Yarnholic Seeking to Start a Support Group

[Keridiana]

YARNHOLICS UNANONYMOUS
I want to start a "Yarnholics Unanonymous" support group for people like me who are addicted to yarn and sincerely wish to stop the mad collecting and hoarding. It's almost 1am and I'm procrastinating from one of my final papers, but I am dead serious.

Proposed YU Manifesto.  We oppose hoarding and collecting yarn on the principle that

(1) it is an ugly, capitalist, materialistic, and bourgeois habit;

(2) there is only so much yarn any one person needs to own at any given time, and we grieviously exceed that threshold;

(3) in light of the fact that yarn production can be so harmful to the environment and/or animals (see various other threads on cotton, acrylic, merino wool), hoarding yarn cannot be justified;

(4) if money spent on such yarn is in superfluity, it would better be donated to a worthy cause; and

(5) yarn stashing breeds unnecessary guilt and pressure ("Must hide from significant other"; "Must catalogue yarn stash"; "Must undertake stashbuster project to make something I don't ever plan to use").


"Steps":

(1) Admit addiction.  Post here with disconcertingly honest pictures of your yarn stash -- every last bit of it, and count each ball and post that number for the world to see.  Then state as follows:  "I, [username], have a yarn addiction problem and I want to stop it."

(2) Take the pledge: You will not buy new yarn -- not a single ball or hank or skein -- until your stash is reduced by at least HALF (hence, the ball-count in step 1).  NO MATTER HOW CHEAP IT IS.  NO MATTER HOW LOVELY IT IS. NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU LOVE THE COLOR. NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU FEAR THAT THE COLOR/YARN WILL BE DISCONTINUED.  NO NEW YARN, PERIOD. Depending on the size of your stash, you may wish to pledge to a higher threshold (e.g., 75%) before you may allow yourself to purchase new yarn. 

(3) All setbacks shall be divulged on this thread.

(4) All successful stashbusting projects shall be posted on or linked to this thread.

As you can see, I've never really been part of a 12-step program, but I think this would help. My yarn stash is so obscene that I have to put off counting it until I am done with my final papers. 

Please tell me if you are in!

[graciepetunia]

I am sooooo in................. .................
I went to my lys tonight to knit and was looking around and realized I have about 1/2 as much as the whole store. I, Stephanie, am a yarn addict. I start projects and dont finish them. I love to ball my own yarn. I love the feel of it. Yarn is my Crack. I can and will recover!!! (like the drama?)

[tinygoatstacker]

Hey, I'm a yarn-addicted Stephanie, too!  I'm definitely in.
I have a mega-huge yarn stash as well.  I've banned myself from acquiring new yarn until the current stuff has been mostly used up/given away to charity.  I've also decided that in the future the majority of my yarn will come from recycled sweaters.  Recycles, in general better quality, and MUCH cheaper than buying the same amount at the yarn store.  I live down the street from a thrift store, so it'll be convenient to pop in whenever I crave yarn.
The bf and I *might* be headed to Jamaica at the end of the year, so we should be saving for that as well.  Cutting down on extra spending is necessary. (if no fun whatsoever)

[midnightsky1686]

so can i have all the yarn you all are clearing out of the stash then hehe.  (though i might argue that haordign isnt capitalisic unless knititng is, since its really not necessasry to your survival....but anyways...). 

good idea...i just went through and *gasp* got rid of a lot of my stash that i knew i wouldnt use.

[Keridiana]

so can i have all the yarn you all are clearing out of the stash then hehe. (though i might argue that haordign isnt capitalisic unless knititng is, since its really not necessasry to your survival....but anyways...).

I'm sort of against the idea of giving yarn away as a "cure" for my yarn obsession.  It's more like a bandaid, to me, because as soon as I give it away I'll feel so good and guilt-free I'll just turn around and rebuild my Stash.  I'm trying to stop myself from buying so much more than I can knit and perhaps forcing myself to knit/crochet it all is a good way.  It's like you break, you buy:  you buy, you knit.

Hoarding is capitalistic/materialistic.  So is knitting.  But clearly to different degrees.  And the difference is significant.

This is how I discovered I have a true problem:  a few weeks ago, I cleaned up and organized my Yarn Stash by fiber type.  I did what I think we all do:  I felt guilty and bemoaned all the money sitting there in the form of yarn; gnashed my hair and yanked my teeth; berated myself in my blog.  However, because I came into contact with all that yarn, wiithin 24 hours I found myself ordering batches of yarn (all on sale, of course).  And so my Stash grew and all my guilt and moaning was basically complete b.s. 

Okay, I'm going to count my skeins and balls and shame myself by posting up the number.

[Sereknitty]

I find this thread oh so amusing. 

[Nicole Randome]

Can I just go on one last shopping trip first?

Yes, I have a problem. 

[tinygoatstacker]

I'm determined to thin my craft stash by making almost all b-day/x-mas gifts this year.  Everyone's asking for knit things, and now I have plenty of time to make them! Yay!
I've recently finished a couple scarves WAY in advance for winter clothing drives. 
If anyone's into making bags (like me, not that I need more of them, but....  I'd actually use them more than I would unknit yarn ) the 25 Bags to Knit book is full of patterns that can be altered to use up odd balls & bits of yarn. 
The swaps on this site are awesome stashbusters, too.  I get to knit fun things and then send them away for someone else to enjoy! 

[littleone1098]

My stash doesn't seem as bad as maybe some of yours, but for the amount of money I'm bringing in....it's a chunk. Another horrible thing is, I'm addicted to buying cheap, acrylic yarns...I will find colors I like...and they are SOOO cheap, but then i dont really like using them..soo..it's bad.

[Keridiana]

I just ordered the 25 bags to knit book yesterday.  I hope it helps!

Ok, here goes... here's a pic of my stash taken out of its drawer bin (you can see my obvious color preferences from the pic alone):



Total ball/skein count:  176.  THAT'S RIGHT.

Mostly cottons I got recently (within the last few months), to make the issue sadder still.  Some of it acrylic that's 6 years old left over from my afghan days.  A lot of it is some Bernat handicrafter cotton that is so stiff it is only suitable for dishcloths (which we do not use).  Basically, a lot of blind Internet bargain shopping back when I first took up knitting (approx. 1 year ago). My only consolation is that it was all on sale, and all great bargains [$1- $3/skein/ball is my usual max, except for gifts for other people on which I splurge and get cashmere or merino]. 

The thing is, I am also quite prolific with the needles and hooks (see blog).  I am literally going as fast as I can.  It's just that I keep buying.  HENCE....

I, Keridiana, have a yarn addiction problem.  I hereby pledge to not buy any more yarn NO MATTER WHAT until I use up at least 75% (or 132 balls/skeins) of my Yarn Stash.  (Even if it means April 2007.)

(I can see that some aren't taking me seriously at all.  And maybe some of you will simply pat yourselves in the back because you don't have as much as me, and "stay the course." Oh, well. I'll be a support group of one.)

Certified Yarnholic