Knit the Stash Update and Olympic Review

Believe it or not, I am still going strong with my Stash Down goal for 2014.  With the closing of the Olympic ceremonies, I am happy to report that 6 more skeins have been knit.  I used 2 skeins for 2012 for a shawl, 2 skeins from 2012 for a sweater and 2 skeins from 2013 for a hat.  I just cast on for a sweater with 2 more skeins from 2013.  The Olympics are always a fun occasion to follow, and for the past 3 games, I've competed in the knitting Olympics which follow the games.  The first year that I competed, I was mainly crocheting.  My goal was to knit a pair of sock since I had never knit anything besides garter stitch scarves before.  The next games, I challenged myself to knit a Nordic Ski Sweater. This time, I started with a bulky cowl and a fingering weight sweater.  Since I finished both of these projects with more than a few days to spare, I also knit a Nordic ski hat and finished a WIP shawl.

It is safe to say that challenging myself with the games has given me the "Knit Everything" bug so I promptly cast on for a new sweater.  If this knitting bug continues, I may just knit through all of my sweater stash (which at the moment is about 7 sweaters worth).  In the event of total sweater stash down, I am lifting my 2014 yarn diet on sweaters and allowing myself to purchase more sweater yarn.

Things that I have learned so far:

I really really need to purchase more grey/black/natural/brown yarn.
Knitting from the stash has resulted in some really fun and creative ideas for yarn usage.  Also, my mind has been opened to different types of pattern to accommodate the yarn I've already purchased.
There are some really lovely hidden gems that have been hiding in my stash.
There are some really lovely fancy yarns that I have been saving for nothing in particular and have now been turned into something spectacular.
It is really satisfying seeing holes appearing in my stash shelves.

Now, I am not going to lie and say I have not been tempted to purchase any new yarn.  The knitting Olympics have exposed me to an endless amount of new yarns, patterns, and fibers.  I am particularly smitten with the Little Prince Opal sock yarn that was released last year, however, I have been forcing myself to stay away.

I am thinking about adding another revision to the goal and allowing for Rhinebeck to be the only show that I am allowed to purchase yarn at to give myself something to work towards (besides endless amounts of finished projects with long loved yarn).  Why Rhinebeck? It is my "birthday" show, one of the largest shows in the fiber world and the show that has almost all of my favorite vendors in one spot. The other purchase I may allow myself is the Little Prince collection of Opal yarn since it is a limited edition line and would only continue to increase in price until it completely disappears.  (I stalked the Harry Potter Opal yarn for months before deciding to purchase the lot on Ebay and now you can't find it anywhere).

My only yarn related purchases to speak of are 2 sets of sock needles (one pair broke on vacation) and a couple of patterns on Ravelry.

I leave you with my current project.