Intarsia knitting creates beautiful colorwork on your piece, but the dangling lines behind the piece can make the experience somewhat frustrating. So far I’ve only been winding my yarn into small center-pull “wads” to keep things relatively neat back there, but I suddenly remembered that there are yarn bobbins out there for just this purpose. I went by my local yarn shop to see what they had in store. Just my luck, they had the large size!

The bobbins come four to a package, although I didn’t realize this until I pulled them out of the package. They’re sort of popped together and a slight tug pulls them apart. That’s why I have two packages here instead of one. I thought there were only two bobbins in each bag. I’ve only opened one so far and am only using three at the moment, so we’ll see how it goes and if I need four more huge bobbins. I have a feeling I might once I start on more bushes, blocks, and pipes, but right now I have it relatively easy with the yarn colors.

As you can see here, the bobbin looks like a little plastic donut when closed and a yo-yo when open. These large bobbins are great for thicker yarns and for when you have a lot of yarn. I’m using a worsted weight yarn so this size allows me to get a lot on here so that I don’t have to add more for awhile. One of the most annoying things about working in intarsia is constantly have to join the yarn when I run out in the little “wad” I wind up. These ensure that I have a lot of yarn at my fingertips and I can concentrate on the task at hand instead of tangling wires and adding yarn every five minutes.

Here’s one with some yarn wound around it. Looks good! Like a non-working yarn yo-yo. Or a little yarn-filled doughnut! It’d be so kawaii if it had a little face on it, don’t ya think? The other great thing about these bobbins is that you don’t have to tug at the yarn to get it to release. A slight bounce releases the yarn easily so that you don’t have to stop the flow of your knitting. This is very important. Intarsia innately has some stops in it when you’re twisting the yarn to start a new color, but the bobbins don’t impede the progress at all.

Conclusion? Great little tool. They add some weight and it’s best to use them if they’re in your lap or on a table, but it makes things organized. They’re great for a big project like mine and I’m sure the smaller ones would make intricate patterns like argyle easy to manage. Ooh, pretty dangly bobbins!

Is anyone else astonished that it’s September already? September means more crazy weather for the Southern states (namely hurricanes), but in Atlanta it finally starts to cool down. And by cool down I mean it doesn’t get up to the 90s (30s Celsius) every other day. Some days it’s actually breezy and pleasant. Towards the end of the month, the winds bring the smell of Fall and that means it’s birthday time! My birthday is the first week of October and it happens to be the most common birthday in the United States (for a rather funny reason). I love my birthday, not neccesarily the party and presents, it’s just the feeling of a birthday. It’s not even for a month and I’m already excited. But first I have to get through September and I can’t wait. September is Oktoberfest, cooler weather, and full of new starts- my favorite things!