I got a ball winder... now I have questions

[NurseFrawg]

So on my way to work I wanted to stop by my local yarn shop. I wanted to let her know that I would be in like always, but that I was giving up purchasing yarn and fabric for Lent (JoAnns is trying to tempt me already because they sent me a sales flyer with fabric on sale!! ).

Anyways I told her I was on a mission looking for a ball winder. She told me that she had one in stock and that she would whole heartedly recommend it to me. I picked it up and looked at the price, it was running what Joanns ball winder is normally marked at. I kinda cringed, but felt that the service I recieve at her shop is worth the extra money. So I looked at a few more things and mentioned that the next purchase would be a yarn swift. She told me to wait a minute that she had to go to the back, she had something for me. She brings out a yarn swift and says that I could have it for free. She said that she had been carrying it around for the better part of ten years and a small piece of it was broken, but that she thought my BF could easily fix it. I was stunned and overjoyed and then thought I HAVE to tell the folks at C-ville what happened. The swift itself is fine it's the small piece that would help it attach to a table and allow it to cant or stand upright.

So I purchased a ball winder and got the swift for free. I also picked up a few last minute skiens of yarn to make it through Lent. Too bad BF has drill this weekend... he would be in the shop making a piece for the swift.

So I suppose the moral of the ramble is Support Your Local Yarn Shop Owners and They Will Support You!!!

Elizabeth

PS- I desperately wanted to call in sick to work today so I could play with my new toys!!!!

[sunshine1977]

What a wonderful surprise!! I know you will love having your own winder and swift - I sure do!! Have fun with your new toys!!

 

Laurie:hook

[losingmymind2]

I would certainly understand if you had called in, but your boss might take a different view. Aren't those special LYS wonderful. If you can find one, treasure them. And have fun with your new toys, I find myself wanting to wind everything in sight now.

[lovingmommy]

congrats on the new toys!!!!!!! they sound really nice!!!

[Sahmlock]

THat is exciting, I have personally never heard of either item. From the titles, I can assume that the ball winder thing must help wind up the skein of yarn into a ball...however, what is a swift? The only swift item I know of is a swifter duster! hahah

 

Got pics? Where can I get them? hmmmm. I dont have a local yarn shop! wish I did...just big time craft stores.

[Monsoon]

How fun! I bought both last fall, and I LOVE them.

[threeolivemartini]

so ho wmuch "last minute" yarn did you get?

 

cause ..i know me it would have been ALOT LOL...

and good score! ..

[shawnMichelle72]

That is exciting, I have personally never heard of either item. From the titles, I can assume that the ball winder thing must help wind up the skein of yarn into a ball...however, what is a swift? The only swift item I know of is a swifter duster! hahaha

 

Got pics? Where can I get them? hmmm. I dont have a local yarn shop! wish I did...just big time craft stores.

 

I had the exact same question as you and since I just had to know NOW! LOL:lol

I ran a search to see what I came up with. This is what I got. Yarn Swift

[viggie]

That's so wonderful! I love when you find a shop like that where you feel at home in. And all of your hard spending has paid off...lol

[moonspinners]

What's a swift?

[moonspinners]

I had the exact same question as you and since I just had to know NOW! LOL:lol

I ran a search to see what I came up with. This is what I got. Yarn Swift

 

 

uh-oh I just gotta slow down my fingers so my brain can catch up.

[Tamara]

I wholeheartedly agree with supporting local merchants whenever you can.

 

Congrats on your acquisition.

 

So, in giving up buying yarn for Lent, does it count if someone wants you to make something for them and they provide the yarn?

[Guest Catlizg]

OK, I just go my own first winder today. I get the purpose of a winder, but still don't understand the purpose of a swift. Are they interchangeable? What's the benefit of one over the other??

[Hounddog]

I think the swift holds the skein of yarn so the winder can wind the ball?

[losingmymind2]

You're right, Hounddog! A swift holds a skein of yarn much more happily than a gentleman caller of olden days. It doesn't get tired and start to whine like a child. And it doesn't need to be moved back to the table like the backs of dinner chairs do.

 

I have an umbrella swift, which looks and works like the skeleton of an umbrella. It can accommodate larger or smaller skeins as needed. Mine isn't a great one, but rather the least expensive, made in China plastic and metal model; but it works for me untill I can afford a nicer one.

[Guest Catlizg]

Yeah, but don't you have to wind the yarn onto the swift??? If that's the case, then might as well just handwind it into a ball. I'm sooooo confused.

[radarkaty]

 

Yeah, but don't you have to wind the yarn onto the swift??? If that's the case, then might as well just handwind it into a ball. I'm sooooo confused.

 

When you buy spun wool, it comes in hanks. These hanks unwind into a big circle that you put around a swift. The swift turns as the ball winder turns and then you end up with balls of yarn, oftentimes with a center pull end, just like a skein.

[NurseFrawg]

Hello all... I am loving my ball winder and the BF says oh yeah I can fix the swift. Thanks all who helped simplify what a ball winder and swift were. Not only could I not call in sick, but I had to work overtime!!! Don't they know I have a new toy that just sits unused??

Anyways have now actually used the winder. So I was asked about giving up yarn for Lent. Well I can recieve yarn as an unsolicted gift (RAOK and Swaps). I can purchase yarn for emergency RAOKs and Swaps. I can crochet and play with yarn just not buy. I also added a little something to what I am doing. I am going to organize my current stash and get some Project Linus blankets going.

Elizabeth

[shawnMichelle72]

Yeah, but don't you have to wind the yarn onto the swift??? If that's the case, then might as well just handwind it into a ball. I'm sooooo confused.

 

The other day after I found out what a swift was, I was talking to a lady who said she often bought yarn at yard sales. She has been able to buy quite a lot dirt cheep, but the key word is dirt. Most of the yarn is to soiled to be able to make anything with. She told me she takes the dirty yarn she buys, winds it on to her swift and makes hanks out of it. Then she puts the hanks in a lingerie bag and washes them in the washing machine. She says the yarn washes better that way and doesnt get tangled up.

 

I thought this was a good idea and I want to try it. Has anybody else done anything like that?

[NurseFrawg]

So I have used my winder. I love it. However I am running into some small problems. Well actually one problem. If I have large amount of a partial skein I can't seem to wind it all in one shot. I wind it up around the cone thingy, however if it is too large yarn slips under the base and get caught into the gears. Does anyone else have this problem? Does anybody have a good solution. My BF says he can make a whole new winder after he gets a new lathe which is after he builds an addition to the shop which is after A.T.. In others words I will have to wait. In the meantime I would like to rig something up so I can wnd large amounts of yarn.

Thanks for all suggestions

[Aggie May]

What you really need to make a ball of yarn into a Skein or Hank is a Niddy Noddy which is a stick, about 18 inches long, with a shaped T at each end, going in opposite directions.

You hold the yarn onto one end of the T and there is a method of rolling it around, without letting it go, and you end up with a perfect Skein which you then place onto your Swift and proceed to wind it with your ball winder.

I think that most spinners would be familiar with the Niddy Noddy.

It is impossible to have everything though so I guess it comes down to what you NEED not what you WANT.

Have fun.

Colleen:hug

Found a picture.

http://www.worldknit.com/howto/howtospin/sfiberprep/niddy.html

[NurseFrawg]

My "problem" seems to be that I have too much yarn off of one skein that needs to be wound into a center pull ball. The excess yarn goes under the platform that the yarn sits on and becomes intwined with the gears. Hmmm I think I just thought of an idea.

I will post it if it works...

Elizabeth

[Aggie May]

If you put the yarn through the guide which hold it, then hold the yarn with your left hand to make sure it is away from the winder. Put a wee bit of pressure on it so you get a firmer ball which does not collapse so easily.

The yarn guide needs to be pulled out, away from the winder, so it is firm.

Have fun.

Colleen.

PS, Looking forward to hearing your "Brainwave." Some of the best ideas are born this way.

[NurseFrawg]

Okay the guide is out and in it's full upright locked position. So my grand idea was to extend the cone/ tube part that the yarn wraps around. So I got a TP tube and slid it onto the middle part. Cut two slits in it on oppossing sides to hold the yarn. It would work but I need to make the guide a little higher up so it starts to wind higher on the tubey part. But I think the closet has produced enough wire coat hangers (where do they come from?) that I can bend one and use it as a new guide. Just have to figure out how to make it strudy without ruining my winder. Hummmmm I have the house all to muself for two weeks I can come up with something.

Elizabeth

[crochet smartcat]

I can usually wind 5-7 oz on my yarn winder. I put some tension on the yarn as it winds. I know you are not supposed to stretch yarn when you make balls, but the way I figure it is, once I remove it from the winder, the center closes in on itself, reducing the overal tension. When I am doing alot, I will wrap the yarn around a hook once to apply the tension, so my fingers do not get yarn burn. All of my "cakes" are firm and do not flatten using this technique. I have received other "cakes" from other people that are so floppy they fall apart if you pick them up wrong. Personally I like it firm and have not had any problems with stretched yarn that I have noticed. When I do 7 oz, I usually have to pull back on the guide to keep it out of the way, but if you have a firm tension, then the yarn does not usually slip down into the gears.