My Oversized, Unused Paper Weight #Blogdare

My life is just short of chaotic...

I have two toddlers, diapers to change, a cat that has me on constant hair-ball patrol and a daily life that constantly surprises me. I try to organize our home and cut down on clutter, but I am fighting a losing battle.

Add to all this my love of crafting and creative pursuits. There are several items in my "office" (...read, big piles of stuff I haven't sorted yet) that haven't been used yet, but I refuse to get rid of.

One of those would be my spinning wheel. I bought this after moving back to the states. I love to knit and I adore yarn so this seemed like a fun skill to learn.

I have never used it...

It really is sad. I have books and a video and a desire. But, with little kids most projects either need to be tackled when they are out of the house or sleeping.

Lately, neither of those has been happening.

At midnight I just can't concentrate on learning. I am usually blogging or catching up on my house for the day. Yes, I still want to spin. I am hoping once my kids are in school I will have more time for things like this.

I love the feel of roving wool and have already imagined a dozen or two projects to accomplish. My husband wants finger-less gloves out of raw wool and I have always wanted a nice warm shawl.

But for now... this over sized paper weight serves no purpose other than to collect dust!

Another unused and purpose-less item in my craft room/office is my umbrella swift.

This was courtesy of ebay and is for unrolling a purchased skein of yarn and then rolling it into a usable ball of yarn for projects. I was so excited to get this!

...and yeah, yet again this one has never been used. The funny part is I never "got" how to use it. Finally dawned on me the other week as I looked through my beloved Knit Pics catalog that I was missing a crucial piece.

I don't have a ball winder!

Imagine sitting there trying to wind a whole skein back into a ball by hand. Totally doable, but I would rather be baking bread, or something.

I truly miss my crafting time. I have made this year my year to get back to it. But until then, these items sit as expensive and worthless space-takers. So, what do you have sitting around your house that fits this bill? ...and I am hoping folks don't say their spouse...