On the possible value of stash

Around the knit blog world, there's a lot of talk - and a lot of anxiety, it seems - about stash. Do I reveal my stash to my fellow knitters? Show them how much of a backlog of yarn I have, how many planned, unstarted, unfinished projects? How many storage bins of varying shapes and finishes I've bought? Or how few?

Why are we so anxious about stash? Have we simply internalized the complaints of our families about cash going for yarn that's never used? Is there nothing redeemable about stash?

I showed you some stash last week, and I'm going to show you some more stash right now.

Granola-making stash, that is.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we made our weekly granola Sunday night. We started doing this during this past Passover, using matzah farfel (matzah bits the size of large breadcrumbs) instead of oats. Believe you me, served with some yogurt, this was a highly preferable breakfast to matzah with something spread on it.

After Passover, we'd enjoyed making granola so much that we continued, using oats instead, and Alton Brown's recipe from Good Eats. We don't follow the recipe to the letter, but it provides a tasty starting point. Now we find ourselves buying huge quantities of things we'd only needed sporadically before: a giant jug of canola oil, a rather large jug of honey (because really, that little squeezable bear isn't going to make it past a recipe or two), and larger quantities of maple syrup. Not to mention the several pound bags of nuts and of raisins from our local Sam's Club, as well as frequent trips to Whole Foods to get the oats themselves in bulk at 69 cents per pound.

We've long since realized that we do this because it tastes good, not because it's super economical. Which probably doesn't make much sense, right? It's just breakfast food. Who needs fresh granola all the time? I mean, once in a while is nice... but when you want to make granola...

... you need some stash around. Or else you doesn't get a yummy breakfast. And really, who wouldn't prefer homemade granola to stale store-bought stuff anyway?

Who wouldn't prefer a pair of perfect fitting, gorgeous handknit socks over some old floppy ones from Target (or wherever)? Or a scarf that matches one's hair and eyes and was made by a close friend? For that you need a yarn stash.

And unfortunately, I don't think I'll be making the trip to Rhinebeck to enhance the stash and meet all you bloggers in real life. It's been great getting to know you online, and it would be fun to meet more fellow bloggers in person, but I just don't think Rhinebeck is a good idea this year. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not experiencing last-minute temptations to throw caution to the wind and head up for a day of fiber fun! If I do decide to go, I'll definitely say something here, but for now, I think I'm going to simply have to wish everyone a wonderful time!