disentanglement

Balls of yarn, no matter how perfectly coiled from the start, hit a snag sooner or later. The strand glides along its path swimmingly for a while, working itself into neat and tidy twists and turns, and then surprise! I find myself in a yarn pickle. Sometimes it's an utter surprise but usually it's more a matter of seeing the glitch coming a yard away and ignoring it, hoping it will work itself out before it becomes my problem. Then it comes to pass and in the predicament I sit.

Now it all comes down to the approach.

Pull too hastily (my default procedure) and I could cement the knots for eternity.

Move cautiously (not my style) and I may find it was just a faux entanglement as the strand magically falls back onto a clear, singular, determined path.

Work strategically (the most unlikely to happen and thus potentially the most rewarding), both looking forward and retracing my steps through le grand mess to see it through to the very end, and eventually I'll claim victory over the mayhem I've created.

I could also cut the tie altogether and go for the reconnect. Sometimes it is the only way, but if done shoddily it means unraveling from both ends and a complete undoing of it all. Risky.

Or I could just get a new ball of yarn and start over. But that's no fun.

I also use this process for navigating roads in North Jersey.