This is not an obsession.

For the past couple of days I have done nothing but play with my new toy.



It is a yarn ball winder from Knit Picks (link to the right), that devilish wonderland for knitters.

Now, in case you are unfamiliar with the pure joy that is a ball winder, let me explain. A ball winder's purpose is to wind yarn into balls, (self explanatory really) such as this.



(The knitterly among you will note that I am winding a center-pull skein into a center-pull ball and realize that this is somewhat redundant. Let's not mention how obsessive this makes me seem but instead assume that I like how the ball that comes off this fancy doohicky is easier to store and prettier.)

First you must put one end of the yarn into the little notch and through the metal curlicue, thus.



Then, you begin to wind.



You crank the handle (which I somehow didn't get into the pictures) nice and fast, but not too fast or you will send your ball of yarn flying across the room. Although, that is pretty darn entertaining and you may want to try it just once for the experience.



It is so ridiculously simple, that a 2-year-old can do it. In fact, the girls and I have been having a blast. When all the yarn is wound, it looks like this.



And then you pull it off carefully and it looks like this.



If you have several balls to be wound, they look quiet lovely together.



This is my new yarn cupboard, for which Ryan is eternally grateful being that it frees up the corner on his side of the bed. :)



(Again, let's not discuss my yarn winder obsession and simply admire how nicely they stack.) My 5-year-old already pointed out that I have too much yarn. Poor girl, she has so much to learn.

In other news, I have three UFO's (un-finished objects) which are so close to completion it is utterly ridiculous how long I have been putting them off. All I need is one zipper sewn in and 11 buttons sewn on. That's nothing, not a big deal at all, especially when compared with the thousands of stitches and the hours of work it took to get to this point.



But, I hate sewing on buttons. And zippers are my mortal enemy. There is absolutely no knitting involved in any part of this finishing process, therefore I am rebelling.

But, hopefully, and especially by confessing this irrationality to you all, I can get motivated to just finish them. I mean really, I am only a few buttons and a zipper away from fully functional garments. Without those elements, they are nearly useless.

Of course, the call of the ball winder is nearly irresistible. (Why yes, I do have more yarn to wind and no, I don't think that is odd.)