ETA: If you can manage to make it through the bad poetry, there’s a contest at the end…

ETA again: I changed the prizes to include my knitting readers – sorry about that, I thought this up on the spur of the moment and it didn’t occur to me that knitters don’t want roving! (duh.) I also decided that if I buy roving prior to April 1, instead of waiting ’til April 1 to do the 2nd drawing, I’ll do it on the date I do my ‘stash enhancement’ ;o)

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‘twas the week after Christmas, and all through the house

all the creatures were stirring – yes, even a mouse.

The gifts have all been torn open with glee

And now it’s time to recycle the tree.

The stash is nestled tight in their bins

Old projects have been tossed to the wind

I sit with my Options and think

About my new Vogue Stitchionaries and what I might make

As I review my past knitting year

I realize that I have nothing to fear

I have tackled the lace, the socks, the sweater

Cables I can handle in any weather

“Too many choices!” My brain protests

and I buckle under the stress

Out comes my Lendrum, my roving, my fleece

and before I know it, my mind is at peace

The solution comes to me in a flash

2007 will be the year I spin from the stash!

Yeah, I said it ;o) Now, I’m not saying that I’ll not buy any roving or yarn all year, because there is no way that’ll happen. What I’m saying is, I’m going to try like hell to not buy roving at the spur of the moment ’til I’m down to 1 lb or so of stash. Mostly because I can’t afford it anymore and partly because…well, I’m running out of places to hide it ;o)

So…I’m thinking of making a contest out of this. How about we have a pool of how long it’ll take me to crack? ;o) I’m giving myself a window of three months. This means that I will not buy any ‘impulse’ fiber ’til April 1 and you guys can guess the date between now and then when I’ll lose it. If I DON’T buy any before April 1, everyone will be put into a pool from which I’ll draw two winners – and if I DO buy roving between now and April 1, the person who guessed closest to the date will win AND everyone involved will be in a pool to win on April 1 (or the date I crack, whichever comes first) – so this gives you two chances to win either way, make sense? Your guesses are only open ’til midnight Tuesday night (1/2/2007), and you can only guess once – and your first guess is your final guess. I’ll put up a .pdf of the spreadsheet showing your guesses (and a shorter version of the rules) after the contest is closed on Tuesday (this way it’ll be set in stone and you all can check). Each prize will be 4oz of roving OR a skein of sock yarn, winners choice (the ‘guess the date’ prize and the ‘everybody had a chance at the end’ prize). I’m not sure what roving yet, but I promise it’ll be nice and it won’t be Alpaca (sorry, allergic).

Oh, and RR knows about the contest so if I buy something, he’ll make sure I tell you all! ;o)

Let me know if this is too confusing ;o) Good luck and Happy New Year!