Post title TBA

I have begun the swatch for the Mystery Shawl 3 knitalong. I'm ridiculously excited about ti all. I have yet to complete a large lace project, and I feel like the 'game' of this one will carry me through to the end. I really want a fancy knitted shawl to show off to every one. I can imagine the conversation...
Impressed Person: Wow, what a gorgeous wrap!
Me: Yeah, I knitted it.
IP: By hand?!?
Me: Yep. With yarn, a pair of sticks and some perseverance**
IP: Wow! You are so talented! I wish I could be as fabulous as you!


But enough about my crazy inner dialogue, back to the yarn and sticks. I'm using Knitpicks Bare merino laceweight. I wound the first hank yesterday. I was a little scared of winding 880 yards of lace yarn by hand, without the aid of a swift or ballwinder. As far as I could tell from things I had read on the internet, it is impossible to wind that much yarn by hand. Time and time again I had read that a swift is a must for any yarn winding, and a ballwinder is a must for laceweight. To those people, I say pbbbtttptptp.

I've come to realize that I'm a Luddite. (Not about my computer, mind you. They can pry my keyboard from my cold dead hands.) But about fiber arts? I eschew the technology. And I'm a miser. So I do things the old fashioned way most of the time. There's just no fun for me if I don't do it the hard way.

Again, I digress. My coffee is getting cold and I need to eat breakfast. Back to the specifics: I used the back of my office chair in lieu of a swift, A 3/4" cylindrical wooden block from my kids' toy drawer in lieu of a nostepinne, and wound the giant ball while watching Barbie Fairytopia: the Magic of the Rainbow with my girl. Totally do-able. I'll probably invest in a swift someday, and the wooden block didn't feel great in my hand. Those beautiful hand-turned nostepinnes (also spelled nøstepinde or nystepinne) are calling my name. The plastic ball winders just lack flair.



** Sorry for completely ignoring the pattern designer in this imaginary conversation that will never happen. I promise that will I give proper credit in any and all actual convos.