I bought it twice, but only one skein has been knitted so far, and since I knit it WITH another strand of another yarn, I can't really comment on using it alone. I used my swift and ball-winder to go from skein to ball each time without a problem, but yeah, I'd definitely advise you to use the external end to start knitting rather than the end from the center. The balls /would/ eventually collapse in a mess.

btw, it IS cobweb, for sure. very very very soft, too, since it's pure merino. The shawl I used it for is knit out of a strand of red centolavaggi and a pink-to-red strand of rougher lace weight Evilla yarn - I was banking on the merino cobweb softening the hand of my rougher lace weight and it worked like a charm; because I knit the whole shawl with big needles in garter stitch, it is also squishy and drapey. I love it! And might well do it all over again in green to use um my second centolavaggi ball. :))

have fun!