I started a pair of socks for myself. I mentioned this on the knitting site - the yarn turned out to be something called “self striping” yarn, which just means that you get very cool stripes without changing yarns - the stripes are built into the dyed yarn. So I decided to use a pattern out of sensational knitted socks, which has become my SOCK BIBLE that’s specifically designed for self-striping yarn.

The only issue is that I’ve only done toe up socks before - that is, start knitting at the toe end, and then moving up to the leg and cuff. The chevron self-striping sock pattern starts at the cuff and leg, and then moves down to the toe. This doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but it is when it comes to the heel. There are all kinds of ways to turn a heel, and they’re all a bit complicated. With the toe first socks, I used a short row heel. OK, I did start at the cuff for the baby socks I made a while back, and I used a flap heel. But they were tiny and easy.

This pattern uses something called an “afterthought” heel. I believe this is a way of doing the heel so that the stripes will match up perfectly. Maybe other methods would do the same, I’m not sure. Whatever, I’ll deal with it when I get there, right? I happily knit away at the cuff and leg of the sock.

Now I’m at the part where I should start the heel. I have to use another needle and do a provisional cast on (blah blah blah, to the non-knitters), OK, done…
And I read this:

Take yarn from other side of skein. Locate part of painted pattern you’re currently working in, and start using that.

What’s the problem? you ask. Just pull the yarn from the other side of the skein!

THIS IS THE PROBLEM!!!

Do you see a skein???? NO. It’s a ball. I wind EVERY skein into a ball, because inevitably, if I use a skein as is, halfway through I pull out some god-awful knot of satan that is PAIN to straighten out. So I wind everything into balls.

Leaving the yarn from the “other end” quite inaccessible.

OK, 3 choices, and I ask the knitters out there.

1. Unwind the ball into another ball to get to the other end, and then REWIND it back when the heel is finished.

2. Cut the yarn and try to match up color patterns when all joining occurs.

3. try another heel method that works with self-striping yarns.

any ideas?

and OH MY GOD, if a pattern is going to call for using BOTH ends of the yarn, they SHOULD WARN YOU ABOUT THAT AHEAD OF TIME, BEFORE YOU WIND IT INTO A FUCKING BALL!!!!