I just got one of these. I have been buying a ton of yarn off the internet and so it was all in skiens and not nice neat little pull balls. So, if finally sprung for the winder and swift and I am sooooooo happy!!! I spent all afternoon winding the many unwound and leftover yarns that I had and am soooooo happy 
Just wanted to share.
Trish
Which did you get and where did you get it? Do tell. I didn’t know they existed until a post from earlier today… :?
I got it from a LYS here in the city… I actually lucked out. I live in Canada and thought I would never find one… the only ones I had found were online and I didn’t want to pay brokerage fees from the US. So I called around and finally found one. I don’t know if you are in the US or Canada, but if you are in the US, just do a search for ball winder on google and it will bring up places that sell and ship them. Or check eBAy. They are pricey, but sooooo worth it. I love the neat and tidy balls that they make… no more tangles.
I got a birch swift and a ball winder. I am not sure of the make though, sorry.
Trish
Congrats on your purchase lady!
Could someone explain to the rookie. (me) :oops:
Why are balls of yarn better than just using the skien?
Just curious
well loof, just try knitting from a big old skein and see what happens!
How ya gonna pull it and keep knitting? You’re not, that’s the answer. You would have to put your knitting down every other minute and unwind the yarn in big circles from the skein.
When it’s in a ball you can just pull at it, esp if it’s center wound (coming out of the center). Even if its not center wound, you can keep it in a basket or bag and it unravels easily. so, there’s that.
NOw! I’m wondering ladyindica, how much you paid for your yarn winder? Birch sounds lovely. But they’re a bit expensive aren’t they? I’ll do a google. I’m thinking of buying a couple of nostepindes, nostepinnes… they look pretty neat too. But I guess your thingy goes much faster correct?
Yup, it was pretty pricey. I paid 50.00 for the winder and 90.00 (Canadian) for the swift. But, I just got a scholarship and since the term is almost over and this is my last term, we decided to spend it. I have wanted one for months now and I am so pleased with it. I had about 15 skiens that needed winding and it took me about 30 minutes to do them all Yahoo.
They are so nice to knit from!! I had some yarn that was a mohair/ribbon blend and it was coming out of the hand wound ball at different rates and getting tangled, but now that it is wound, its not. Oh happy me.
Hope that answers your question.
Trish
Thanks Trish! I don’t know what a swift is but I’m going to go look at these things now. Sounds like a very nice investment.
I made my first trip to my LYS (aside from Michaels, Hobby Lobby, etc.) and they used those thingies to wind my skeins into balls for me! It was very nice, and now I finally know how they work. If you buy alot of stuff in big skeins, I bet that would be helpful to have.
My LYS was very cool, btw, but not somewhere I should go often to actually buy. I’ll spend way too much!
Congrats Trish!
Loof, it’s not really necessary to wind into balls when the yarn comes in a “skein” or “ball,” like most yarns do. If you can find the yarn in the center of the skein, you can just pull it out easily, and work with it as is. It’s definitely a benefit to wind into balls, though, if the yarn comes in a “hank,” which is the kind of arrangement that you see people holding their hands up to hold up a big span of yarn, and someone winds a ball from that. You need to wind into a ball when you have a hank, or it becomes a tangles mess, and isn’t practical at all.
Amy