And I'm sorry.
I've tried to stuff this part of me down inside for more than ten years, and I just... I just can't do it anymore.
I hate center pull balls.
Hate them.
Hate them a lot.
Really hate them.
A lot.
I have owned many winders over the years, from the cheapest plastic one to this number here, the Cadillac of ball winders.
If you love center pull balls, this is a good one to have. It is well constructed, runs smoothly, and will last a lifetime.
Actually, it will last me 12 lifetimes, because I never use it.
I never use it because I hate center pull balls.
They always, 100% of the time, end up tangled. Each and every time. Tangled. Always.
You know exactly what I'm talking about. You're knitting along, and then suddenly, your center pull ball throws up.
This never happens with outer pull balls of yarn.
The yarn around the edge never falls off the outside of the cake.
You never lose the little wick sticking out of the center, forcing you to fish around trying to find it, which probably contributes to the yarn vomit problem above.
What, pray tell, is so bad about this?
This kind of ball takes a few minutes more to create by hand. But guess what? So does whatever I'm knitting.
I'm not knitting because it's cheaper and easier. It's cheaper and easier to buy pre-assembled sweaters at Target.
Yes, these balls roll around a little. So I keep them in my knitting bag. Or I don't jerk them around with brute force.
I pull gently, and the yarn doesn't get motion sickness and throw up.
So. There's my confession.
I hate center pull yarn balls.
Can we still be friends?
P.S. They also stretch out your yarn. If you insist on using these abominations, wind them immediately before you begin your project, and don't store the yarn for long periods in the center pull ball. The tension the ball winder puts on the yarn can throw off your gauge.