Lessons learned

Last week was a tough one. I do want to thank those of you who sent me an e-mail, or left a nice comment about my Tiger socks. I wore them to work on Friday, and they made me smile whenever I looked at them.

My medical procedure was completed, which was an accomplishment in and of itself. Without going into detail, let me just tell you that it was a test to get a baseline reading. They have been trying to complete the test since I turned 40. I am now 51. They finally got their baseline reading. And if I'm lucky, I won't even have to think about it again for another 5 years. And, though Melanie suggested I wear my Tiger socks when I went to have it done, I decided that I was going to save them for a better day - and what day is better than a Friday??

Anyway, the whole prep and the procedure itself really wore me out, so I didn't do much knitting at all this past week. I did decide what my next project would be, and it's a sleeveless sweater for summer, from Manos Cotton Stria. I bought the yarn 2 years ago (I think) and kept forgetting about it. So when I was organizing my stash, and came across it, I decided to definitely try and get it done to wear this year.

Which allowed me to use my new swift and ball winder (my friend April gave me a Rosie's gift certificate for my birthday, and I used it for a ball winder). I had no problem setting things up. And things started out fine, but then I ran into some problems. Once I finally got one hank wound into a center pull ball, I had learned:

1. It makes the most sense of the swift and winder are either on the same level, or close to it; or, perhaps if they are not, the swift should be the one that's slightly higher.

2. Ball winders, like nearly everything in the world, are made for right-handed people. Yes, you can use your left hand to wind, but it can be problematic.

3. You need to pay attention, so the yarn does not wind around the gears (I mess this up when I wind balls for customers at Rosie's sometimes, too).

4. Do not let Jetsam discover what you are doing. If by some mistake you forget this lesson, keep the door to the room where you are winding yarn, closed. Tight.

5. Some hanks of yarn set themselves up for winding more easily than others.

The good news is, that I not only learned valuable lessons, but I ended up with this:

Not bad for a newbie, huh? The yarn is actually not quite this bright, but you know me and the flash on the camera, etc. (I really need to do these things when Tim is around so I can ask him about it.) I am planning to knit a gauge swatch tonight or tomorrow evening, and hopefully I won't have to fiddle around with it too much before I can actually get started.


Other than that, today has been pretty quiet. I got some things done around here, and have nearly finished the laundry. Then I'll pay some bills, so I don't have to compose my next post in the dark ...

And after I have some dinner, I think I'll take a cue from Abigail and GK, and just take it easy. It is Sunday, after all!