In 2022, I took a year off from my “Buy No New Yarn” fast. The result was that I knit twice as many projects than I had in any previous year. Let’s face it. Touching feeling and smelling fresh fiber is part of the inspiration that drives us as fiber artists.

In 2023, I went back on my “yarn buying fast”. Did this impact my creativity? Possibly, but it was only one of many reasons.

It’s been a tough year. Some of the highlights were catching Covid (twice, once severely), being my parent’s 24/7 carer for 5 weeks, a water heater failure, black mold, rats and repair/remodeling fails.

With my knitting time curtailed, I only completed 9 projects (shown here)—mainly simple and small scrappy items. The upside: everything started was finished. The downside: at one point there was nothing on my needles for weeks. It felt odd and a bit scary to be “stuck” for inspiration.

I’m bursting with enthusiasm for 2024.

Will I keep the yarn fast going? Maybe, but it won’t be a rule. So far, I’m focused on “shopping” through the amazing yarns in my stash. These have been paired with beautiful patterns already in my library—ones I’ve wanted to make for years.

What’s helped is that my stash and library are (now) within arm’s reach. My library is in a bookshelf next to my bed. My stash in my closet. To get up and get dressed is to be surrounded by inspiration.  

I also decided to stop saving scraps of yarn (less than 100 yards) and removed a lot scrappy projects from my queue. Too often they felt like things I “should” knit as opposed to making things I want to knit.

Alongside new projects, I queued ones I’ve made and loved. If you loved a project, why not make it again in a different color or yarn weight? Just swatch until you get the right gauge/color scheme.  

I’m also adopting the mindset that more isn’t better. Better is better. And what’s better than doing the projects that inspire you?