Finally a post with some pictures!
So, I have finally written my name down to specialise in hand knitting (can't bloody wait), and it made me realise,
a) that I want more yarn (the fact I already have loads is besides the point) and
b) that all my yarn is currently very hard to deal with, as it is still 'as bought', in a big squidgy ball, that pulls from around the edge - making it wander as it pleases whilst I'm knitting, and ruins my tension as I'm forever tugging at the end to release more.
For a while I've been looking at the umbrella swifts and ball winders online, and the prices are extortionate! After all, I am just a lowly student with barely a penny to scratch my arse with! So, I started looking for alternate methods of winding my yarn to create a centre pull ball, scouring the Internet for YouTube videos, tutorials etc, and most people were just showing home made swifts and ball winders (still no good for me, as I can't afford wood, and would probably end up nailing my hands together if given a hammer). So I carried on searching, there were many posts on how to wind it around your fingers to create a ball - a method I have tried several times, and always been left disappointed, as I can't control how tightly I wind it, and it still rolls around, and I just don't like the way it looks. Being a perfectionist is annoying sometimes!
Eventually, I stumbled across a video showing a "nostepinne", a rounded piece of wood, which the yarn is wrapped around to create a ball. The video was very short and uninformative, but of course, I just searched "nostepinne" in the box to find more tutorials. Finally I found a very instructive video, with a unbelievably happy lady (Noreen Crone-Findlay) who obviously loved this method of winding, so I thought I'd give it a try.
The results? I'm HOOKED.
Since I watched the video I haven't stopped winding, I've only made 2 balls so far (it is quite a slow process), and I'm halfway through my third. The finished balls are brilliant, they're so cute, they're flat on the top and the bottom so they stay still, the yarn comes very easily out of the top with no tugging required, and there's no expensive equipment necessary! I just used a big wooden knitting needle I have, but anything will work, a wooden spoon handle for example. You can buy nostepinnes on eBay for about £5, but if you have something round and slightly chunky you should be fine. The other thing, it is so relaxing, I find knitting very relaxing, but obviously it does take some concentration, and can be slightly stressful when your pattern goes wrong, but this doesn't require any concentration, and it can't really go wrong! I've been doing more winding than I have knitting!!
I just had to share, I'm so in love with this process it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I'm going to rewind every ball I own, then go buy more yarn so I can do the same!
Link to Noreen Crone-Findlay's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3XFTyvIiCk
Happy winding! Ciao! :) x
