I am the type of person who likes to just start knitting
right away as soon as I've committed to a project. I have little patience for things like swatching, and I grumble at the thought of yarn that is not already in a useable form when you purchase it. One of my best knitting investments was a ball winder and swift. Since it's called a "swift," I've always taken that literally. Unless it's a really delicate yarn prone to breakage or fuzzing, I like to really make that thing spin, whipping it around just as fast as it can go. It used to freak out our hamster when she was alive.
Then, I read
TechKnitter's post on the usefulness of ball winders. This gave me pause--literally. If you haven't already read it, go do so, and I'll wait. If you have, then you'll understand why I've decided to slow down when I"m winding my yarn now. I try to think of it as an important part of ensuring a good result, rather than a necessary stumbling block before I get to the "real" project.
I'm a slow winder for many of the same reasons she lists, but I also re-wind yarns that I've already wound once -- usually, the first cake is wound too tight, even when I'm cautious about winding slowly. I like to make sure that my cake is as loose and airy as possible so that if I have to set it aside for a while, it doesn't lose any of its "memory." And typically, I only wind one hank/skein yarn as I need it.
ReplyDeleteBut like Techknitter, I ALWAYS wind Noro (Kureyon and Silk Garden) again in order to catch any big surprises before I sit down to knit.
That's some lovely yarn on your swift and winder!