So, what did I do on this adventure to the yarn store? I balled yarn. I had picked up some lovely brown Cascade 220 to make longies. The color is just the shade of Spanish moss, walnut heather. It reminds me of that one trip I took with Girl Scouts to Savannah Georgia years ago, and that dreaded shower with the palmetto bug, ick! But I digress... I did my little part to support the yarn store, got something I needed to make something I need, and managed to make use of my time productively. Not only did I ball up those two skeins for longies, but I also balled up all eight skeins of the yarn from the Knit Picks Seasons Shaw for fall and winter. I'm sure I'll write much more on that shawl later. It's a lot of firsts for me, so I'm sure it's going to be interesting to say the least! I just hope there's not too much foul language and cursing when I write about it! Ah! The joys of knitting...
One would think I'd enjoy balling yarn. Standing there, turning the crank on the ball winder is relaxing, almost meditative. Turning it round and round endlessly while chatting with those in the yarn store is a delightful experience. Might I also mention that I love their ball winder? When I've got $200 to drop on something for knitting, I might just buy one for myself. I turns so smoothly and is such a joy to use! The balls turn out so wonderful. It's like they were wound by heaven itself! Okay, I suppose they're more cakes than balls, but that's not the point! This ball winder is perhaps the best thing I've ever used, and I just need to have one of my own... It's calling to me... Think I like the ball winder a bit?
Today the first to skeins of yarn wound up pretty quick. I love winding Cascade 22o because it's such a speedy wind. I never realized quite how much that made a difference. The yarn ends up in this big, puffy, satisfying ball that I just want to cuddle with. It's got the perfect squishiness! I adore it! The beautiful walnut color is everything I wanted today. It just made me happy. It always does. Besides, it was a good excuse to use that ball winder! In truth, I just wanted to get it all set for knitting. I know myself. I'll have the longies I'm working on done in a matter of days. I need to have another set, waiting in the wings, so to speak, otherwise I'll lose my travel project entirely! Other people bring socks as a travel project, I guess I bring longies!
The yarn for the shawl was a different consideration. I looked at the yarn before I left for the yarn shop thinking, "Today is a good day to ball up that yarn. I should at least do the first color or two. I want to be able to get it started. If I don't, I'll still be working on it by Christmas!" I don't think I realized quite what I was getting myself into. Those skeins look small, but I assure you, they're not! What I didn't realize then (and should have realized if I'd used that thing on top of my shoulders) was that each of those skeins is 440 yards of yarn. There are eight skeins of it! That's 3,520 yards of yarn wound on that ball winder today! And that's just one project's worth of yarn! Then add the Cascade 220 and we're talking 3,960 yards of yarn! Now that will certainly add to the mileage I'm recording for my path to Boston! That's a lot of yarn!
The idea was to get the first two done so that I could have something to start the shawl. Once those were done, I started thinking about how many rows they were, and how quickly those rows work up when you're still at the center of the shawl. Those are the shortest of the rows. That's not so bad, right? If I wanted to keep busy, maybe I should do the next color. I started thinking about it, and if I was going to do three, then I might as well do four. I'd have half of it ready, that way I'd be okay even if I couldn't get to the yarn shop the next week like I planned. I wanted to be prepared! Well, if I was doing half, I might as well just do it all, right? After all, I knit pretty quickly. It'll be done up in no time! (Obviously I'd forgotten the recently finished ordeal that was the never-ending Clapotis!)
I will admit, I didn't entirely mind spending all that time balling the yarn. It was relaxing and peaceful. The shop owner surprised me with knowing exactly how many skeins of yarn I wound when a customer mentioned looking for a ball winder. In truth, it didn't seem so bad. The swift frustrated me a bit because it just didn't seem to want to be working for me, but the rest of it, flawless! I seriously need to get me one of those ball winders! After all that yarn, my arm wasn't near as tired as I thought it would be. I could have probably done another ten balls, but if I did that I'd probably have enough yarn to last me until the apocalypse...or the end of my life, whichever comes first. I mean, I'm already prepared for WWIII. I've got my bottle cap collection and enough yarn to last me until I can start shearing radioactive sheep. Yup, I went there...cheesy game reference...
So...on that note...did I mention I love that ball winder?!?
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