Yeah…here are some of the yarn “cakes” I have made with my ball winder.
Hi, just read your post and this is exactly what I was ‘trying’ to describe. Mine looks like this also and the ball(s), aka yarn cakes, come out reminding me of a ball of twine. Thanks for explaining with the photo. Thirty pounds, congrats. Wish I had the motivation and/or will power!
I have heard of people knitting from the hank without winding it but DO NOT try it trust me. I will believe it is possible for a few people with heaps of patience only because I am told so. But I would NEVER try it and even winding it must be done with care to prevent tangles.
Thanks! 
My body LOVES eating the Low Carb diet. I feel MUCH better. Here’s my blog about my diet: http://sandyhealthlog.blogspot.com/
Thanks for sharing your dieting blog. I have heard others say they were able to shed weight with the low carb diet. I used to watch, on Food Network, ‘Low Carb and Lovin’ It,’ but it must have gone off the air. Your diet-plate photos looked delicious and not depriving at all. Again, congratulations, and glad your knee (I have a bum one too) is better as a result. Happy and Healthy New Year
Thank you, Wanda! 
So I have a bunch of hanks that I just bought (thanks for the vocab lesson, I too was confused about the terminology) and I’m thinking of buying a winder. I’m a little tired of doing it by hand with or without the chair to hold the yarn while I wind (I just can’t get my husband to sit still long enough to help me!). Anyway… my question is, do you think buying a swift along with the winder is worth it? I’m not completely sure what the swift does, so I’m not sure I can’t just keep using the chair. I hope this makes sense!
The swift will hold the hank instead of your chair and rotate so you can wind the yarn from it.
I am awaiting the arrival of my ‘swift’ wishing I would have ordered it along with the yarn winder I previoiusly ordered. The swift looks a little intimidating from the photos on the Internet but my husband would never sit still long enough for me to wind anything at all. Think it just might be a wise investment in the future.
You can make a swoft too. Just need a things and it’s not hard.
Here is one…
http://www.craftydiversions.com/patterns/homemade_yarn_swift.htm
Here is another one if clamping it on a table would be better for you.
http://www.dsz123.net/Projects/YarnSwift/
Honestly for me now putting it on the floor will be better. So dh and my 2 dd’s are going to make me one for my birthday. :woot:
I’m also getting the yarn of the month club so I know I will be ordering yarn soon… :teehee:
Thanks ladies! Your advise has really helped! Unfortunately, my crafty skills end with knitting. Do I don’t know if making my own swift is a feasible option. It may just be easier to spend the money. But I appreciate the links!
okay, I take what I said earlier back. My husband said he’d make me one! So thanks for the how-to info!
Yay! You have a good hubby! :cheering:
I’m sure he’d offer to do anything so he wouldn’t have to hold the yarn… 
I think you’re right Suzeeq - holding the yard would be a distraction from the basketball game on TV (or whatever Bowl game is still going on!)! :roflhard:
Another alternative to chairs OR buying swifts is getting your yarn wound at the store. I’ve never heard of a LYS that didn’t have a ball-winding apparatus, so when you buy yarn in hanks at the store, ask them to wind it for you. They’ll be glad to – that’s why they have the machine, of course. And when you’ve made friends with them and gone to their weekly knitting nights for a few months, they’ll probably even wind the hanks you buy from the Internet, just out of charity. 