balancing act

If you're just tuning in, here's what's going on. I set some rules for myself to temper my yarn acquisition, push myself creatively, encourage myself to complete more projects, and improve my physical and mental health. Here's a tally of the relevant items for January 2007.

item	$
getting out of bed ($1 per day)	31
walking ($1 per mile)	63
walking in rain (extra $1 per mile)	3
packages mailed ($2 per each)	10
finished object ($1 per 30 g; triple for charity)	46
total yarn budget	153

And here's where it went:

store	$
Mind's Eye
Circles	83
A Good Yarn	16
on line	25
total spent	124
remaining	29

The purchase at Mind's Eye will be a gift, and does not count against the expenditures. All other purchases were for the ruana, though some of the yarns are not working out gauge-wise or color-wise, and they will have to cure for a few months before they achieve stash status.

In addition to spending within budget, I also managed to adhere to my rules. I whacked lots of UFOs (and by this I mean really and truly finished). I did make a couple of sample scarves for Circles, and I set this as an exception to the "begin all projects from stash" imperative a priori. (Those FOs were also not counted in the weight-based finishing bonus, as they did not result in the reduction of stash.) The only new project I worked on was the ruana, and that was indeed begun from stash.

Now that you mention it ...

Rebecca, we should be walking together! How about a date in the near future to do a couple of laps around Jamaica Pond?

Heather, good Goddess, don't get me started on the government!

Kim, of course, I would agree that there's a great virtue in pattern and tool purchases. The cost density is so much higher. Compare the volume occupied by one skein of Noro anything versus the equivalent cost in stitch markers. It's even more dramatic if you use a less expensive yarn for the comparison.

Dorothy, exactly my thinking. In fact, there's a particular yarn that both Elann and Webs are offering that I've been lusting after for months, but a sweater's worth would probably still be a chunk of change.

SheepsPyjamas (also Hannah, who also asked), a ruana is like a serape, only with a slit in the front instead of a seam. Hmm, maybe not so helpful. Here's a great example. The post highlights a really wonderful book; "Folk Shawls" by Cheryl Oberle. I will be using fabric stitch, but I will probably use the neck shaping that Cheryl Oberle suggests.

Dave, I'm rollin' it over! Argument against: carrying the balance forward will induce complacency. Argument for: I will make better purchases if I am not racing the clock.

Comments

[Rebecca H]

Well done, Suzanne. I'm especially impressed with the 63 miles bit, even though I know it works out to about 2 miles a day, which approximately what I do. Still!

[Heather]

I vote for the "piggy bank" approach for your surplus - keep it for that unexpected project or month. If only our goverment had such fiscal responcibility...the ruana project looks like it will be a good one.

[Kim]

Great job! I personally told myself not to buy any yarn until April. This has resulted in pattern and stitch marker buying; but at least patterns are relatively cheap!

[Dorothy B]

I'd roll it too. You never know when a sweaters worth of your favourite yarn will come up for sale and cost three dollars more than that month's allotment.

[SheepsPyjamas]

Nice job on sticking to your tally sheets, and on FO-ing those pesky UFO's! And I'll add my question to the mix while I'm here -- what, exactly, is a ruana?

[Dave]

Do you get to carry the balance forward, or is it a "use it or lose it" situation?