Yarn Ball

It is so silly, but I am inordinately proud of this little ball of yarn!

I was knitting a pair of socks for my hubby, and it wasn't going all that well. For one thing, I was trying a toe-up sock for the first time (which really wasn't that hard, until I got to the heel) and the heel turned out kind of lousy. I didn't like the wrapping method the book I was using suggested, so if I decide to do a toe-up sock again I'll have to do some research and find a better way. For another thing, I was doing a ribbing pattern, and it was sucking up the yarn like there was no tomorrow. I have another ball of yarn, but I wouldn't have had enough to make two socks that had more than a couple inches of cuff on them. Definitely not something the husband would want to wear. So I ripped back the sock and wound up the yarn.

Here's where the ball of yarn comes in: I have always just wound yarn into balls that you pull from the outside. It's easy enough, you just wind the yarn around your fingers for a bit, then keep going. The problem is that when you're working with the yarn, the ball rolls away from you! This time I tried something I have wanted to do for awhile, a center-pull ball of yarn. It's stupid, I know. I'm sure there are many, many craftspeople out there who have done this all their lives. And truly, now that I've done it, it truly is easy.

I used my trusty Readers Digest Complete Guide to Needlework for the directions, and it was as easy as pie! It turned out so well that it even has a flat bottom, so it sits just right, and the yarn comes right out the top middle! I just love it.

So there. I am easily pleased and amused. This little center-pull ball of yarn cracks me up. I'm going to be a bit sad when it becomes a sock. :-)