Balling skeins ...

Sounds dodgy but you can't knit from a skein (hank) of yarn. You need to unwind it and make it into a ball. Traditionally done by commendeering a piece of furniture or a partner's hands to hold the unfolded skein while you wind the yarn into a ball with your hands. Which is tiring. I've got a few shawl/scarf orders and a few skeins that need balling. The two skeins in the blip are actually for a shawl for me. The darker colour is a blue/grey called 'Storm Brewing' and the lighter colour is mainly cream with other colours mingling in between, this is called 'Flotsam'.
I like knitting shawls because I love how they start, cast on 3 stitches ... and it grows from there.