My Family Won't Let Me Buy Anymore Yarn, Patterns or Hooks

[funkyreporter]

Just reading Nightowl's posting and wanted to let you know that it's sort of 'in jest' - the moritorium on crochet items... and partly by my own guilt of how much I have... it's ridiculous...

 

and it's not like I've adhered to it or anything:lol ... I have slowed down considerably in buying - only bought the Paton's Lacette for Ah Leah,'s tunic, bought an e-pattern from Shelleden and a Stitchdiva pattern... oh, and bid on one of Jimbo's hooks...

 

my production was going pretty good but the book I'm reading got interesting-er:think so I've spent the last couple days with my nose buried in a book.

 

I want to (need to?) do some writing... my head is swimming and I don't want to impart confused energy into my crochet so I'm thinking to put my fractured thoughts into word might somehow calm them...

 

I will put up a couple picture laters of the two afghans-in-progress;)

[VictoriousSpirit]

Sweetie...PLEASE tell me there is SOME remote chance that the fam will actually come to their senses and back off from the 5 FO rule!! Don't they know that when Momma ain't happy, no one's happy??? I can't imagine what I'd do if my DH told me this...I'd probably just out of stubborness refuse to finish those items...actually, knowing me and my temper, I'd be more likely to frog all the WIP's or giving up and throwing out the UFO's, cause then I could say I didn't have any more WIP's but I still wouldn't have finished the 5 items LOL!!!

 

Personally...the first thought I had (and I've read the thread between you & Ah Leah about your cooking and the ...what was it....cream of meat in the crock pot??) was that you should insist on cooking dinner every night until they give in! Force them to do the sit-down home-cooked by Mom family dinner, then tell the kids that as long as they're punishing you, you're punishing them by not letting them go out after dinner...that way, not only does it put a crimp in their social lives (hitting the teens where it hurts the most!) but it ensures that they can't get food anywhere else!!! But maybe I'm just evil.....

 

Good luck with the projects and I can't wait to see the vent-ghan...you'll have to put "vent-ghan" in the subject line so that we can all be sure to check it out!!!

 

Jessie

What is a vent afghan?

[hooked2]

I loved your post! I was :lol:lol because you wrote it so funny!

 

Your family is giving you grief (and who ever heard of a yarn interention anyway! ) but do they know that the afghans they are disdaining sell for $95 (w/o tax and shipping)? Saw some - mostly granny squares - in a catalog just the other day! Maybe you can box up your son's and sell them (). Then you can have more money for more stuff ()

[funkyreporter]

What is a vent afghan?

 

The "Ventghan" is the afghan I started when I was slightly, um, upset and just started grabbing random balls of yarn that are too small to do much with so I started doing a zig-zag afghan with them... I'll get 1 to 2, maybe 2 1/2 rows and then a color runs out, I tie on the next ball that I grab -the thing clashes with ITSELF! It's hideous.

 

I am working on two other afghans - one with these ridiculously bright purples and blues and touches of pink using the same zig-zag pattern, the other is a very calm looking afghan using two strands held together, one of a cream SuperSaver, the other a lovely (but thin) hand-dyed pastel, and it's a shell pattern... I'd show you pictures IF I could find the camera...

[Calesmommy]

Hey Paulette Check under your yarn stash, maybe you will find the camera

HAHAHA

[saribear28]

Paulette,

Any time people complain about my yarn/fabric/craft stash, I just say that it's certainly a lot cheaper than real therapy. It's amazing how people will back off at the mention of a psychologist. :-)

[darski]

good one!

[funkyreporter]

Hey Paulette Check under your yarn stash, maybe you will find the camera

HAHAHA

 

Ha Ha Ha.

 

Very Funny... I already LOOKED THERE!!!!!!!!!

:nahnah

[tlisley]

Paulette, any new "Ventghan" pics for us? I am dying for an updated look at this bad boy... did you see if the "recycled silk" has commandeered the camera for snacks???

[Happy_Hooker]

You know... It's sad... I am finding I actually have to hide yarn from my parents... AND I DON'T EVEN LIVE WITH THEM!!!

 

My parents have been helping me with my finances recently... and I would be fibbing if I said I didn't splurge here and there!!! Last month or two was really bad though... I think I spent about $200 on yarn over the last two months... that is a little more than $20 a week.... but when you don't have the money... you just don't.

 

I have made a promise to myself though... I am going to finish all of my WIP I put on the backburner, and the stuff I have lined up ready to go before I buy anymore... So that should be about 8 projects...

[mythunderbird]

i think alot of it is said in jest, i know my hubby has asked me to not buy anymore yarn(which is a very reasonable request as its all over the place. yet when i bend down and feed the addiction all he said is better find it a home so itsnot so lonely:lol paulette is just very talented in story telling(you so need to write a book my friend) and i am sure many of us are also joking hon, just not as well for me hehe

Well, I know Paulette said she really did need to rein back a bit on her yarn obsession . . . but others' talk of being "forbidden" to buy yarn or being given ultimatums makes me mad, and sad. . .

 

These days I'm alone and don't have to answer to anyone as to how I spend my money. I have to be a bit careful, as I live on disability benefit, but I can still manage to pay my bills, eat and buy the odd crochet treat.

 

But when I was married and working, we each contributed a set amount to the household account and what I did with the rest of my earnings was my business. For a couple of years when I wasn't working, my husband gave me a small monthly allowance as my "personal" money. He wouldn't have dreamed of telling me what I could and couldn't buy; it was mine to spend (or blow!) as I saw fit. Might be worth negotiating a similar agreement?

 

I asked my ex-husband for an allowance -- even if a very small one was all we could afford -- after having seen my mother have to ask my father for money for every little thing she needed, a pair of tights, a hairdo, etc. So humiliating (they didn't have a bank account, let alone a joint one). We did have a joint account, but I didn't feel I should spend that money on myself without asking and didn't want to have to get hubby's approval before buying anything (especially if it was a gift ). So an allowance was the perfect answer for me.

[nightowl]

Hi vicki

 

Yes, I know a lot of what's been said has been tongue-in-cheek. . . and very funny much of it, too! I completely agree about Paulette's story-telling talents as well.

 

But Mandys76's post that I was replying to wasn't joking, or at least didn't appear to be. . .

 

If you live with someone obviously you should consider their comfort and if your stash is really taking over the space, find a way to store it where it won't cause a problem. Or if you were spending more than the household budget could afford, of course it's okay for hubby to point that out (in a reasonable manner!) and request a cut-back.

 

But the idea of one partner "forbidding" another to do anything always gets my hackles up! Probably 'cos my father was one of those "I'm the head of the house" types and fond of issuing orders. . . It's supposed to be a partnership, not a dictatorship!

 

Anyway, in the post I'm referring to, it seems the problem isn't the money spent but what it's spent on; the hubby just doesn't "get" buying yarn and sees it as a waste. OK if that's his opinion; but as I said, I believe everyone's entitled to some spending money of their own and your partner should have nothing to say about what you do with it, whether you buy yarn or send it up in smoke!

 

Smiles,

[eurolyons]

My husband once in a blue moon gives me a jokingly hard time about keeping me away from the places I buy yarn at...but I do the same thing with some of his interests...it's basically in jest, but it's also a nod for both of us to pay attention and get a bit of a grip...but there is no FORBIDDING allowed on our hobbies...

 

Hey Paulette...got any inspirations yet from the new book?

[Iowa yarns]

I have to admit that my husband jokes frequently about having too much yarn but I remind him that he isn't paying for it, I am and that he has his toys that I don't complain about.

[yarnbunny]

This thread is hilarous!!!!!!! But, on the serious side, I also have a crochet addiction. When I was "interventioned" two years ago, I took matters into my own hands. I finished ALL projects and "staged" a yard sale. I sold things I didn't need or want anymore--craftwise--(no Yarn was sold or harmed in anyway. I just boxed it all up and hid it in my car for the day.) With the money I made from the yard sale, I rented a storage unit--paid cash, no paper trail:lol . Now my storage unit has more yarn in it than Walmart does and NO ONEis the wiser. I have the only key, no one in my family knows where it is or that I even have one. It only costs me $20 a month and I can go there whenever I want.

When I find a pattern or a new project, I go to the storage unit first. If I don't already have what the project calls for, then I buy new yarn. I finish the project and don't start a new one until I am done.

My intervention REALLY helped me to finish projects, but it didn't do a thing for my stashing problem.

 

I tell you Paulette, a storage unit is the only way to go. Just think how much yarn you could get in one. Mine is only an 8 x 10. I'm thinking of spending a little more each month and get the 10 x 15.

 

By the way, I'm doing really good (the alcoholic ex-boyfriend thing). Your pm's and inspiring words helped me soooooo much. We still talk, but I have left him for good. I still pray every night that he gets help, but I'm not gonna be there for him or take him back when and if he does. I'm on my own now and I like it that way. Someone who is perfect for me is waiting right around the corner. He'll be here soon.

Thanks again

Zella

[CaliAdria]

The storage unit idea is SO GREAT, I can't even get over it. I don't have nearly enough for that... yet... but one of these days, man, I will! And when I do... LOOK OUT, PUBLIC STORAGE!!!

 

My husband caught a glimpse at the Crochetville forum late last week and saw the title of this thread, and tried to give me a similar ultimatum. In his defense, I have been not working for 6 weeks now, and I'm not exactly the *best* housekeeper. In MY defense, I will start working again on Monday, and I make about 4 times as much money as he does, so he really shouldn't talk anyway. He's not concerned about the space required for my yarn; we're in a teeny 1 bedroom apt right now and it's already so cluttered, a few skeins of yarn (that can be easily hidden in box springs, closets, behind the television, behind and under the couch, in all of the small spaces below furniture where dust bunnies generally congregate, in those two tiny cabinets above the refrigerator, under the bathroom sink, behind the towels in the linen closet, and, of course, in the trunk of my car), those extra yarns don't matter.

 

HOWEVER, I should take a picture of our hallway, ladies. He collects HATS (baseball hats, no less, not even COOL hats) and then displays them in our foyer/hall on the walls. Our house is completely decorated in "Hot Rod Chic", complete with racing posters, car show trophies, novelty license plates, the works. He has a small collection of car parts that he's had painted and pinstriped by those guys you see on the Discovery Channel (they all work around here, Scott's a huge car-scene guy, so he knows all of them), and those are hung ON OUR WALLS. I swear... his obsession has taken over our house WAY more than mine has!

 

We've agreed that when we buy a house, we'll have two family rooms, the "girls' room" and the "guys' room". The girls' room will probably wind up being the formal living room, but it will display all my wedding crystal and my craft stuff. He can put his car STUFF in his OWN room. GRRRR.

 

PS The only thing I got my own way with was the color we painted the walls... I made the kitchen a deep red, and the family room is a pale yellow. I didn't realize until afterward that those are my sorority colors... But hey! Let's go Chi O!

[yarndiva]

Hey Paulette,

 

Maybe if you leave crochet fashion magazines flipped open to "that fabo skirt, vest, shawl, top or for the summer-bikini" maybe they'll ease up??

[lilmari]

haha funkyreporter you are so funny!

i have the same problem with yarn and crochet hooks, i cant stop buying them!

[funkyreporter]

Hello Hookers!

 

Found the camera:photo and ready to share...

 

Item #1 - Ventghan... no progress:shrug

 

Item #2 - Same stitches pattern as Ventghan but the colors match (sorta) and it's more fun than the ventghan - not such an angry piece. Here you go:

 

This is a really fun piece because it uses a lot of specialty yarns, different colors and textures - not for the faint of heart, I suppose, but it's moving along! - about half done.

 

On a calmer note we have this one:

This is an older WIP that was temporarily in UFO status, but it's so pretty... as they say, "the picture doesn't do it justice" ~ it's two strands held together, one of Super Saver and the other a hand-dyed rainbow pastel... (guess you had to be there) - I'll try and get up a picture that shows the color better but the camera hates me...

 

I forgot that I DID finish this one recently, a pretty stole-type thing that would also double as a table runner...

This was a really fun one and it has a very 'old-fashioned- look to it... it would also double as a table runner in a pinch!

 

This is a special one for me - actually one I finishe a long time ago but it has a story with it: The pattern is (I think) from StitchDiva and I used a thick and thin hand-spun cotton... I made this during a time I was doing a criminal appeal transcript for a dude in custody and to make a long story not as long, I could not bind the transcript in the usual way with brads or staples (those can be used to pick handcuffs) so I used paper that was three-hole punched and used the same cotton string from this shawl to "tie" the transcripts shut (over a thousand pages in four volumes) - so I matched my transcript!

 

This is probably way too long of a post (I'll find out if the mods edit me!)

[Brandybuck]

Oooh, I love a good fashion show. I love the ripple 'ghan - what's that fuzzy purple yarn? Him's so pretty... What's the pattern for the older one, that looks like...popcorns? I'm not that swift when it comes to the three dimensional stitches, pardon.

 

Great stuff, hope the family lets up on you soon!

[funkyreporter]

Oooh, I love a good fashion show. I love the ripple 'ghan - what's that fuzzy purple yarn? Him's so pretty... What's the pattern for the older one, that looks like...popcorns? I'm not that swift when it comes to the three dimensional stitches, pardon.

 

Great stuff, hope the family lets up on you soon!

 

Oh, thank you, thank you:c9 .

 

I figured I'd better look up the stats on these projects in case anyone is interested:eek

 

The purple people eater is made from this FREE pattern http://home.att.net/~susanBinKC/patterns/ripple.html

and I used yarns from www.knitpicks.com , specifically this pre-selected grouping http://www.knitpicks.com/tools/itemid_40030/tools_display.aspx and I chose "jewel tones" and also added in a couple hand-dyed yarns that were in my stash and no idea where they came from:think . The knitpicks site does offer a free pattern in knit and crochet for the afghan they show but I couldn't figure it out:( so chose to use the other one listed above...

 

 

The white thing is also a free pattern, http://www.freepatterns.com/fp_pdfs/Other/Crochet/Cotton_Hooded_Scarf.pdf

and a pretty fun one at that... I used cotton off one of those big cones and in looking at the pattern compared to my finished project it looks like I forgot to do the little edging part... oh, well.

 

The shawl IS the Sweet Pea shawl but I had the pattern from StitchDiva (I think it was StitchDiva) before S&B published it... think I found it on eBay or maybe in a random e-mail newsletter... made it several years ago.

 

The other one, the afghan that looks sorta beige I honestly have no idea where I got the pattern... it's a fairly basic shell pattern. It spent so much time in UFO status that I just had to look at what I'd already done to see what the pattern was, and thankfully I'd left the hook with it so I didn't have to figure out what size to use.

[belant]

Cool, Paulette! I made that afghan, too, a while ago, with Paton's wool. It looked completely different than yours.

[mythunderbird]

i sooo agree nightowl. my hubby would never dream of issuing a ultimatium cause he might find himself sleeping with the cats :lol i know just of who you speak though in the type person who dictates. my fil is like that and i can guarentee you, you have missed some rousting "discussions"!!! his idea for a wife is to keep her barefoot and pregnant, that she serves him and has no life. tooo bad his son didn't see it that way for him. my hubby only groans cause i really have wayto much and ya know i still buy it, maybe the storage idea is a good one lol, one problem here they are alot more than 20 for a 8x10. my fil and i have had some major major battles and while only once did his son agree with him, when he came home he found himself locked out until he apoligized. and actually i thin he slept in the car that night. after that my hubby realized i was not a subservant person that he had full control over HAHAHAHA, not like I would EVER let that happen. guess i have alot of my mom in me, my dad use to be that way till they divorced then they became friends to the point that dad actually gave mom his house when he died which of course was fine with us. now my youngest sister has it,. which again is fine with me, with property comes taxes and mine are quite enough as it is hehe.

 

i am very curious as to how many of you and your signifcate others agree that we are equal or if they think their hobby is more important,. my hubby loves what i do, he just wants his garage back which i promised him i would do before christmas so lots of yarn going to be sold and given away. i need to make another donation to the nuns for the less fortunet , i already donated a huge amount to them, but they said they would always take more, just think my yarn stash helps others without my having to make them anything lol. which is good cause i have morestash than time to make anything. will be listing yarn for sale on my blog as soon as i have the time to take pics and upload them all onto photobucket.

 

as for paulette. girl you soooo need to write a book, we would all help and buy it just cause you make me laugh, when i am down i go read a post by you hehehehehe :yes :hug to ya all, and happy yarning lol is that a word? :devil

Hi vicki

 

Yes, I know a lot of what's been said has been tongue-in-cheek. . . and very funny much of it, too! I completely agree about Paulette's story-telling talents as well.

 

But Mandys76's post that I was replying to wasn't joking, or at least didn't appear to be. . .

 

If you live with someone obviously you should consider their comfort and if your stash is really taking over the space, find a way to store it where it won't cause a problem. Or if you were spending more than the household budget could afford, of course it's okay for hubby to point that out (in a reasonable manner!) and request a cut-back.

 

But the idea of one partner "forbidding" another to do anything always gets my hackles up! Probably 'cos my father was one of those "I'm the head of the house" types and fond of issuing orders. . . It's supposed to be a partnership, not a dictatorship!

 

Anyway, in the post I'm referring to, it seems the problem isn't the money spent but what it's spent on; the hubby just doesn't "get" buying yarn and sees it as a waste. OK if that's his opinion; but as I said, I believe everyone's entitled to some spending money of their own and your partner should have nothing to say about what you do with it, whether you buy yarn or send it up in smoke!

 

Smiles,

[thel]

Paulette- I have been following your trials and tribulations and have to chime in that you tell a wonderful story & crochet beautifully as well. I am jealous of your talent with making afghans and am really fond of your shawl! If I didn't have so many projects going, I'd start one of my own.

[Lady_of_Roses]

i am very curious as to how many of you and your signifcate others agree that we are equal or if they think their hobby is more important,. my hubby loves what i do, he just wants his garage back which i promised him i would do before christmas so lots of yarn going to be sold and given away.

 

My husband makes the money we live off of. Sometimes I work, most often I don't. All I really have to do is keep the house mostly presentable, laundry, dishes, and most of the meals on the table. He's very supportive when I'm between jobs (I'm working contracts towards getting full time work in my field.)

 

We can't afford to have kids, and can't really get ahead unless I work as well. That being said, he gives me a small allowance that I can spend on anything I want without guilt. I mostly spend it on myself, except when I buy him gifts for our anniversary, his birthday and Christmas.

 

He wouldn't issue an ultimatum about yarn to me unless it started to take over the house, or if I was spending our bill paying money on it instead of my allowance. Overall, I have a wonderful husband.