Yarn Diet '11- The End is Finally Here!

Can you believe it's already June 1st!!?? That's right, the yarn diet is officially over, unless you purchased more than your 5 allowed shopping trips. I didn't want to WASTE any of my purchases, so I actually bought a few skeins of yarn in the last few weeks just to hit my final 5th purchase without going over. To be honest, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be and thought it would be great to do it every year from January 1-June 1! Who's with me!?

Even though we're finished, and can buy yarn whenever we please, I think it was a good test. From my numbers, as you will see, my stash didn't go down very much, and in fact grew. The crazy thing? I think the diet made it grow a lot less than it would have if I hadn't had it. It showed me that I didn't need to buy yarn every time I got the itch. I could work from my stash. Because of this, I will continue in a sense. I'm now not going to feel guilty each time I make a yarn purchase, but I think I'm going to keep track for the most part. I may forget a skein or two to add to the number, but, as long as I stay close to what's there. I also plan to keep track of how many skeins I've used in the year. I think this will be interesting, considering I'm also keeping track of how many FOs I've finished. This will be my first year doing so, and can't wait to see the results come December.

Here are my final stats:

Skeins used in the month of May: 3 (sad, right? I have an excuse. Not only did I open Candy Skein in the month of May, I also made two socks from two different yarns.)
Total skein count left: 275 (counting all yarn bought during yarn diet)
Total FOs completed in May: 1 (the hair kerchief, but I finished TWO SOCKS, just not a pair. Can I count those?)
Total yarn purchases in March and April: 1
Total purchase remaining: 0 (I have purchases to share with you, but that will be in a separate post as I haven't photographed them. I also need help picking the lovely pattern for one of them).



Speaking of December, can you believe that we have less than six months until the holidays?? Take a DEEP breath. If you want to plan several projects out for the holidays or otherwise, hop on over to the Blog-a-Long group on Ravelry. They will be knitting/crocheting through a year of patterns (either from your queue or even work your way through a whole book!) It's a great way to get a bunch of projects done and plan for the yarn purchases in the next few months to a year! I hope to join, but have yet to pick my plan of attack.

Also, check out the interview I did with Charlotte over at An Accidental Knitter this week! I had a great time doing the interview and the questions really made me think!

If you have a final Yarn Diet post, please post it below!

Yarn Diet '11 Check In

Is your mind blown that I'm actually remembering to do a yarn diet post? Mine is! That being said, my mind is also blown that we are almost done. I won't get too much into reflecting back right now since we still have another month to go, but I will say it's been a lot easier than I thought. I'm sorry to all of you who are also participating for my lack of posts. I promise for next time that I will be better at it. That's right, I said next time! Since I didn't update last month, I'll just give you the totals that now exist since I don't have any numbers to look back from.

Skeins used in the month of March and April: 8
Total skein count left: 267 (counting all yarn bought during yarn diet), 234 (without)
Total FOs completed in March and April: 3
Total yarn purchases in March and April: 1
Total purchase remaining: 3

If you have a recent yarn diet post you'd like to share, please add it to the ongoing Mister Linky below! Good luck with the last month of the yarn diet and I look forward to your updates.

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 31

Greetings everyone! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent mine painting! We got most of the downstairs painted, but it took us 3 1/2 hours on Saturday and 6 hours straight on Sunday. There are a few touch up that need to happen, as well as the long accent wall still needs it's fresh coat of paint. By the time we had to take a break on Sunday to eat around 5, we couldn't bring ourselves to continue after our meal. Who can blame us?

You may wonder why I'm blabbing so much about our painting, but it's because it brings me to my first WIP.


This may not look like much now, but it will be a pillow! When I bought the latest Crochet Today! magazine, I fell in love with the two patterns. Of course, at the time I didn't realize I would be changing the colors of my downstairs so quickly, which gives me a perfect opportunity to make them now. I went to Joann's Tuesday with 40% coupons in hand and our paint swatches to see how close we can get it with yarn and also to buy the pillows that will fill out the crochet shell. Yes...I had to use my 2nd yarn diet purchase (post coming tomorrow probably), but I think it will be well worth it. As you can see, I'm almost through one full skein of yarn and I just bought it Tuesday. We needed something to tie in the wall colors with our red...yes red...couches. I think this will be perfect. Right now I'm making the petal one (the one with the circles) and will be doing the circles in a red (to match the couch) and possibly a darker teal (to match the accent wall) since the main color matches every other wall in the room. What do you think, two colors for the circles or one? I'd probably do the larger circles in the red and the smaller ones in the darker teal. I hope to have this pillow finished for Friday...we'll see.



On to my second WIP. I'm crazy excited about this one. Remember my yarn purchase last week from Knit Picks? I bought three balls of Chroma yarn. Two of them are for the Noro Striped Scarf that everyone and their brother seems to make. I couldn't resist. They always are so beautiful and Chroma was more in my yarn budget than Noro is (and softer IMO). The two colorways I'm using are Regency and Galapagos. Originally I wanted Galapagos and Midwinter, but they were out of Midwinter when I made my order. I have to say, I'm pretty happy with Regency so far. Isn't it beautiful? I love not knowing what colors come next or what they will look like next to each other.


For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Yarn Diet '11- The Second Month & First Yarn Purchase

Holy smokes, it's March. I can't believe it. I didn't even really update for February because it flew by so quickly! Anyway, I thought I would give you an update on my yarn diet and also show pictures of the lovely yarn that I spent way too much money on this week. That being said, it was my first yarn purchase of the year (and of the diet) so I'm sitting pretty. :) I probably would have lasted a little longer, but couldn't resist the new Knit Picks Felici and Chroma yarn.

Here are my stats:

Skeins used in the month of February: 2
Total skein count left: 239 (not counting the new yarn)
Total FOs completed in February: 1 (ouch, not good)
Total yarn purchases in February: 1 (though it didn't arrive until March, but will count it in February since the money came out of my account then).
Total purchase remaining: 4


Now, on to the FUN part, the YARN!!!!!!!!!! As I mentioned, I splurged. Oops. I do have project ideas for a lot of it, so that helps, right?

This is what I ordered:

Items Shipped
Qty Item # Item Description
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 25221 Felici Moonlit
2 25219 Felici Botany
1 25228 Felici Sport Boutique
2 25220 Felici Caprica
2 25032 Diving Board Multi Stroll Multi
1 25251 Galapagos Chroma Worsted
5 24422 Marlin Comfy Worsted
2 23794 Natural Bare Merino Wool Lace
2 24927 Neapolitan Felici Sport
1 25260 Prism Chroma Worsted
1 25257 Regency Chroma Worsted
1 25229 Felici Sport Sunny Day

And the pics!



How are YOU doing on your yarn diet? Did you purchase new yarn? If so, share a link to your blog post telling us about it!

Yarn Diet '11- The First Month

The first month of the yarn diet is complete today. Can't you believe it? I thought the first month would be something awful, craving to buy yarn and not getting anything done. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. I haven't used any of my 5 purchases, nor have I really wanted to.

I did make one purchase to Knit Picks for yarn that I will be dyeing and selling, as well as some better knitting needles so I don't have the pain that I went through with my first hat again. I figured that this doesn't count toward my 5 purchases, since I will not be keeping any of the yarn for myself, but will be selling it.

I thought it would be fun to document how many skeins were knitted/crocheted, how many FOs you had and how many purchases you made at the end of each month. In February, I hope to go through a lot more yarn, as I will be doing larger projects that will take up many skeins. We'll see how that goes.

Here are my stats:

Skeins used in the month of January: 3
Total skein count left: 241
Total FOs completed in January: 6 (wow, go me! The 6 are: a hat, a purse, 3 washcloths and fingerless gloves.)
Total yarn purchases in January: 0
Total purchase remaining: 5

How did the first month of Yarn Diet '11 shake out for you? If you post about it, be sure to link it to our ongoing Yarn Diet Mr Linky.

Dyeing for Fun Part 4

Have I mentioned how much FUN I am having trying different techniques with my yarn dyeing? I have improved the tools I'm using and this is the first of the new batch. I think I'm starting to get this down to a science, and I can't wait to get my new order of dye-able yarn this week! (And for you yarn dieters, I don't think that should count as part of my yarn diet purchases since I didn't purchase any yarn for myself. Just yarn to dye and then sell, plus some new needles. What do you think?) I have so many colorways I want to try out and will share with you throughout the coming weeks. Things are moving forward with working my way to selling the yarn you see in my dyeing posts. In the next few weeks I should have a logo and a website. I can't wait!





Colorway: Carrot Cake
Fiber content: 75% Superwash Merino Wool, 25% Nylon
Weight: Fingering/4-ply
Yardage: 462 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Machine Wash/Tumble Dry Low
Dyed with: Wilton's Icing Dye

Yarn Diet '11 Check In

Do you twitch just thinking of buying yarn? Does driving by the yarn store make you short of breath?

How are my fellow Yarn Dieters doing? I thought I would check in since it's been half a month. I know, not a lot of time, but if you're used to buying yarn on a daily or weekly basis you might be going through hard times right now.

As far as I'm concerned, things are going well. Last week I was sick, as many as you know. To make myself content between coughing and blowing my nose, I made a wish list on Knit Picks, but haven't purchased anything. I have yet to make a yarn purchase, so I still have 5 times still in my queue. I will need to make a purchase to Knit Picks soon, as I want to order a few needles from them, as well as needing to order a huge lot of yarn to dye. As Alea and I agreed, the yarn that I buy that I intend to dye and sell does not count toward the yarn diet. But, seriously, who makes an order to Knit Picks and not order yarn for themselves? That would be against my religion! So yes, I will be making an order soon, and I will be flashing it here to stay honest with all of you. Are you doing the same?

So far, I have only completed 2 projects this month, and only finished one skein. My problem is that I keep starting new projects, thinking that will get me through yarn faster, but in the long run, it's making me WAY slower. I need to buckle down and finish projects!

Just as a reminder, I have included the ongoing Mister Linky to this post, so you can all see everyone's stashes at the beginning of the yarn diet. If you have any new posts concerning your diet (i.e. talking about it or showing pictures of a purchase, etc) please continue to add links. Just make sure to link to the direct post, instead of your main sites URL. Thanks!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 23

Another Wednesday, another WIP. I only have one to share today, because I've been kind of lazy. To be honest, I'm not sure why I don't have more to share! I hope to finish the corgi, as I haven't worked on it, soon and then I won't feel guilty starting something else. I hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

How are the yarn dieters doing? Have you worked your way through a skein yet? I haven't, but hope to soon! You can follow my progress on the sidebar, as well as posts I will do each month of the 5 month long diet.



I took two pictures of this hat, because to be honest, I have no clue how to photograph a knitted hat that is still on the needles. This is my first knitting in the round, and I will say, I like it! The only issue is, I HATE the needles I'm using. It was the only size 8 US 16" I have. The 24" was way too big. These are Clover bamboo needles and I want to throw them out the window. My cast on was SOOOO loose because the needles suck compared to what I'm used to (Knit Picks). I am going to have to go out and buy new ones that are a little better I think, if I want to continue making hats. I hate that Knit Picks doesn't have anything smaller than a 24" cable. Sigh. Anyway, YAY for me making a hat! Unfortunately when I was doing the 1K1P ribbing, I didn't pay close enough attention as we were watching The Sting, and I screwed up a row and then corrected myself after that row. I'll just wear that part in the back, if the hat even fits in the end (it seems a little small) when I walk the dog. I just wanted to use this as my test to see if I could even knit something in the round. I'm using this pattern and Berroco Vintage. I'm proud to report, the Vintage was splitty at cast on/first row, but now I love it! It's so fun to use LYS yarn from my stash. I got this ball with my birthday money, you may recall.

Totally not part of WIPW, but I ordered HiyaHiya needles in US 6, 12" and US 2, 12" to first make worsted socks, and then finger weight socks! I got two of each, so that I can avoid using DPN. I'm not sure why the thought of those scare me, but at this point, they just do. Do any of you use these needles? I've heard good things about them!

I'd also like to report that my fingerless gloves saved my life the other day. Okay, maybe not my LIFE, but my hands from being freezing. We went out with friends on the weekend at night and they wanted to sit outside because the bar had a firepit. BRRRR. Luckily, I was smart and put them in my purse just to have at the spur of the moment. My friend said that she thought they were bought because they looked so good! YAY!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Yarn Diet '11 Part 1

It wasn't easy, but I took out all of my yarn and took pictures of it today. I have to say, I was surprised by the number. It's amazing how much yarn you can cram into places around the house. I seem to have it all over, even though I have two specific places to keep it. I guess that's the way it goes.

And the final start count in number of skeins (even counting partial is)... 244.

I've added a count below the Yarn Diet button in the right sidebar for those who want to keep track with me. Each time I use a skein/ball/hank/cake down to the point where I can no longer make anything else with it, I will take it off the counter.

I hope over the next five months to be able to use at least half of it. For details of the yarn diet, please see this post. Despite being able to buy yarn five times during the 5 month diet, I hope to not even do that, but we'll see!

To see pictures of my stash for the yarn diet, please click here to my Flickr page.

I'd love to see pictures of those participating. Just add a link to the Mr Linky below to share your post about your yarn diet. I will keep the Mr Linky open for the full 5 months so we can keep adding links to our new posts to keep a record over time. Please be sure to link directly to the actual yarn diet post and not your blog url. Thank you!

Yarn Diet '11 is (Almost) Here!

As I've mentioned a few times leading up to today, I will be partaking in a yarn diet with Alea and whoever would like to join us. We are doing this because over the past six months or so, we've bought yarn on whims (or sometimes with certain projects in mind) and have a lot of it to go around. I think we both realized this needed to happen when each month of Flash Your Stash, our stashes seemed to double.

Without further ad0, the rules and exceptions of our yarn diet:

Length of time: January 1st-June 1st or until over half of your stash is gone. Obviously it's pretty hard to use every single little piece of yarn in each skein/ball/cake/hank, so if it's down to the point you can find much to do with it, then that is considered finished.

What may be purchased in that time: During the yarn diet, the participant is allowed to buy yarn 5 times. At each purchase, you may spend or buy however much you want. This includes LYS, box stores and even online shopping (basically any yarn purchases). You may also still buy as part of a swap and/or gift. Also, if you short less than half the skeins to finish a project (let's say you're making a scarf and you run short of yarn by 1 skein) you are able to purchase JUST that ONE item and it won't count against you.

Punishment: For each time you go past the 5 given times you may purchase yarn during January 1-June 1, you will have another month added to the yarn diet, which will not include another chance to buy yarn for that month.

To participate: Just comment on this post (or the one I will be doing at the beginning of the year) to let us know you're joining us. Then, take pictures of all of your yarn and count how many skeins you have. I know some people have way too much to count it all, so if that's the case, keep track of how many bags/bins etc you have it in and gauge that way. Then, sometime in the first week of January, post on your blog all the pictures. That way, we can document the stash as time goes on. I will have a Mr Linky attached to my yarn diet posts where you can post new links to new pictures as the months go on.

Feel free to use the button (thanks to Alea for making this for us!) at the top of this post for your Yarn Diet posts and/or the one in the sidebar (a smaller version).

This is supposed to be fun, so don't get stressed over it. It will be a breath of fresh air using yarn that has been sitting waiting to be used for months or maybe even years. I know I can't wait to get rid of some of it, and even find unique projects to make. Just think how refreshing it will be come June 1st when you can replace the yarn you used with even more yarn!

If you have any comments or questions, please let me know in the comments section! I'll be happy to answer them.

I look forward to posting my first official yarn diet post in the first week of January, but before then, I'm heading to a LYS!