I remember being asked at one point if - discounting the customization (it is exactly the color I want) and the sentiment (I made this) - making my own jewelry was actually cheaper. And my answer was no. I mean eventually. But much as a small business doesn't make money at first because of all the outlay, if you fact in the cost of tools, the cost of supplies, and the time I spend doing it, making my own jewelry is not cheaper than say going to Claire's or shopping the department stores sales. I do it because it's fun. Now certainly sometime it is cheaper, depending on whether I use cultured pearls or glass pearls, swarovski crystal or glass, sterling silver or nickel. But in most cases, no. But the enjoyment I get out of creating these things is what keeps me doing it.
I am reminding myself of all this because I spent what might - to the uninitiated - seem like an unreasonable amount of money on yarn this weekend. This yarn is for a rug (the log cabin rug - from Mason-Dixon Knitting which I now own). I spent an amount that is probably more than I would pay for a rug of the size this will end up being. But it will be exactly the size I want it be, exactly the colors I have selected, and I get the fun of knitting it. (I'm sure it will be fun and not stressful in the least.) And okay, it means my kitchen or bathroom (wherever this ends up going) will be rugless a while longer because I have to knit this, but when it's done I will be happy. And can you really put a price on that?
Rants About New (and old) Things
