Tuesday, May 19, 2009

W is for Will

I'm likin' the Ravelry. I know some people have had serious problems with it but I tend to stay away from most of the groups I'm in and thus am able to avoid quite a bit of drama. I do participate in a few - I think 3 or 4 of the 40+ where I'm a member. I mostly join the groups as a way to show the things I'm interested in. I never read the weekly newsletter the Rav staff post.

A friend told me that this newsletter has an obituary column. I looked at it. Once. It told of a young woman losing her fight with cancer. That was enough for me. It was so depressing.

HOWEVER.....

That didn't stop me from acting like a greedy, callow, shameless wool pig and taking a peak at her Ravelry stash page.

I know.

I suck.

but I couldn't help wondering what would happen to her yarn! It was some pretty good stuff, too.
I know.

I suck.

Then it occurred to me that Dave would have no idea the value/worth of my yarn should something happen to me. Whether I went quick and unexpected (I avoid stepping in front of buses whenever possible but I usually have my head in the clouds and am not prone to paying attention) or slow and terrible for everyone (I'm hoping for the bus to show up), he would have no clue as to the worth of those 10 HUGE plastic bins in the basement. This is mostly because I keep him in the dark as to my addiction and it's costs (Hi, my name is Ruth and I'm a knitter.... hi Ruth).

So.

I propose we all make yarn wills. Now. I'm even going to make it a contest. Seems I let my 2 year blogiversary go by without so much as a 'by your leave' and I'll remedy that here. I'm even making it two constests!

Contest The First...
I want us all to make Yarn Wills. I want us to do it now and spread the word to all knitters. I suggested to the Rav staff to have another section on our Rav pages to make this easy. Maybe while filling out our stash info, there'd be another box to put in a value per skein should something happen to us. It would be a secret and would only be made available to public eyes should our names ever hit the obituary section (that way vultures like me wouldn't be hitting us up to sell our stuff when we're still breathing, y'know?). They filed it in the suggestion box and I never heard anymore about it.

So here's the contest. Make a Yarn Will. It doesn't even need to be all that specific - who gets first dibs, what to sell your remaining stuff for and what goes to charity. Also, you might want to either make it a special box on the sidebar of your blog or print a hard copy and keep it with the rest of your important papers so people know about it. Come back here and link to your Yarn Will (in the comments).

Spread the word - I think if anyone out there has more then 10 balls of yarn in their possession, they should have a Yarn Will. If anyone links their Yarn Will here (in the comments) and says they were sent by you, you'll get another entry. For this contest you don't have to be on Rav or even have a blog! If you don't have a blog, then type it out and email me a copy (email is under my pic) - just don't forget to make a hard copy for yourself and put it in a fireproof box with the rest of your important papers. I've also started a Rav group about this. I think it's very important and it would help out our families when they'll need some help dealing with our S.A.B.L.E.'s. when our S.A.B.L.E.'s actually outlive us.

Contest the Second...
We need a button! If you make a button for blogs and/or a banner for the Ravelry group (it's here), email it to me (addy is under my picture). Please put Contest in the subject line of the email so I don't accidentally lose it to junk mail. Donna is co-moderating with me in the Ravelry group so we'll be the judges.


The prize? Yarn! Of course! I have a lovely skein of sock yarn I'm going to let go of - I haven't decided which one but I will likely take a color suggestion from the winner. Also a Stitch Saver or two (also, of course!). I'll see how many entries I get. If it's over 50, I'll pull another skein or two of something from the mountain.

I know it's weird to contemplate one's own death (and weirder yet, to plan for it) so I'll go first....

First and foremost, this will takes precedent over any previous yarn wills I may have scrawled out either here on the blog or in a notebook somewhere!

Lisa Litton (skirtfiend on Rav) gets first dibs on my yarn. She is the one who taught me to knit! Then Rachel and Donna get a crack at it. Hopefully between those two and their organizing skills, they can set up a good sale for the rest of it!

Here's some guidelines to pricing....
Sock Bin - $20/skein ($10 for small skeins)
The Good Stuff Bin - $8/skein
Cotton Bin - $5/skein ($10/skein for anything over 200 yards)
Wool Bin - $6/skein ($10/skein for anything over 300 yards)
Novelty Bin - $1/skein
Acrylic Bin - $2/skein
Gift Knitting Bin - $7/skein
Kitchen Cotton Bin - $1/skein
Laceweight Bin - $10/skein
WIP Bin - That's a tough one.... I'll let them sort it out whether to frog and sell or donate.
Books - $10 each
Magazines - $3 each
Needles - if any get past the first dibs girls - $10 each for addi's, $5 each for any bamboo, the sets will go to the dibs girls

Whatever doesn't sell, donate!

OK! See how easy that was? Now it's your turn....

Contest deadline - 4th of July should give us plenty of time, right?

Hoping to outlive the S.A.B.L.E., Ruth!

P.S. For newbies, S.A.B.L.E. stands for Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

A yarn will. A FANTASTIC idea! My DH wouldn't know where to start when it came to divvying up my yarn. Some friends deserve the really good stuff, but some relatives deserve none! --Jill (Ravelry name: VAmom)

Anonymous said...

As good an idea as this is -- and it IS a good idea -- what I really need is a car parts and model train will from my husband. Must get on that.

Yarn will to follow.

pigbook1 said...

oh my poor husband would have no idea, and knowing him he would just leave it where it is until his next girlfriend came along and went, so.... you think we can get rid of this? Not that he had any emotional attachment he just doesn't clear out. He isn't a packrat (like me) so he never needs to, it just wouldn't cross his mind. Will time it is!

Yarnhog said...

Too funny! But what a great idea!

I don't think I want my husband to know what my yarn is worth even after I die. I think I'll just leave the yarn to some of my favorite knitters and avoid the whole ugly scene! Post to follow...

bitsy8 said...

I'm sure my DH would give my yarn and all that goes with it to my knitting BFF. We go to knit groups and events together. She knows where I would want to go.

Lynn said...

I'm a step ahead of you. I have friends who I meet with once a month and we have already decided that if anything should happen to us, it would be up to the remaining ones to get the stash. Since we all love to do other things other than knit, like cross stitch and quilting/sewing, it would all be collected and divvied up among them. I don't add a monetary value since they know the worth, what should stay and what should go.

Sharon Rose said...

My husband has very specific instructions: I have 4 serious forever friends who are also knitters. He knows they get dibs on my stash. The local ones will probably get first choice. *laugh* And since I have a small stash, and only high quality stuff, there won't be anything left for Goodwill. Great contest! I hope I win, I could sure use a stitch saver. :)

Turtle said...

love this idea. I think my hard copy should be sealed with that special wax seal to be sure hubby does not open it prematurely and him have the heart attack!

Don't you just love the mists of avalon? I have read it at least twice.

Lulu said...

I'm lucky, my daughter loves knitting too and will definitely grab my stash - probably before my body has gone cold!!
I just wanted to say that I LOVE the way you write - so clever and so funny ... definitely gonna fav your blog!
lotsa love, lulu

Mary Lou said...

Great idea. Funny, too. I have a living yarn will, where I have instructed my husband that should something happen to me he must give all my yarn to my knitting buds and they can have a party and divvy it up among themselves, being careful not to spill any red wine on the goods.

Unknown said...

What a great idea!!! I have at a mortgage payment worth of yarn upstairs, and I would hate for it to just go to good will if something happened to me.

MarieT said...

I've put my Yarn Will in my blog. Someday I'll write a real will, I will, I will.

Unknown said...

Great idea! I'll have to work on this one.

Heide said...

My three daughters are all able to knit (one of them even enjoys it). And the youngest spins. I've always just assumed that they would inherit my stash. Perhaps that's naivity on my part to assume that they'd want it. Now I want to knit faster and use it up!

Unknown said...

The only person who I am able to share my love for yarn crafting is my mother. In the event of my demise my yarn will go to my mother. And i know she would be a happy recipent.

Turtle said...

lol, ok i tried seriosuly. But I had just redone the room (moved craft room upstairs remaking the guest room to my new space) and had everything nicely sorted and put away...and could not bring myself to mess it up to list my will, lol. I'm bad i know!! Plus then i would see what i actually do have and not feel entitled to buy anything new!

Lisa said...

Hey, Ruth. I'm embarassed to let you know I just now(June 22) read your wonderful blog and discovered my great good fortune to be the first beneficiary of your yarn stash will. Do I need to worry if you die suddenly of mysterious causes that I will be suspected of doing you in? Your affection for me and the gift of learning to knit is heartwarming. I hope you are doing well as we haven't talked in awhile. Love, Lisa