Fear of Knitting

Here is my conundrum, I have some beautiful Scottish wool that I bought at Uncommon Threads in Los Altos, California http://www.uncommonthreadsyarn.com/ many years ago, on sale. Darkish heather green worsted and is screaming to be knit into a fantastic deeply cabled cardigan. I even know which sweater I want to knit, a pattern from a Kristin Nicholas book. Here is the pattern, it is from a choice of two sweaters named "Greener Pastures" and a close up of my Scottish Wool.

But here is the rub, and I wonder if anyone else has these issues. I will worry about what to knit with a certain yarn, not wanting to “waste” it on the wrong sweater. You know, will I later think that I should have saved it for something else. I must also confess to you that I have no shortage of yarn, I have a personal yarn stash that could keep a small country warm. I am also in the process of cleaning up my moms house and I have unearthed yarn, some of mine that I have long forgotten, and much of hers that I’m sure she has forgotten, and much we both remember. Needless to say, another small country could be kept toasty.

If I could only get over my fear of knitting the yarn I have into the wrong sweater. Does anyone have a cure for that feeling? Don’t get me wrong, I know the logic that if you use some of the stash, there is then this empty void so you must fill it with another yarn purchase. What better excuse to buy more, than I used up some? But somehow the logic escapes me and I sit frozen wondering if I’m choosing the right sweater for the yarn or the inverse, the right yarn for the sweater.

I thought some time ago that I had faced my addiction and finally put all my yarn into one place so I can see it all. Come clean about my stash and the fiber addiction that has taken over a small room in our house. When you have a small house, that’s about ¼ the house! Not to mention the snide comments from my husband and non knitting “friends”. The reality is that once I get the yarn from my mom’s house and really put it all in one place and really face the facts of my addiction and frankly my mom’s addiction to all things fiber, fabric, quilting and sewing machines (I think I counted 3 the other day, now all sitting in the back of my car and it was 4 not 3). I may have to move out of my very tiny house. You would think that I could get some perspective about the gravity of it all, all the hoarding, and collecting and stashing. I would bet we could probably fund a college education on the money we have wrapped up in yarn, fabric, tools and equipment. But the urge to buy more is never very far. I have managed these last several months to keep it at bay, but my resolve is thin, very thin.

Do you want to see my stash? here are a few examples of my collection: This first yarn is yarn that I dyed with Nancy Roberts in her class.

This is some Mohair that I purchased years ago. It is so beautiful, I just really have no idea what I want to knit with it....

Below,is some of a collection of Cotton yarn that I purchased early this year, one of my last yarn buys. Next, a couple of close up shots of this cotton.

Rose.

Teal

Spring Green

Lavendar