Toys!

People always talk about how boys never stop playing with toys – men’s toys are just more expensive. I feel like the same is probably true for me, and maybe most crafters. Thinking about the “things” I use to have fun, I can do them cheap but they’re a lot more fun when I get the good stuff. I get by fine in my tiny apartment kitchen, but I’d have a lot more fun in a big country kitchen I could modify to my liking.

Because seriously, it’s pretty much impossible to make something this small look uncluttered and productive.

My little container garden is nice, but a big, proper kitchen garden in my big back yard would be fantastic. Running has the potential to be one of the cheapest, simplest pastimes in existence, but even running is better when I have quality shoes and a treadmill to run on when the weather is lousy. The various fiber arts I do are probably the worst offenders of all. Moderately soft yarn from a big chain store is still fun, but cashmere and silk are an experience. I mean, look at the package that came in the mail for me today:

Admittedly, touching this piece of heaven would make it clearer.

Okay, a photo does not do it justice; black and grey are not terribly exciting colors. But merino, silk, and alpaca. I practically drooled when I took it out of the box. Alas, Carnaby is not quite done,

Soooo close…and yet so far.

so I’m trying to hold out on actually doing anything with my new yarn, but I can’t seem to help taking breaks to fondle it occasionally. Yesterday I spent the whole day helping an aunt move house and tomorrow I’ll spend most of the day in the car with occasional breaks for obnoxious paperwork, so I’m going through serious fiber withdrawal. If only I could come up with a “big girl” toy to entertain me when I’m sitting in traffic.