Guess what I just did?

[altivo]

You're not going to believe this.



Yes, I just felted my balls...

Sorry, I just had to make that juvenile joke.

A tool used in processing very thin delicate yarn, like what I've been spinning on the tahkli, is a ball made of solid wool felt about the size of a handball. You wind the single thread onto the ball for storage until you are ready to countertwist or ply it with a second similar thread to make a knitting yarn. No doubt you can buy such balls of felt, but since I have lots of raw wool around, it seemed logical to make my own. Last night I rolled some strips of wool roving into tight round balls about the size of tennis balls. I put each of them into the toe of a cotton sock and then tied a knot in the sock to hold them in place. It was too late to continue, so I put them aside until this evening.

Tonight I put them into the washing machine with detergent, hot water, and a normal load of underwear and towels, and ran them through a full cycle. When they came out, I could tell the balls had shrunken somewhat because the socks were loose around them. I put everything into the dryer on full heat until it was dry. The two felt balls came out of the socks and were perfect for the intended purpose. They are very firm, about 1-3/4 inches in diameter, smooth, and almost perfectly round. Now I'm set to ply that fine cashmere as soon as I spin another bobbin full.

Comments

[captpackrat.livejournal.com]

"Or if you haven't got any balls, you can ask a friend if you can play with his."

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*snicker*

Reminds me of a former bar in Chicago. It was called "The Factory" and when you came in the door they had a big bowl full of nuts and bolts. You were supposed to take one and then try to find someone who had the matching part that would screw together with it. If you found a match, they gave you both a free drink. I'll leave all the other possible implications to your imagination.

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

That's cool and sorta cute.

Implications, implications, let's see... savvy person coming up with a good idea to get people talking? And sniggering.

My brain fails today. It took me so long to see the double-entendre in "felted my balls". Probably a combination of the lolcat grammar and "gosh, Altivo would never say something like that!". ;P

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Actually there was a lot of snickering and eyebrow raising based on whether one selected a nut or a bolt. Sometimes it got rather obnoxious. Then there were those boors who thought if they managed to match your piece of hardware they were automatically entitled to something from you...

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Eh, boors manage to ruin a lot of things. I suppose I'd have got ribbed for looking away and picking one at random, huh? ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Quite possibly, though probably not as much as I got it for refusing to take one at all. ;p

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

"But this choice is so limiting! Don't you have any diodes? Gear wheels? Spark plugs?"

[altivo.livejournal.com]

My refusal came on the second time I visited the place, after the previously-mentioned boor gave me a difficult time during the first visit. ;p

(He seemed to think that getting his bolt to fit my nut meant he got me as the prize. Nothing doing.)

[hellmutt.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I got that that's what you meant.

"Sorry, mate, you're cross-threaded."

[alexsious.livejournal.com]

lol good one!

some things...

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

Then there were those boors who thought if they managed to match your piece of hardware they were automatically entitled to something from you...

People thinking someone owes them something- I'm glad to see some things haven't changed.

Re: some things...

[altivo.livejournal.com]

No proof here. That was a long time ago in a universe far, far away. Or at least, in Chicago back around 1978. The bar is long gone and the nuts and bolts are probably in some landfill.

[alexsious.livejournal.com]

you've got some pretty big balls my friend!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

They may be big but they're still soft and cuddly. ;p

[soanos.livejournal.com]

Can I touch them? o.O

Are they touching? O.O

Sorry, bad jokes. Wouldn't mind playing with some at all. ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I think I'd better put a picture of these in tonight. ;p

[damnbear.livejournal.com]

You know, you could make a set of felted balls for your Ford Escape. Either that knit a wool cozy for a pair of truck nuts to put on the Escape.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I've seen those silly truck ornaments and thought "Jeez, how insecure can you get about your masculinity?"

Actually, it seems to me that truck nuts should be of the hex variety, a couple of nice large ones strung on a chain. ;p

[gabrielhorse.livejournal.com]

I figure the same insecurity pretty much prevails in most people who make a point of owning/driving the "bigger than average" trucks... maybe SUV's too. Unfortunate they don't realize gigantic tires and genital-shaped ornaments don't make you look any better, regardless of how high off the ground you sit ^_^

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, though, to a certain shallow-minded audience, they DO make you look better and more attractive. If it weren't so, the whole phenomenon might go away.

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

*turns into a pile of giggling fur*

Oooh Cashmere, such rich tastes in fibres :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

The cashmere was given to me and I'm not one to look a gift goat in the mouth. Or anywhere else for that matter. It's interesting stuff.