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.