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I have a secret obsession.  A secret collection that lurks in a secret binder in a secret bookshelf in a secret room in my apartment.  Okay, the secret bookshelf and secret room are exaggerations, but to my knowledge no one knows about the secret binder of which I speak.  Funny, since it's a thick 3" binder, bulging at the seams and exploding with multicolored snippets of wools, alpacas, silks and cashmeres.

My color card binder is something of a ... conversation piece, when and if it ever comes out in public.  I'm proud of my little collection of yarn samples from all over the world.  A collection like mine, though, I think is only necessary if you do the majority of your yarn shopping online (*cough* so much cheaper *cough*).  No but seriously, you should support your local yarn stores too. ;)

Having an accurate color representation at your fingertips will save you many moments of remorse and regret.  How many times have you excitedly ripped open the freshly delivered box from the postman only to smack yourself on the head and *swear* that this shade was much greener on your computer screen?  This has happened to me more times than I care to admit. 

By no means do I recommend binging unnecessarily on shadecards (do as I say, not as I do...), but it may be a smart idea to obtain a current shade card of the yarns you know you like to knit with.  Snag some samples of yarns that you like to use for your kids or your other loved ones too.  Run ideas by them with the colors on hand and everybody'll be much happer in the end!

And I'm 88% sure that my aforementioned advice is coming from a sincere place... rather than my growing guilt about my own collection.  I'll step off my soapbox now, thanks.