Toys!

Today I was going to write a treatise on the stupidity of our cat. I mean, my sock is progressing slowly and there really isn't much to report. But luckily for me (and possibly my reading audience...) my new toys came in today!

My Aunt and Nana gave me money for my birthday and I was to use it on my self. I did. I got myself a yarn swift and a ball winder. They were delivered today. I immediately started playing! It makes winding the large skeins SO much easier!!! That handpainted yarn on ebay that I order is always such a mess if I try to do it myself, and even with the swift I had some issues with it today, but I am NOT paying someone $3 per half pound to ball wind the yarn THEY dyed. I also think I won't be buying from her anymore. It's very pretty yarn. Her dyed chenilles are just beautiful. But the skeins are a mess, and I just don't want the hassle. The other yarns I did today did beautifully with no issues, and I just loved the little cakes it made!


Here is the swift and winder set up on my desk. I am winding one of the previously posted about cotton hand dyed skeins from Ebay.

Here are the wound skeins. The top two variegated are the Ebay cottons. The bottom left is Brown Sheep Prairie Silk in Green Back, and KnitPicks Shadow in Lost Lake.

And finally, because I am a dork, I couldn't find the center of my knitpicks sock yarn ball, and was knitting from the outside in. I hated it, the ball went everywhere. So I wound it. It is now taking up way less space as well as being a bit more stationary. I must say I like the way the stripes are working out on this. I don't knit on the sock constantly, so I don't have a whole lot of progress, I do however use it when I am playing World of Warcraft. When I am waiting on a boat, or riding a griffon, or being disconnected yet again because our Verizon DSL is crap, I get in a row, or just a section of row. It's starting to add up. I am still excited about the pattern and cannot wait to try on the first sock!

Off to Amazon to buy presents for my Aunt and Nana for Christmas. It's funny how holiday knitting stress is relieved when you elimante the gift knitting. Now if I could just get my gift sopaing done!