Persistence

After Socks One and Socks Two, I tried to start a third pair, out of Lion Brand Wool-Ease, but quickly discovered 1) I was tired of DPNs, and 2) I was tired of socks. Also, I could not get up much enthusiasm for a thick pair of socks I would not be able to wear until next fall.

A few days of plain vanilla knitting later, though, and I found myself thinking socks again. Maybe it's because I have been following the Yarn Harlot and her traveling sock, as she flits about the Midwest on a book tour. (And she has been through hell this past week - personally, I think "Jayme-the-wonder-publicist" is a sadist to schedule so many flights in so few days, especially involving multiple visits to O'Hare.)



Anyway, I pulled out a hank of Schaefer Yarn ("Hand Painted Luxury Fiber") I had purchased on sale. (When my daughter saw the price on the sale tag, she said "That's the sale price?" Yet she did not bat an eyelash when I plunked down $$$ for a hank of Louisa Harding "Sari Ribbon", two balls of Trendsetter Yarns "Super Kid Seta", and 6 balls of Rowan "Kidsilk Haze" - all for projects for her out of Glamour Knits.)



Anyway, for some reason, when I bought the Schaefer Yarn, they did not offer to wind it and I did not think to ask, so that was the first order of business. This also seemed like a good opportunity to attempt to wind a center-pull ball, as described in Knitting Tips & Trade Secrets Expanded. Since I live alone, there was not an extra pair of hands available to hold the yarn while I wound, and since most of my chairs are not designed to hold yarn for winding, and since the rocking chair was already holding the Sari Ribbon, I optimistically draped the hank over the edge of a cabinet.



Well. I learned almost immediately that wool yarn tends to cohere. As I unwound a round of yarn, the neighboring rounds of yarn also came off the hank, and then the hank fell to the floor, in not too big of a mess. I tried to straighten out the hank, and decided to simply carry on, leaving the yarn where it lay.



Again, each round of yarn I pulled off pulled off more yarn (I'm a slow learner), and soon the hank was more of a mess.



There wasn't much else to do but continue. The other end of the skein magically appeared, so then I could wind from either end, depending on which seemed most likely to produce results. (Neither end was better than the other; this was just magical thinking on my part.)



This endeavor started on Thursday eve. I unraveled and unsnarled Thursday evening, Friday evening, off and on Saturday, and again on Sunday (today). The work was surprisingly hypnotic, much like knitting itself. And much like knitting, I occassionally had to just put it down and walk away.



The closer I came to being finished, the harder is was to stop. Sort of like picking a scab.



And, finally, I prevailed. Now instead of one center-pull ball, I have two balls with no ends available. I could cut the yarn at this point, and use a ball for each sock. Or I could unwind one ball, and try again to create a center-pull ball. Or I could just sleep on it.



Next weekend, my SO and I are going to the Fiber Event in Greencastle. Fiber festivals are financially dangerous places for knitters to go, especially knitters who received a larger-than-expected bonus this year. But it's like going to Vegas: decide up front how much money you are willing to part with, then stick with that amount. After my experience with the Schaefer Yarn, one thing I will be looking to buy is a swifter.