thanks for the link, Ingrid. I haven’t seen that website before and it looks like they have some great prices on other stuff too.
Can anybody tell me the brand of the ball winder at joann.com? It doesn’t have the “Royal” name on it, so I’m thinking it may be the other brand (Lacis??? or something like that) which I have seen some not too fabulous reviews about. I couldn’t find anything on joann.com that says what the brand actually is. Does anyone have the Lacis brand ball winder?
The one from joann.com is a Royal.
Has anyone bought one of THESE SWIFTS? If not, whaddaya think of it?
that looks like the one someone’s hubby made for them…sorry can’t remember who but it looks pretty similar to me.
Here’s a link I’ve had for a while, but haven’t been brave enough to try : using an electric mixer to wind yarn balls. I, personally, like winding balls by hand… I use the around the feet method for a swift. 
DH is supposedly going to make me a swift–oh I have no doubt in his ability to do so, but the actually getting started sometime before i turn 30 is the part I worry about :rollseyes:
I really did like winding balls by hand until I used the ball winder at the Nville LYS…I LOVE the way the balls just sit flat and dont roll around & the yarn just FALLS away from the ball. No tugging to screw up my tension.
That would be my hubby, brendajos.
They are really easy to make. I will make hubby give me the directions if y’all want.
:roflhard: :roflhard: That is a pretty creative idea.
Not 30 yet???!! Lucky you! Don’t wish it here too soon 
OK, really stupid question - do you need a swift and a ball winder?
Most yarn that we see in the stores comes in center-pull skeins, right?
A lot of other yarn comes in ‘hanks’ that are not rolled into ball. A swift holds the hank of yarn, you put the end of it in the ball winder and turn the handle of the winder. The winder makes a nice center-pull ball, and the swift spins as the winder turns.
Oh geez, I been away awhile and what happens when I finally return??? I have Kelly stoke my long-ago I Want A Swift obsession!
I really wanted one of these this past winter and did all that looking around. Then a lady at a little yarn store in the country where they don’t have them said, "oh those don’t work, they just tip over"
So I thought, right save myself some money, don’t need one.
But I WANT ONE! And I want the heavy jobby, the Swedish muscle job. Hm.
how to convince Him this is important. (I don’t have a job) But I agree, it’s a once in a lifetime purchase so I’d rather have a really good one. going to go look at those pix again.
Thanks a lot Kelly. the other Vic
Looks kinda nice.
YEAH…that’s the Nifty Swift…not vintage at all! That’s the seller who kinda says “I dont even know what this thing is for, but Im gonna call it vintage and someone’ll buy it” :rollseyes:
Nope. I would say, if you could only buy one, to get the swift. It’s easy to wind balls by hand, but it’s harder to coordinate a hank of yarn while winding so it doens’t get tangled. Unless you MUST have flat balls, like KK, then you should get both.
[size=2]kk has flat balls :roflhard: sorry i couldn’t help myself. three pages of not commenting on balls at ALL was just too much.[/size]
Im gonna get a winder for my FLAT BALLS :rollseyes: before I get the swift. I like flat balls more often than I buy yarn in hanks.
Although, hopefully Ill get BOTH for my birthday in October! Ive been dropping hints already! Well, not so much hints as DEMANDS, really… :shifty:
At this point, Kelly, if you don’t get them for your birthday, we’ll have to take up a collection! :balloons:
ya know there are so many bad directions one can take this post…lol
being the angelic one that i am i happen to know NONE of them! 
ya know what i found works really well for winding hanks …wrapping them around my laptop screen! the hands of a hot guy would be better of course but in a pinch…! 
YAYYYYYYY! :cheering:
And, yes, Bren…there are lots of things that can hold hanks…ball winder first. Definitely.
My dad made me a swift modeled after this one: Mama Bear and I planned on buying the Royal ball winder until I saw this wooden one:
Wooden Ball Winder - click on Making & Preparing Yarns on the left side, then scroll down. So, I’m thinking maybe I’ll add the wooden one to my Christmas list.
Then, I saw this: Vertical Swift and I left a copy of the page on my parents’ table hoping that my father will make me one of those, too.
What do you think?