An Egg Carton Full of Yarn

If I’d known how cute these balls of Happy Cotton would be, I would have bought a dozen and put them in an egg carton. Just for funsies. 

But I only needed three. 

These sweet nuggets of fiber joy were part of my very last yarn order for 2020. I knew what I was about to do, and my default mode – when it comes to yarn – is EXTRA. Always extra. Because extra yarn is never a bad thing, is it? No. What if they stop making it? What if my favorite yarn store stops carrying them? What if….?? I can think of a thousand what ifs for every situation. And that’s exactly why I am where I am, with a self-imposed hiatus from yarn acquisition for 2021. Buying yarn is my boyfriend, and I’m in love with it (don’t worry, Mr Olive Knits already knows). But this year I’m working on being in love with the yarn boyfriends I already brought home – that’s about the size of it. 

Do I need an egg carton filled with adorable, colorful cotton yarn bundles? Probably not. And anyway, I want to have it but not necessarily use it. Note to self: Yarn wants to dance on your needles, not hide in a closet… or an egg carton.

(But how cute would these be in an egg carton?? Gah!!)

We’re 11 days into 2021 and so far I’ve learned that stressful news sends me straight to my favorite online yarn shops to order yarn. I didn’t do it, because I have a goal, but it took all of five minutes after last week’s onslaught of terrible news to trigger deep emotional feelings about panic-buying more yarn. What if we don’t have sheep anymore? What if all the wool is gone in a year? What if…? Planning new projects is my favorite distraction – and what is new yarn but a plan for future joy? New yarn is optimism. New yarn is potential. 

Can we still dig deep for that joy, optimism and potential using the stash we’ve already painstakingly collected/curated over the years? I think the answer is yes. 

But I still wish I’d gotten twelve of those cute little cotton balls.