Sometimes I think knitting is an exercise of moving from goof through disaster, interspersed with periods of calm, relaxing creation.
This weekend was not one of the calm periods.
Before I could start working on the knit along shawl, I needed to wind the skeins of yarn into balls. I haven't needed to use my yarn swift and ball winder in years -- I've been knitting with sewing thread, or with yarn that I purchased already in balls.
However, I have boys. Boys who can't resist fiddling with stuff they find, taking it apart, walking off with cool-looking pieces. Thus, I discovered that the wooden screw which holds the swift open was missing. I had to figure out how to make do with what I had on hand.
Hilarity did not ensue. Frustration did.
My first thought was to put a binder clip on the rod under the block which supports the arms. I couldn't find a large binder clip, but the medium-sized one barely fit around the rod. I put the skein around the swift, started winding the ball and... the binder clip was under just a little too much pressure and popped off, flying across the room (I still haven't found it). Of course when the swift collapsed the skein fell off and tangled, never to be pristine again. So I straightened it out as best I could, and I ended up using the little white clip you can see in the photo to hold up the swift -- also barely adequate, but at least it held.
Plus that I really don't have good table tops with nice deep, square edges upon which to clamp the swift, and the ball winder, at angles and distances which make for easy use. The swift was pretty stable on my sewing machine table (barely clearing the sewing machine, but it made it); the ball winder had to be attached to the arm of a the futon-couch we have in the room. But, as I wound the ball, the winder would jiggle loose as the arm wasn't quite deep enough or square enough to allow a secure clamp.
I ended up winding with my left hand, holding the ball winder steady with my right hand, and having to stop every minute or so to straighten out the skein of yarn.
But, the mission was finally accomplished.
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