Rhinebeck is coming!

Here we are in the first week of October.  As the weather turns colder, and the leaves start to change color and fall, I can think only one thought: Rhinebeck is coming!  The NYSW festival has quickly become one of the highlights of my fall, and I am giddy with anticipation just thinking about it.  I am hoping the weather is anywhere near as perfect as it was last year, as the drive through the Hudson River Valley was almost as enjoyable as the festival itself.

Two weeks until Rhinebeck also marks another milestone for me--in two weeks it will be one year since I started this blog.  My original goal was to use up one skein of yarn per week.  I think it is fair to say, I have failed miserably.  I have kept a running list of projects completed and it is not pretty.  With 2 weeks remaining in my little personal challenge, I have used up 32 (100 g) skeins of yarn, given away 3, and sold 1, bringing the "out" total to 36 of 52.  However, during the same time period, I managed to accumulate 48 new skeins.  I do not feel good about myself.

This weekend, I set a goal to fully update my stash in Ravelry.  This was mainly to give myself a reality check to help keep me in check at Rhinebeck.  I have 157 yarns in my stash!  Not skeins, yarns.  So to console myself, I did what any sane person would do.  I searched and searched on Ravelry until I found people with more yarn that I have.  And there are lots of them.  Isn't it funny that somehow just knowing you are not alone helps? I really, truly, do feel better.

I had decided that if I did not meet my goals (and it is doubtful I will use up 16 skeins in the two weeks remaining) I would not allow myself to shop at Rhinebeck.  But the truth is, I enjoy it too much.  I will balance out my spending, and try not to go too crazy, but going through my stash I realize, I have most of it just because it is beautiful and I love it.  Don't get me wrong--I have my fair share of impulse purchases.  Then there is the cheap yarn I stocked up on when I first started knitting socks and thought of them as more utilitarian and less little works of art (what was I thinking!).  And I do like to keep some more utilitarian yarns on hand for children's socks. So I will spend some time purging my stash of the things I do not love--think of it as knitting feng shui--and try to meet at least my October goal.

I already have some ideas for my next year-long goal now that I have been re-inspired by my stash.  So to celebrate fall, I am planning a give-away for next week.  Stay posted...