Yarn Ball Winder and Swift

I was recently chatting with one of my knitting friends and drooling over her new stash when she mentioned to me that she was hesitant about getting these particular skeins of yarns because they came unwound.  I was shocked to find out that my friend (who's been knitting for years) didn't have a swift or a ball winder!  So, this post is about my adventure about these specific items.

I think after an adventure of picking up a skein of unwound yarn and torturing my poor Hubby to be my swift, I realized it was much easier (and really cheaper with a lot less whining about how one's arm is tired) to just buy a swift.  I looked around the web to see what was out there and found that I wanted a Amish style, table top swift.  Something that was in all wood, would "fold" flat (aka not take up too much space), and that I could put on a flat surface (in other words, something that actually didn't need to be mounted on anything so it would be more versatile for me).  So, off I had gone to my favorite yarn shop: Yarn Story and talked to Kim about my situation.  Amazingly (as usual), she took out her swift and said: "You mean, something like this?":

This was exactly what I was looking for - a Chiaogoo Amish style, table top swift.  It works perfectly, whether I'm working on the floor or on a chair (with a table/flat surface near by).

Once one gets a swift, you also need a ball winder or at least some way to wind your yarn off your swift.  So after looking around and seeing how much a ball winder can cost (which can be quite a bit), I decided that I'd go old school and either get a nostepinne or go the "home made" route.  There are tons of youtube videos out there about how to wind your own center pull ball of yarn and what you can use to do this, including how to use a nostepinne.  So, here's my version of a nostepinne:

I know, I know ... it doesn't look like much other than a very thick empty paper towel roll (which it is) but, hey! it's free (we have tons of these at work), I didn't have to put much effort into making it and most importantly, it works!  While it's not as nice looking or fancy as a real nostepinne, it was the most inexpensive route to go (especially since nostepinnes can come in a large array of woods types and sizes and can be very expensive as well).  With the right ball winding technique, one can have a really nicely wound center-pull ball with my version of a nostepinne (although I must admit, sometimes my ball winding technique isn't the greatest and as such, I don't always create the nicest and/or the prettiest center pull ball; but it works and it's functional). :P  What more can I ask for? ;)  Here's a sample of my work on my "nostepinne":

 Here's what it looks like on my "nostepinne"

Here's my center pull ball of yarn - not bad! ;)

Ultimately, I'm very happy that I invested in my swift and have the best kind of nostepinne - the free kind! :)  

D, when I get a chance to see you, I'll pass along my "nostepinne" to you. ;)  You'll just need to get a swift and I promise you, you won't know how you ever lived without it! :)  Plus, think of all the other kinds of yarn you can buy now! :D