Under most circumstances, this probably would have been funny, if it wasn't so sad.

While walking across the parking lot at work this morning, my ball of yarn fell out of my bag without me realizing it. By the time I discovered what had happened, I was half way across the parking lot. This was probably bad enough, as there is snow on the ground here, and the parking lot was slushy and also covered in salt. What made it worse, was a car driving through the lot, caught my yarn across it's bumper, pulled my knitting out of my bag, and dragged it across most of the parking lot. (As I said, it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.)

My knitting isn't damaged, other then the fact that it's wet, dirty, and salty. So my question is, should I try to clean it now or wait till I'm done knitting it, and then wash it before blocking? And if I should clean it now, what's the best way to do this? Gently hand wash and lay flat to dry? The yarn I'm using is cotton and there is still about half skein attached.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!! Thanks!!

Meredith

I would run a length of waste yarn through the live stitches and wash. The salt isn't going to do your knitting any favors, and it might be easier to get this clean while it's still wet, rather than when it's dry.

Also, that salt might not be just salt. Here in Minnesota, they combine salt with chemicals and sand, probably because it gets significantly colder here than what plain salt can handle.

I would also wind the skein into a hank, put several figure-8 ties around it at various locations, and wash that, too.

Good luck!