Now, a lot of people understand retail therapy as therapy that is accomplished by spending money.

While I enjoy spending time looking at and buying yarn, I know it's not always in my best interests to do so. (Well, the buying part at least. I feel that looking at yarn is only helping me become a more informed consumer.)

This is an important issue. So many knitters I know either in "real life" or in the blog world have problems controlling their spending and the resulting stash. So many of us have out-of-control debt, and spending on yarn is just a fraction of that debt.

I am proud to say that I have eliminated my own credit card debt. It feels really good, and I don't miss those payments every month.

But I do have a lot of yarn, nonetheless. I have 4 large-ish boxes that are pretty much stuffed with yarn. I love "window shopping" online all the time, but in order to overcome that URGE to bring it home, I have resorted to a tricking myself with a special box of my most special yarns. I call it my Yarn Store.

There's a stash of lace-weight mohair in the top left, some Rowan Silk Wool in the top right, some Noro Silk Garden. My "store" also has a skein of Sea Silk, bamboo laceweight, hand-dyed sock yarns, and even a little handspun I got from a woman in my old knitting group, Ellen. There's nothing all that rare or terribly valuable, but it's still a nice place to visit.