So much yarn. So little time.

I'm trying to stick to a rule I've created for myself. Each year, my good friend Allison and I, along with -- thousands? it must be thousands -- other yarn enthusiasts descend upon the Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. The skies are blue, the air is crisp, and autumn leaves float through the air, creating the perfect backdrop to the never-ending booths and their yarn displays, commercialism tempered by the opportunity to see and visit the 4-H kids and their sheep, llamas, and alpacas. They are the real reason for the festival, and I always try to remember that.

But that isn't the rule I'm trying to stick to. The rule is that I will not allow myself to buy more yarn if I haven't used at least half of the yarn purchased the year before.

During this past year, I pretty much failed this quest, although I've definitely kept my fingers busy. At Rhinebeck last year, I purchased:

• Enough Lisa Souza Blue Faced Leicester Sport to make Sprig (but I messed up when I bought sport weight instead of DK weight; not sure if that'll be a big problem);
• One skein of Blue Ridge Yarns Jubilee, on clearance, that I plan to use to make the Cedar Leaf Shawlette. I really want to make this soon.

I have not worked with either of these yarns yet. Part of the problem here is that for the past year, I've been working with yarns I bought at festivals in years previous -- and one of those projects ended up getting frogged and the yarn returned to the cabinet. Such is the knitting life. And so, if I stick to my rule, I shouldn't buy a thing this year.

But... the yarn...

Styles change from year to year, and lately I've noticed the knit stitch is all the rage. Which is hilarious because that stitch is so darn easy. I've had a sweater in my Ravelry favorites for years that fits this current fashion trend, and I want to make it... with a wool/cotton blend. But I don't have a wool/cotton blend in my stash. I will need to buy it.

But if I buy it... I break my rule.

On the other hand... I've always wanted to make this sweater.

Really, at the end of the day, this is about practical consumerism. I don't have a problem spending money, but I do shy away from buying things that take up space. Perhaps I've moved too much over the years and I now know how many boxes all that stuff equates to. Or perhaps I can still see my mom looking over my shoulder, asking, "Do you really need that?" and in response, I've structured my spending so it doesn't leave any evidence behind. Not sure. The end result is the debate I'm now having about purchasing more yarn. And I'm not really sure why it's a debate, because I know, in the end, that I will buy the yarn, and I will rationalize that I know what I'm buying it for, and in the end I will love the sweater and I will wear it all throughout the muddy New Hampshire spring, and everyone will say "Did you make that?" and I will smile and say yes, and feel proud of my accomplishment, and yes.

In the end, all of that is worth a careful breaking of a self-imposed rule.