When one project ends another begins? Hmm. That’s not going so well for me right now. And why is that? Too many choices and this time yarn is less of an issue.

If you think my stash is extensive, you should see my pattern collection. According to Ravelry I have 3566 patterns as of this writing and rising. Given I have Sequence Knitting by Cecelia Campochiaro in route and Free Spirit Knits by Anne Podlesak on pre-order, the number of patterns in my library will continue to rise. For now.

The reality is, whether for reading or crafting, I love the feel of a book or magazine in my hands. Still, with the same online patterns readily available and usually less than $10, and given I knit one or less patterns per book, why I’m buying a whole book? It seems much more cost effective to break this purchasing  habit?

You have to admit a downloaded pattern lacks the aesthetic of a truly well-designed book. There’s something about crisply presented visuals like those in the Madder Anthologies (1 or 2) by Carrie Bostick Hoge or Hannah Fettig’s Home and Away that get the juices flowing.

Still, given I’ve successfully executed sweaters with online patterns wouldn’t it just make more sense to stop buying books? And might that reduce the time from planning to starting a project?

Have you made the conversion and what wisdom might you share?

PS: thank goodness for Ravelry’s library. Since I’ve posted my patterns I’ve found beautiful ones in my own collection I never knew I owned.