I have one very inflexible rule when it comes to buying yarn: it must have a purpose.

This is mostly to avoid unnecessary stash enhancement, and it has worked very well in keeping my purchases reasonable, even when I might be tempted to let them get out of hand. It’s also so that I know how much yarn to buy, because my stash is full of “almost enough” skeins that never quite turn into anything, obtained in the months before the stash rule was put in place.

Sometimes, though, having a project for the yarn gets in the way of me actually using it.

I bought enough Cascade Eco wool for a full-sized afghan about 3 years ago. I love this yarn. I loved the cables. I hated knitting the long, scarf-like strips. I put it aside, three skeins in.  I’ve never gone back.

I’ve tried to pick it up again, but it just hasn’t stuck; this project is simply not working. (Not to mention the fact that I have since discovered that any knit object left within the cat’s range will be full of pulls from their passionate and blissful kneading.)

A few months ago, I officially crossed that project off the list of UFOs, and off the list of stash earmarks. It’s time for that yarn to reach its full potential, don’t you think?