3. Take a breath. Yes, I know, there are millions (I bet there are...come on, it gets majorly crowded at the Santa Clara Convention Center) of women milling around the aisles that may or may not steal that precious yarn that you have been coveting online for three months. But, it's okay. That's why vendors have more than just one.

4. And last, get there early. Doors open at 10 a.m. You better buy your ticket online two days before and camp out there at 9 a.m. Or, if you want to be first in line, at 7 a.m.

* * *

Last year I went yarn CRAZY. I bought not $100 dollars, not $200 dollars, but $500 dollars of yarn. I had to reorganize my stash baskets in order to squeeze all the yarn I bought into them. I am not fortunate to have a yarn room *cough cough I love you who do cough cough*. While reorganizing I realized that I had tons of yarn that I had bought at my first Stitches (so about two years ago thene). Looking at the pile of new yarn and the pile of old yarn I realized I need to stop buying and start knitting. So I put myself on a Yarn Diet (YD). No more buying yarn until the next Stitches West.

Well, with the exception of yarn bought as gifts and a sale that I could not pass up, I have successfully gotten through my yarn diet. And I had gotten through most of my old yarn. It was a huge task, but I did it! I got a lot of cardigans, socks, and other stuff made out of it. Some of them turned out to be absolutely yucky (I hate making sweaters...), and some turned out to be fabulous (I still love Blue Moon Fibers Socks that Rock...no matter how many skeins of them I went through this year).

Because of this perspective of what I bought two years ago, I decided that I should really reorganize my yarn stash baskets so I know how much room I have and to know what I do NOT need. I organized it so that stuff that I bought last year would be merged the older stuff. This is the result:

So...yeah...that's a lot of yarn. And that's just one basket. I have two other ones. Luckily one of the baskets is now a little empty, so now I can fill it up for Stitches West!

Well, and this year I will also be going to Stitches South in Atlanta, GA. So...I guess the YD continues...I think I can handle it.

I think...we'll see.