This past weekend I spent some time organizing and taking inventory of my stash. I started taking photos of some new (and not-so-new) skeins to upload to Ravelry and had a twinge of guilt for my wool-piggery, but then I caught myself. Why? Why should I feel guilty for indulging in something that makes me happy?

My stash has become somewhat of a joke among my knitting group and my family. Last year I had a purge and put the spoils out for my knitting friends to take, and I often give yarn to my mom (which often results in my getting a knitted gift in return). Chris, my husband, calls it “his investment”. A few weeks ago, Chris and I were talking about our will, and I joked that I’m making a friend an executor of my yarn. He told me that, no, he’d be putting it up on eBay or Etsy. I know he was joking, but I felt a flare of anger as silly as that sounds. The idea of my stash being sold off without care really bothered me. My yarn brings me joy, each skein, and I enjoy sharing that joy when a skein no longer speaks to me. I suppose this brings me back to my initial thought: Why do I feel guilty for indulging in something that makes me happy? The answer seems to be that I feel like I should. I often hear knitters talk about their stash with that tone…that guilty tone, like we’re doing something wrong because we indulge ourselves. You hear it at retreats and fiber fairs a lot.

Well, I’m done with that tone. I have a well-curated stash, and I’m proud of it. When I see a new pattern on Ravelry or Instagram, and I’m feeling knitspired, I know I can go upstairs, dig through my yarn, and find the perfect skein. I recognize that isn’t for everyone. Some knitters function better by buying only for planned projects, and that works for them. That makes them happy. But for me, I like that my yarn room overfloweth, and I don’t want to feel badly about that.

My lights are still on, my son is fed, and my yarn brings me joy. So I’m standing up (figuratively) and saying, I’m Sarah. I have a large stash. And I’m proud of it.