Well, maybe I’m not running yet but I’m feeling better and I didn’t take a nap today so that’s good. I honestly slept for about 4 days straight. Thanks for all your good wishes.
One of my favorite knitting yarns is the Fleece Artist Merino and it comes in a big hank and I have to make it into a ball. The first time, I made a huge mess and spent probably 3 hours getting it all untangled. The second time, which was last week when I can’t be held responsible for my actions, I decided to ball a second hank. I thought I came up with a plan but it ended up being a bigger mess and I spent about 5 hours getting it all untangled. If I hadn’t liked the colors so much and if it wasn’t so darned expensive, I would probably have thrown the whole wad in the trash.
There has to be a better way. I asked questions on the sock knitting group and got a few suggestions .. enough that I had a light bulb moment. All of my thread racks are empty so I hung the yarn up on there and carefully unwound it, forming a ball as I did it. I managed to get 4 hanks done in about one hour! Mission accomplished!
These are some hand dyed wool yarns from Lisa Souza. I haven’t actually knitted any socks from her yarn yet but I bought 5 or 6 different colors and it’s beautiful. Can’t wait to get that purple and lime green knitted!
Judy L.
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I’ve been wondering if my next investment is a yarn swift for just this very reason. Glad you’re feeling better.
So glad you are feeling better! Makes me think of how I used to unwind embroidery thread skeins so I coult cut it into useable lengths. Easy when a spare pair of hands were around – which was hardly never. I finally developed a system of putting the end of the thread on the table with something to wait it down. Then I walked away from the table and back in a big loop. Put the other end under the weight, found the center and folded it again, etc. Then cut it into segments about 24″ in length which I braided together. If a spare finger wasn’t available for me to use as a loop holder while I braided I took off my shoes and used my big toe!
So glad you are back up and around again. Love your new sock yarn. Keep feeling better! We missed you.
Glad that you are almost well, hope you are completely recovered quickly!
Oh – this photo reminds me of how I USED to prepare to weave something on my beautiful floor loom (pre-baby). One of these years I will get back to that. But – this is the exact method that you use for weaving, and sometimes you use very fine threads – it works!
Cheers!
Evelyn
I put my hanks around my desk chair (which turns) and roll it by hand as the chair twirls!
I have a lovely hat pattern for just that type of yarn if you are interested. It was a free pattern in a Creative Knitting magazine.
I remember sitting (seemingly for hours) with my hands outstretched with a skein while my mother wound balls of yarn… now I sit on the sofa with my legs on a table, knees bent, and position the skein around my knees!
Husbands are good for this task. Sometimes I just hang the hank from my arm and knit away. You have to be careful when you put it down to hang it from something so it doesn’t get tangled. Perhaps one day I will break down and buy a yarn swift.
Glad you are up and about again…
have you tried the back of a straight back chair. When I was little my grandmother use to put a hank on the back of a straight back kitchen chair, sit me on another and put me to work rolling balls. The hank just turned on the chair back as I rolled & rolled. I don’t remember any tangles.