Making mistakes so you don't have to...

So, I was surfing the Internet the other day just looking at yarn p*rn and I came across a lovely yarn from artfibers. It was shiny and shimmery and since --as my mother informs me-- I am part crow and part gypsy, I had to have it. Even better, it was on a cone so that added to the intrigue (not sure why). More serendipitous was the fact that I had just read the Yarn Harlot's adventure in washing cone yarn so I was super confident that I could do the same with no problem....but first, a bit of family history. One of the benefits of an independent upbringing is that since no one ever told me I couldn't do anything, I never stop to think that I can't. Specifically, not having the proper equipment has never, ever slowed me down. This goes for cooking, knitting and interpersonal relationships. Now, I told you that so I could tell you this: Since I didn't have a niddy-noddy to wind my yarn on, I went on a treasure hunt. I love these because they force you to take a new look at your stuff...suddenly, a chair is a possible yarn-winder-ontoer, so are the kids toy chairs, select picture frames, much of the standing furniture and some bathroom appliances...but I finally settled on a lap desk because - hey, it has a handle!First I checked to see if the yardage/weight of the yarn wasn't too much for my ball winder and from poking around in the stash I surmised that I could indeed get the whole cone wound afterward.The next step then is winding the yarn onto the mocky-niddy-noddy. Newbie Mistake #1: make sure you remember where your tail is so that you can tie it to the other end.





I reviewed the results of my online Google search for 'wash cone yarn', and decided that weaving in some waste yarn over/under style is the way to go. I picked several spots and tied them in a knot, not too tight and not too loose...I did it eight times, probably a little bit of over kill but I'm not taking any chances. Newbie Mistake #2: don't wind the yarn on your mocky so tight that you have to grunt to get the yarn off, putting yourself in danger of twisting everything up...

Next step, dishes. Hee hee, if you want clean yarn you should have a clean sink. Now, I don't know about you guys but if I want to clean the sink I have to get the dirty dishes out of it and that means that the clean dishes that are in the dishwasher gotta come out (the ones I haven't gotten around to using yet-cuz that's how I unload a dishwasher). So, once the dishes are done it's time for the fun stuff :)

I should tell you that I'm typing while I'm doing all this, not after, so I just had to take a huge breath and put my beautiful yarn in the sink. Right away I see that the over/under thing is a MUST...it's awfully loose and swimmy in there. I used regular detergent and I'm just pressing the yarn down into the sink-no swishing or stirring but as I'm doing this I have a terrible thought: What if this is the only cone yarn that you don't wash and I'm the only person that doesn't know that and I'll ruin my yarn for no good reason...if this is true, please don't tell me :)...the water is getting a little cloudy :0. Just for the record this yarn isn't grey...it's a very pretty vaguely-purple and silvery-blue and light platinum--which is funny because when I saw it online I thought it was tan and purple...pleasant surprise though!

Newbie Mistake #3: get your yarn out of the way before you take the plug out so it doesn't get sucked down into the dirty drain (NO, I didn't wash the drain...). Now we're rinsing...I'm just using tap water temperature water, by the way. I rinsed twice, just to be sure and then let the faucet water splat into the sink water so I could see if there were bubbles (bubbles all gone=no more soap, see?). I took it out being super careful not to twist things up and then wrapped it in a towel (again thankful of the over/under thing because you can clearly see how the skein should lay to stay untangled). Now this is the part where I say something peaceful about laying the skein lovingly in the shade outside so that it can commune with nature while it's regaining it's natural loft...but no, I'd be the only person in captivity that really doesn't care for the dusty, slightly choke-y smell of something dried outside, not to mention the cardboard-hard texture you end up with so, it's languishing indoors communing with the cupboard and the wine glasses, and it'll be fluffed several times so that it doesn't dry into crunchy straw...sue me. And, hey...the dishes are clean :)