In the beginning of cave dwelling women spinning wool and hair from wooly mammoths and other hairy critters, they would wind the wool by hand. Jump to the current times and most yarn crafters use mechanical ball winders. I have one too. But for the life of me, I prefer the beauty of a hand wound ball. Luckily, I have a husband who is nice enough (and currently recovering from a full knee replacement and is captive..) by holding the big loop of a skein of yarn while I happily wind it into an attractive ball. I like to pull the yarn from the center, so I take a the beginning tail of yarn and hold it between my forefinger and thumb while I begin winding on the tip of my forefinger.
This fiber is right there at the top of the mountain of quality. 50% baby alpaca and 50% silk. Oh yes. Made by "Blue Sky Alpacas".
I am going to try a shawl pattern that is a favorite of my blog friend Meredith - the Elise Shawl. I have gotten SO many compliments on the 2 shawls I've made using the pattern "Ruby", I wear them into the grocery store and usually am stopped by at least one or two women who want to know if I made it and they tell me stories of their grandmother making things for them. I think my kids and grandkids will be able to tell those stories.
Yes, I'm taking a break from the boy blanket to start on this shawl. So sue me. :-) I took Dayle to the doctor's office yesterday and they removed his big bandage and all 25 of the staples in his knee. He's really enjoying having those gone! On the way to the doctor I sent all 3 of my giveaway packages in the mail! I'm off to meet my blog friend Gracie for lunch and then on to the pool for our hourlong swim workout. I hope you're having a good week and thanks for visiting!! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
I absolutely LOVE that yarn--the color is gorgeous (I adore red) and it sounds heavenly to touch! Looking forward to seeing the finished project!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Dayle is 'staple-less' now:)
Blessings,
Aimee
I was thinking the EXACT same thing this morning as I sat winding yarn into balls. It is just so lovely to see them coming together. I actually wrote it on my blog today :)
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it is so attractive to see them that way and always reminds me of cats playing with 'balls of yarn'. I am looking forward to seeing your balls being turned into something beautiful xx
Beautiful yarn! Enjoy making your shawl. Can't wait to see it. I went to Hobby Lobby to get some kind of cotton baby yarn to make the Japanese baby cape, but there was nothing except that Sugar & Cream crap in cotton. Hobby Lobby is SO BAD with their yarn now! I'm going to stop going there. They've really dropped the ball the last couple of years. JoAnn or Michaels has more to offer, or I'll just order online if I can wait for delivery. Glad to hear Dayle is making progress and got the staples out. Keep him busy winding yarn while you've got him captive. Ha-ha.
ReplyDeleteHi Teresa, I love that you wind the yarn yourself (I do too, I find it relaxing) But what I really love is that you do it so you can pull from the center! I will have to try that next time. Great and clever idea.
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear the staples are out and there is a little more freedom for Dayle, three cheers!
Enjoy your swim, xoRobin
I remember doing this with my grandma. This was in the late.60's! WoW I feel old! I was in the 9th grade when she passed away.
ReplyDeleteI wind by hand too, and I usually get in a complete mess because I don't have anyone to hold the skein. I think I shall train the boys to do it. I'd love to see your Ruby shawls, maybe you've shown them here before. I'm so glad that Dayle's had the staples out of his knee, I do hope he is healing well. Hope you had a good lunch and swim, you're very healthy I think!
ReplyDeleteI think one toned/color shawls are really stunning. Fireman bought me a swift and I cannot b believe how much we both love it. HE doesn't have to help me and he's thrilled about that. Im glad you two still WOUND up together
ReplyDeleteI love to wind by hand. I've only had a winder for a few months, and it's nice to have, but nothing beats a hand-wound ball. I'm happy for you working on something else if you feel like it. I'm doing that too. :)
ReplyDeleteLost my comment. I wind by hand helped by DH. He used to HD the skeins for hisum when he was little. Gorgeous colour. Glad Dayle doing well. Thanks for visiting me. I must photo the new cooker& pots and pans. Afraid not terribly interesting though :-) Hugs Anne x
ReplyDeleteThat is some very beautiful yarn. Alpaca and silk are magic words.... :)
ReplyDeleteMr. M has never been roped into helping me wind yarn - this is probably a good thing as it might cause friction between us. I can get pretty testy when the yarn doesn't cooperate!
Wishing Dayle a good recovery!
I too, love the color and feel of your red yarn, Teresa! I think you are smart to work on smaller faster projects while still putting more rows on your Boy Blanket from time to time. I am loving the rhythm of continental knitting on my Merino blanket, but even though it is faster than throwing my yarn around my needle, I need to work on some smaller projects as well..."variety is the spice of life :) " It is great that Dayle is starting to feel better and that he is willing to hold the skeins of yarn while you wind them into balls...much better than when I looped a skein of yarn between my two feet and tried to wind the ball of yarn :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad that Dayle has had his staples removed now. He must feel better!
ReplyDeleteLove your beautiful hand wound ball of yarn!!!!
XO Kris
That ball is a gorgeous red. Hope your lunch with Gracie and swim was wonderful.
ReplyDeleteGood news on Dayle and the staples ☺
Lovely wool Teresa, I am glad the staples are out..Dayle will feel so much more comfy now x
ReplyDeleteThat yarn is a lovely shade of red and I'm sure the shawl is going to be lovely. Great news on Dayle's recovery - I can imagine how relieved he is to have had the staples taken out :)
ReplyDeleteI have a ball wider and frankly never use it. I like to make my own ball of yarn the old fashioned way. I feel like I get to know the yarn better by making it into a ball, I find all the changes in the yarn, the breaks and so on. I am old school.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith
Good afternoon dear Teresa...I've just been catching up on all your news and how you met up with lovely Bloggy friends too (I recognised Taci immediately!)..it must have been so much fun!
ReplyDeleteDo you still have all the snow?...It looks beautiful although I'm sure it must be very cold too...definitely the time for shawl making :-)
How lucky you are that your lovely Dayle sits patiently while you wind your yarn...nobody complains here but I can tell they are all happy when the deed is done! I'm sure Dayle was very happy indeed to have those staples removed...x
Take care and keep warm,
Susan x
Beautiful yarn! But I must admit, I DO love my ball winder. ;-) No electric thing for me! I love the rhythm of doing it, and it still lets me pull from the center. Can't wait to see your shawl!
ReplyDeleteIs that the yarn you showed us at lunch Teresa? It IS gorgeous. I have a ball winder and I confess that I like it. I remember holding the skeins for my Grandma while she wound up pretty colors of yarn. I think that's what got me "hooked" so to speak on crochet. I would like to see Gracie with that yarn around her feet! :-). I'm sure Dayle is relieved to have those staples out. Does he do physical therapy now? Maybe he can swim with you and Gracie! Ha! Ha!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
Oh the yarn is so yummy!
ReplyDeleteSo glad Dayle is getting better. That is awesome news! :)
Wishing you a most lovely day sweet friend.
The color of the yarn is fantastic. I too would love to see your Ruby shawl. I don't recall ever seeing it. And there is a certain calmness that overcomes you when you are winding the yarn. So glad Dayle had the staples removed, that will feel much better.
ReplyDeleteI like to pull out yarn from a skein and put it in a ball. It seems to flow better. Sometimes I wind up pulling the wrong end out of the skein so I just do it that way alot of times. Not headed your way tomorrow because of the traffic mess due to the boulders falling on 1-84. Sigh! Was looking forward to the falls but another time will be better. Now have to decided what to do tomorrow. Oh.well.life.happens!!! :0-
ReplyDeleteI wind my yarn by hand too. I bought a yarn winder and haven't used it yet. I too pull the yarn from the center of the skein, man I sound just like a copy cat don't I? I'm afraid to say my hubby use to help me too, and he did. I miss that.
ReplyDelete(((HUGS))) Susanne :)
haha that did make me laugh "and is captive..." Oh dear, poor Dayle!
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up with blogging so realising I'm a bit behind, I hope he's doing much better now the staples have been out for a few days!