Inspiration Saturday: This is not what stash busting looks like

I may have conquered that inexplicable ability to control my calorie intake, but there's still a resolution I seem to have trouble with: stash busting.  Any time resolutions are being made, I seem to aim for reducing my collection of yarn and fiber.

There are, however, two forces at work against this endeavor.  First, I never seem to have enough time to make progress on my projects.  Not being a speedy knitter, I need more than the moments I can snatch after work to really turn around WIPs each week.  And then, there's my inability to resist the temptation of buying new yarn and fiber.  I can't help it, they are just too pretty to leave behind when I go to fiber festivals and yarn stores!  I think it's just time to accept that I'm not going to live up to any of those resolutions.

So this week's inspiration are two purchases I made that are not so much stash busting as stash building.

Having completed Tour de Fleece, I'm still spinning my yarn from that effort, but there were some fiber artists offering special discounts in their online shops, so I took advantage of one from BohoKnitterChic and added this lovely to my fiber stash:

A golden yellow, the touches of brown and blue along with the sparkle make me think of 'Beauty and the Beast':

With a reminder of one of my all-time favorite movies, how could I possibly be expected to resist the superfine merino, bamboo, and silk noil?

I ordered that a week or so ago and it arrived on Monday, after I made another non-busting purchase at Gauge Knits here in Austin:

The buttons were on sale, and then I found this skein of Bamboo Sheen Sport from Dizzy Lettuce that just went too perfectly to deny it.  I'm planning on making a cowl based on A Very Braidy Cowl, altered slightly to create three running cable braids, then using the gaps from the cables as buttonholes at the end.  I'm really tempted to just cast this on and knit something quick before completing my cardigan.  Maybe then I'll feel more like a stash buster.

But wait, there's more!  More Dizzy Lettuce, in fact:

I should mention that the reason we stopped into Gauge was a trunk show with Sea of Beads and Dizzy Lettuce.  She had a whole table of lovely things, plus a chair draped in still-drying hanks.  I love 'splotchy' colorways like this one, and I'm intrigued to work with linen for the first time.  It's mostly silk, so it's still very soft, and has a slight sheen in the sunlight.  I'm thinking a shawl with this, but not sure which one yet.

Just like a decadent dessert, adding yarn and fiber to my stash may not be in line with my resolutions, but sometimes, you just have to.  Cake can be run off, and cakes of yarn can be knit, eventually!

For more inspiration this Saturday, go to Woolen Diversions.