Knitting Tools

For my birthday this year, I asked for a couple of nerdy knitting tools. I don't think anyone in the family really knew what they were, but once I provided a link, it was easy to purchase them.

You usually use the two tools together to wind yarn into a nice little "cake". Most nicer yarn is purchased in a "hank", which looks like a large twist of yarn. But this form isn't very user friendly, so needs to be opened up and wound into a ball.

The "swift" is the tool that you put the opened hank of yarn around. It looks a little like the insides of an umbrella. Once you get the yarn loosely around the edges of the swift, it will spin freely to allow the yarn to be wound.

The ball winder is the second tool, which rotates at an angle to wind the yarn into a manageable form. The yarn can be unwound from the inside or the outside of the cake.

I had seen it used in yarn shops, but had never tried to use one myself. They both came with good instructions so I was able to set them up on my kitchen counter.

And I'll include this little pink cardigan here, since I don't know where else to put it. This went to a sweet little baby at church.