Made another Pain d'Epi and my shape is getting better!
And it was just as delicious as the first try. Crunch, crunch, mmm, mmm...
Meanwhile, in the knitting department, I finally broke down and bought a yarn swift. Say what?! A yarn swift.
Several years ago now, I bought some expensive, beautiful hand-dyed yarn to use in knitting socks. I bought three colors and used two right away. Trouble was, they were hanks, not prewound skeins that are easy to use. These are looped in a large circle and have to be wound to be usable. I did the first one by myself, draping the circle over my knees and rolling, rolling, rolling. It took forever, compounded by the fact that I apparently started with the wrong end and had to do some serious detangling throughout the process. When it came time to use the second hank, I conned Dan into holding the yarn over his outstretched hands as I wound. It also took forever and poor Dan's arms almost fell off in the process.
Needless to say, the third hank became buried at the bottom of my yarn basket. I finally purchased a yarn winder last year, but to be effective, a yarn swift is also needed. I found a simple pattern for one and asked Dan to make me one, but with all his other work, it got buried just like the yarn. Last week, spurred by a sale email from JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts, I took the plunge and ordered one. It came yesterday afternoon and I, surprisingly, put it to work soon after. (I was afraid if I waited, it would turn into a buffalo.) Once again I was thankful for the internet because not a speck of instruction came with my new toy. Cue YouTube.
So, here is my yarn winding in process. The swift is the wooden umbrella-like contraption on the left.
The swift spins as the yarn is wound on the ball winder. Everything worked as advertised and in short order, my yarn was wound into a ball that pulls easily from the center. No arms were worn out in the process. ♥
Good job with the bread!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that great? Now you have another yarn ready to use. Do you think the swift will see regular service?
There are beautiful yarns out there, but not in my community. I found a pattern for a beautiful "teddy bear" baby afghan online and couldn't resist, but the yarn the designer used was an expensive cotton. I opted to use Caron, an inexpensive 4-ply acrylic available locally, but then I discovered cotton yarn on sale on the internet. I'm already thinking I'd love to try this pattern in a cotton yarn.
I bought my yarn over the internet from the Loopy Ewe in Colorado and now that I have all the gadgets to wind with, I'm sure I'll order more. The colors and the quality of the yarn are incredible. However, as mentioned in the post, it *is* expensive, so I won't use it all the time.
DeleteDid you order the cotton yarn? I buy the Caron yarn, too, and like it for quick knitting or for gifts where I'm not sure the recipient would like to use something that involves special care when it comes time for washing.
It's great to work with quality yarn and to experience different yarns.
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't order the cotton yarn but might watch for future sales -- and yummy colors. I'm making the "teddy bear" afghan for a six-year-old and her teddy bear, and as you point out, sometimes the Caron yarn just fits the bill.