What Is This Person Doing?

The Extra is a clue. Here is another clue: her name is Penelope. Once upon a time, many many years ago, a woman knit a sleeveless vest for herself. The pattern was so beautiful and she loved it very much, but somehow the shoulders came out looking like winged beasts and she never wore the sweater. She kept on keeping it, however. It was too much of an investment to throw away, and it was so pretty. After nearly 30 years (how is that even possible??),  a couple days ago she decided to just rip the damn thing out, which resulted in balls of very curly yarn. Her friend has a gadget that winds the yarn into a skein. The skein is then held over boiling water to steam out the curlies. And damn if it doesn't work. You can see the yarn relax right before your eyes. Our original person now has several skeins of pretty red yarn. Now the task is to estimate the yardage and figure out what to make next! She may never have to buy new yarn again.