When I got home today, I decided to do a wee bit of "CSI: Southern Oklahoma" with the yarn.

I went and got the other ball (the green and pink yarn; it's Trekking 129) that was purchased at the same time, from the same store, and stored in the same way and run it through my ball winder to check it.

Number of knots: 0
Number of breaks: 0
Number of weak places: 0
Evidence of insect damage: none

So, I'm assuming the 126 that I'm having problems with was a defective ball OR if it sustained insect damage, maybe it did in the warehouse, and any buggies are long gone. (I also inspected the bin it was stored in - no frass, no "casings," no dead bugs.)

So, I'm relieved. (I had a problem with carpet beetles four or five years ago - before this yarn was purchased - and I thought I'd cleared everything up. So if I find a break or bit of fraying in yarn purchased since then - ESPECIALLY yarn I've stored in my big plastic tubs - I get a little nervous).

And you know what? It's a real PITA to try to wind a ball-that's-already-made-to-be-knit-from through a ball-winder. I wound up having to take the "far end" of the yarn and just hand-wind that end into a ball.