I got my swift from Joanns today. (I ordered it with the 50% coupon for August. :mrgreen:) I am sooooo happy I bought it, it’s REALLY nice!! This is the second skein of cashmere/silk lace I that bought. I wound the first one without a swift… what a PITA that was! This one has been patiently waiting.
Go, RUN, buy a swift and ball winder! :cheering:
I have the same one. Don’t you love it? I think the craftsmanship is wonderful and clever. If you decide to wind every skein in the house, don’t forget to label them! :rofling:
It is AWESOME! 
A little trick I learned at my LYS… After you wind a skein or hank, take the existing label and stick it in the center of the new ball, just as you pull it off the winder (you know, in the big hole from the center post of the winder). The yarn tightens up around it and holds it securely, and the label doesn’t get lost! :cheering:
Oooh, I like that design; clamps to a counter, and looks like it collapses quite small. Hmmmm. 
I doubt I’ll ever own a ball winder, because I like doing it by hand. But a swift is starting to appeal to me.
i finnally know what PITA means!!!
n~e~way… can you show me what a swift does so i can have a better understanding of you alls love 4 it??? 
ugh i really need to buy that one. i have just been procrastinating. i thought i would get a ball winder first but the other day when i pulled a label off one of my hanks and saw what a mess it was under the label i decided there was NO way i could wind that without something more efficient than my laptop to hold it!
Carmell, it is basically a great set of hands to hold your yarn while you are winding it. helps keep it from becoming a tangled mess!
Yep, when you buy yarn in a hank, you have to wind it before you can knit with it. You untwist the hank, slip it on the swift, and it holds it open for you so you can wind it. The swift spins freely as you pull the yarn off.
Amy, it does collapse quite small. It came in a 3x3 inch wide rectangular box.
IM JEALOUS! JEALOUS JEALOUS JEALOUS!!! 
Not only because of the swift…I didnt GET a 50% off Joanns coupon this month! I only got 40%!!
psssssst… JULA550 ends on 08/31 and is 50% off the regular price of any one item!
www.currentcodes.com :happydance:
Definitely going to get a swift - especially if it will make my kitchen look like that!!
Oh, I am so jealous…I had the ball winder in my cart at Joann.com yesterday, with the 50% off coupon ready, then decided to see if I could find it in the store. Man, I am so cheap…I’ll probably spend as much in gas to drive the 50 miles to the store and back as I would if I just gave in and paid the shipping.
i know i’m more jelous of how clean her kitchen is! Silver is superwoman!!! :notworthy: i have some hanks of wool. i wraped them around my baby’s carseat handles, then rollit ina ball… so how much do swifts run!?
yeah JLC…you just shipped it!
why not call and ask if they have them. Save the trip AND the money you would spend while you are there “just looking!” 
Good point Brendajos :oops:
Ditto about Silver’s kitchen. If I spent even a fraction of the time cleaning my house as I spend on here…my kids would still mess it up. 
:roflhard: I know, that’s why I don’t even bother cleaning up till they’re in bed… that way I get at least an hour or two at night, and an hour or two in the morning when I can enjoy the clean…
i know i’m more jelous of how clean her kitchen is! Silver is superwoman!!! i have some hanks of wool. i wraped them around my baby’s carseat handles, then rollit ina ball… so how much do swifts run!?
With the coupon code at joann’s (earlier in the thread) it’s around $24 plus shipping. I think it would be much better than the current method of putting it on the chair. only dilemma is that all of my yarn is currently in a ball- but I do have a good size amount coming in from knitpicks that would be perfect for a swift :cheering:
thanks for the reminder, Silver!
been meaning to order one for months. I ordered mine a few minutes ago!
I usually take my pictures outside in daylight–partly for the light, partly for the mess that is probably in the background!
:rollseyes: That picture can be used for posterity to prove that my kitchen is clean when the kids are at school and hubby’s at work. The usual mess is all THEIR fault. :angelgrin:
hahahahaha :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard:
sorry… but good luck. I don’t know how it is up there, but down here, I think Joann’s hires teens(nothing wrong with teens… but they should at least know what a knitting needle is. :shock: ) for after school work. I once sat on the phone for 25 minutes, trying to find out if they had a certain needle set in stock… I can’t tell you how many times I was passed around, told to hold, and forgotten. I gave up and just ordered it online from knitting-warehouse.