Tue 8 Jan 2008
Grumblesnort
Posted by Sea Anemone under Blabby Blabby
A while back, I think in October, I bought some silk thread from Blue Moon.
It’s quite a pretty color called Stormy Weather.
(Note to self: Self, avoid yarn that is named after a type of weather that can be nasty.)
So last night, I decided that I wanted to wind it. You know, to get it ready for February when I’m allowed to start new projects. (I know, I have been seen cheating. Oops.)
So I set everything up and I’m winding, winding, winding (these are 1200+ yard skeins folks) and I keep encountering knots. Not the type of knot that means that the yarn broke and was retied, but the type that you get when the yarn tries to eat itself and then all of a sudden you can’t get the knot out because it’s so tight in there that you’ll break the yarn should you try.
Frustrating much?
So I’m ignoring these and picking out the big ones with loops all over the place that are still fixable. Somewhere in there, a huge loopy knot slid by me and got wound in and in another spot a couple of big loops worked their way to the surface and half way through the skein I think to myself, “This is ridiculous.”
So I very carefully remove the ball of yarn that I’ve already wound and set it up to reball it on the all winder and move a little slower so that I can try to prevent the knots and before I know it, the yarn has barfed.
The yarn yakked all over the side of the table and down onto the floor.
I attempted to untangle this. It wasn’t worth the headache.
(I have to give my Bug-man credit. That one picture was the closest he got to the yarn the ENTIRE time I was struggling with the knot.
He truly is a wonderful cat and even better knitting companion. Never messes with the yarn. Not even when it’s rolling around the floor. He will stare at it disconcertingly though. Like he wants to.)
I have cut the knot out and made a wee tiny knot in the yarn on purpose to rejoin the ends and will just ignore the knot when I knit it. And that will have to do.
In the mean time, I still have half a skein of yarn to wind and the ball on the ball winder to retame.
Suggestions? How do you wind your silk lace yarn?
January 8th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Silk yarn (the shiny kind), laceweight or otherwise, is ALWAYS best wound by hand. Use a swift–that’s okay–but wind by hand. Yes even 1,200+ yards of it.
I’m sure you will now believe me when I say, winding by hand is a pain, but it’s much less painful than what will happen if something goes wrong.
January 8th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
ugh. i can’t afford anything silk..so i don’t know. But i would assume have it wound where i bought it. But even then that’s not a good answer.
so my answer to you. loads of alcohol.
bottoms up!
January 8th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Additionally, Amy Singer strongly recommends against a center-pull ball for slippery yarns in No Sheep, for this very reason. I’m inclined to agree, and those lovely round balls still unwind beautifully for me…
…and yeah, hand-winding 1200 yards is gonna suck…but I’m great at a nice round ball, so let me know if you want help. I’m also a champ at fixing tight little knots.
January 9th, 2008 at 10:15 am
I have to agree…Although it is a b*tch to do, handwinding silk saves headaches!
January 13th, 2008 at 11:02 am
Ooh, I’ve never had to wind slippery silk, but it looks so pretty I’m sure it’s worth the time it takes to hand-wind!
January 16th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Oh my God. What a nightmare! I’m so sorry to see all that tangled yarn. I can’t imagine how frustrating that must be.
I’ve only wound silk a couple of times and haven’t had any problems. My only advice would be to wind very slowly. I hope the rest of the winding goes smoothly, whatever you decide to do.
January 21st, 2008 at 11:09 am
Good luck! That happened to me with some silk yarn that was a gift and is made up of 3 different types of thread. It’s such a mess and is hanging over the side of the couch as we speak and I refuse to do anything to it, but it just frustrates me to look at it.
January 22nd, 2008 at 8:50 am
Onward thru the FOG…