full disclosure

In the blogosphere, many people are contemplating their stash, its growth, and the need for restraint. There's a movement started at Wendy Knits (Knit From Your Stash 2007), and doubtless there are many more independent decisions to limit stash-quisition. Since April or so, I have realized that I could use a healthy measure of prudence in my own yarn purchases. Since I keep all receipts, I can make a quantitative assessment.

Despite operating from a basis of capitalism, Americans generally observe a taboo about discussing personal wealth. It is not without some self-consciousness that I divulge my extravagances of 2006. Note that I do consider these purchases beyond my means, or at the very least beyond fiscal probity.

item	cost ($)
books and patterns	444
needles	172
other tools	79
classes and trips	375
yarn (current projects and stash)	3348
notions (consumable)	21
TOTAL	4439

Well, the elephant in the room (weighing in at 75% of the total) is clearly the yarn purchases. Breaking this down gives:

yarn	cost ($)
gifts	257
completed projects	188
projects in progress	421
stash	2482

These numbers tell a distorted story, given that I also completed and started projects in 2006 with yarn purchased in earlier years. However, one thing is clear: my stashing this year has radically outstripped knitting. Judging by cost alone, I would appear to have at least a six-year stash.

Certainly there is much room for improvement here. The non-yarn items, though in the minority, still racked up a tidy sum. How much restraint could be applied to these items?

I have always found it remarkably easy to justify book and tool purchases of any sort. The former is a general property of being an academic, and the latter a consequence of being a Girl Scout, and also of growing up during the cold war. (Tools, especially purely mechanical ones, would have an enormous value following a nucelar holocaust.) But even with these items, there is a natural limit. My knitting library numbers four dozen books, many little explored, and the set probably sufficeint for a lifetime. Dazzling Knits and Knitting for Anarchists alone could probably keep me amused for 2007. As far as tools go, knocking off projects would certainly move needles and markers back into the toolbox. Small circular needles have recently begun to put undue stress on my hands, and this makes DPNs more attractive to use and most justifiable to purchase.

The value of classes is bit tricky to gauge. Having been through college and grad school, I would say that the point of higher education is to become adept at learning through self-direction, and hence feel a bit odd enrolling for classes. However, having been through two workshops this year, my gut reaction is that learning from highly seasoned knitters is worth the investment.

The value of a travel package is harder to evaluate. I thoroughly enjoyed the people who joined the Circles excursion to Rhinebeck, and experiencing the Sufi community at the Abode will probably stand as a landmark in my life. However, the pleasure of the NY Sheep and Wool itself was much dampened by the crush of people. I missed some of the booths that I would most like to have seen, and certainly learned much less than I would have liked. The blogger frenzy, I am very sorry to say, reminded me of high school, in that I felt a yearning for a social mainstream that I completely failed to understand or access. I did meet a handful of lovely and cordial people, a couple of whom are relatively well-known in the knitting world. My conclusion is that I would be better off going on excursions with a primary emphasis on learning and socializing with smallish groups of people.

You might be wondering who got all that money. Here's the breakdown:

store	amount ($)
Circles (Boston)	2347
A Good Yarn (Brookline)	401
Woolcott & Co. (Cambridge)	256
The Knit With (Philadelphia)	254
The Tangled Web (Phiadelphia)	70
Mostly Merino (Vermont)	201
Webs (mail order)	241
Amazon (mail order; books)	110
assorted (single visits in 2006)	518

Most of these businesses would probably not notice the absence of my custom, were I to go cold turkey. But I expect Circles would, as it is still a young business. So that, my friends, is why I cannot abstain for nine months. But I will have limits to ensure that my expenditures are in the realm of sane. More on these limits next year!

Comments

[The Feminist Mafia]

I am so impressed by how organized you are. And with all the weird social taboos about money, I'm wicked impressed that you posted so many details. Nice.

[Judy]

Ha !

[Dorothy B]

I've saved the majority of my receipts too. I think I may have to go and add them up to see where I am.

I wish you a beautiful year in 2007 and I hope you reach your goals and enjoy life on the way. All the best from us to you.

[Jenn C.]

As I was saying today, I think this kind of dialog is useful. Both in our own heads and in dialog.

I don't save all my receipts, so I can't totally quantify my purchases. But if I add up all those I can remember, I'd have to bet I've spent at least $2500 over the course of a year and quite probabbly closer to $3500.

[Brenda]

I really love your analysis of your fibery expenditures. Although I don't save receipts and can't count it all up, I know that my purchasing has caused my stash to grow out of control. I will also be limiting my purchasing this year and I plan to do it for everything in my life. My plan is to not buy anything new unless it is a necessity (new tires for my car, etc.).