Taking Chances

As I have been knitting mainly from stash lately, its contents influence what I decide to knit. Sometimes I come across a pattern I want to knit, but am not sure whether the stash will support it. If I clearly do not have the yarn, I evaluate whether I want to purchase yarn and knit it now, or if I will just wait for later. That is actually the easier situation. The stash is lovely and I enjoy knitting from it. I do not feel deprived when I decide to wait to buy yarn to knit something. It also makes it all the more enjoyable when I do buy yarn. I am not against buying more yarn, but right now, reducing the stash is the right decision for me. Why, yes, I do realize that all this going on and on about knitting from the stash means I am pushing myself closer and closer to a not insignificant yarn purchase, but I digress.

The anxiety enters when I think I might have the yarn to knit something, but the yarn situation could be tight. Having been burned by recent yarndage issues, I have become even more nervous. While I so dislike the idea of running out of yarn, I receive quite a thrill when it is close, but works. With this in mind, I began the swatching. I got gauge. I checked the pattern and checked the stash. The yardage matched, but I was not yet convinced. I know how those numbers can have quite the plus/minus range.

Still, the pattern looks like such a nice, pleasant knit, that forging forward is the right choice. If I do not have enough yarn to finish it and cannot get more of it, this is not a tragedy. I think I would enjoy knitting it again when I do have the necessary yarn. That being said, I am getting ahead of myself. This yarn could be enough and work out just fine. In fact, it looks like it will. I have already finished the back and am about one-third of the way up the front left of my Golden Vintage Cardigan.