So I had promised an article on Saturday continuing my thoughts about art training vs. self teaching.
Yeah...I went to write it a couple of times, and was repeatedly distracted by kids and/or in-laws, until I forgot what I had wanted to say. I should've made an outline or something.
Instead today, let's talk about my yarn problem. Because oh, do I ever have one.
It all started about two and a half, three years ago. I was at school, and a bunch of friends and I were RPGing (can't remember the specific game just now...BESM comes to mind, but I don't think that was it) and one friend was knitting at the same time. On impulse I asked her to show me and if I could knit a couple rows. She did and let me, and that was the beginning of the end.
I went out and bought a couple of books, a couple of needles, and bunches of yarn. I inherited more needles and yarn from my mum. I scour the internet for free patterns (my big kick right now is public domain vintage and antique patterns). And I buy yarn. A lot.
I have two problems. Firstly, chasing the kids around all day makes it hard to knit for more than a minute or two at a time. It's hard to finish things in a decent amount of time and makes it easier for me to get lost when I come back to a piece. Secondly, in large part because of my first problem, I get bored with a project after it's been sitting for a while, so I unravel it, roll the yarn into a ball, and start something new. As a result of these, I buy yarn faster than I can knit it. I currently have three good-sized boxes and a dozen or two loose balls. I just can't help it! The Real Deals (my favorite dollar store) makes it so easy! It's only a dollar a ball for yarn that originally sold for $3-$5 a ball. And Big Lots doesn't help either; theirs is only $1.50 a ball for formerly expensive yarns. What's a girl to do?
Well clearly I have an addiction. It actually extends to art and craft supplies in general, this inability to pass them up. I know it'll be my undoing, and it's why I suck at saving money. It's really bad combined with hubby's addiction to computer bits. Someday we're going to have a house filled to the brim with art and craft supplies and computers.
I may have found a solution for the yarn though. Well, two solutions actually. One, it's summer vacation, so I have more time for knitting in general. But my main solution, my exciting one, is that I've decided to make my own pattern book. See, I don't have any circular needles, and some items it's hard to find a pattern for on straight needles, if not downright impossible (like socks for instance). So I figured I'd start making my own patterns for people like me (if they exist). I think I'll be less likely to get bored with patterns that I'm still creating. And while it'll take a while for the yarn to get used up because I'll be experimenting a lot, the important point is that it will get used.
Unless I keep buying more.
Of course it's also summer time (if you were unaware). Summer means I can play with acid outside. Playing with acid means etching! Maybe every time I get the urge to buy yarn, I'll just go over to my in-laws (they live close to the dollar store) and play with acid instead. Substitute my yarn obsession for my art obsession. That's healthy, right?
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