Question for knitters

[danaeris]

I have some old yarn. It is not in a ball, nor is it just wound in a circle... It's sort of one of those ovoid shapes... I'm not sure what that shape is called, but I don't think it is a hank.

Anyway, does that need to be wound into a ball before I can start knitting with it, or can I go to town?

I have one more project I'm going to make from this book, and then I will be ready to move on to greater or more complicated things. woohoo, or something! I'm not sure what I'll make next, but I'm sure I'll come up with something interesting. I'm thinking of designing a knit ipod case eventually, but obviously not yet.

Anyone have any recommendations on books or websites for patterns/project ideas for a beginner/intermediate knitter?

Comments

[outcastspice.livejournal.com]

http://www.livejournal.com/community/punk_knitters/369810.html

yarn balls

[vsbooklady.livejournal.com]

You really want to wind it into a ball. Trust me on this. You can use the back of a chair, but it's most helpful to have another human to hold it. Of course, if you're near a yarn store, they probably have a swift you could use if you buy something or you're really nice.
I like www.knitty.com, and I design easy stuff too(hey, you know that, you've seen 'em). If you want something simple I might be able to write it up. Woot woot! Good luck! I'm glad you've found work!

[tshuma]

If it's pulled from the center, you should be fine. If not, it might get annoying as it moves with you pulling the yarn. I find keeping it in a mostly closed bag and just pulling the yarn out through a small opening keeps the skein from jumping around and rolling across the floor.

I don't get overly annoyed at working with yarn pulled from the outside, but some find they can't stand it. ymmv

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

Huh. I was going to say the exact opposite. My experience has been that when I pull from the center I'm fine for about the first 80% of the yarn but at some point it loses structural integrity and collapses in on itself and becomes a tangled mess. If I pull from the outside it is less prone to tangling up intil the very end and at that point I just unwind it all and make a tiny little ball out of the remains.

[tshuma]

Well I know a number of people who are bothered by the balls of yarn trying to escape when working with outside pulls, so I thought it worth mentioning. But I don't have a distinct preference. If I buy hanks, I do wind it up into balls, because they *will* tangle horrendously otherwise, but if I buy it in center-pull skeins I work with it in that form and then deal with combing out the tangles as I work that last 20%. I just take it as it comes, unless it will make it a lot harder to work with that way. Ah, laziness.