Rules of a yarn diet?

I’ve begun to compile a list of my stash in a little notebook that I can carry around with me – so if temptation strikes (a) I can take a look and hopefully scare myself out of purchasing and (b) if I do succumb, I can double check I’m not duplicating something I’ve already got (this applies particularly to the non-yarn part of my stash – I know many refer to needles as tools and discount them from the stash, but in reality I know I’m collecting far more than I need with my ‘might need that one day’ mindset!!). Hopefully the list will make it here eventually, but I’ve got a bit of work to do yet!

In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about ‘yarn diets’. My question is: can a yarn diet run along the same lines as a food diet, where some suggest the 80:20 rule – being good 80% of the time? And if so, how do you define that 80%?!

I’m off to Devon at the weekend for a visit to the folks and a friend’s wedding, and last time I was down there I noticed that a new yarn shop has opened in the town where my parents live. Quite amazingly it seems to stock something other than brightly coloured acrylics: as with many things, the trend for quality yarns is taking time to work its way down there. So, having promised to myself that I won’t buy any more stuff until the Knitting and Stitching show at Alexandra Palace, I find myself tempted – in the name of supporting local/small business, of course! I think the rules to follow here are: only if I absolutely love it, can’t buy it anywhere else (except the internet – which is never as good as being able to hold something in your hand) AND know exactly what I would like to make with it.

And no, I’ve never been much good at food diets, so why should a yarn diet be any different!