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Clara
queen bee
USA
4362 Posts |
 Posted - 11/11/2009 : 8:19:50 PM
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I thought it was time for us to revisit a tool that pops up perennially in my in-box: the umbrella swift. What is it? Do I really need one? While only you can answer that latter question, I do offer this input.
In the universal lexicon of hand gestures, if you stand in front of a knitter and hold out your arms, with your palms facing one another, you've just offered to hold that person's hank of yarn while he or she winds it into a ball. For hundreds of years, our early domestic tasks often included holding a skein of yarn in outstretched arms while our mothers, sisters, or aunts expertly wound the yarn into a ball. If a gentleman suitor was willing to hold skeins for his beloved, marital bliss was almost guaranteed.
But today's picture has changed to one of greater solitude, with busy schedules and not-so-willing suitors. Some knitters resort to draping yarn between chairbacks, an often flawed approach. Others simply lay the skein on the floor and patiently rotate themselves around it, stopping repeatedly to disentangle the yarn. When I have time, I confess a preference for setting the skein on my lap and slowly, tenderly winding each yard by hand—it's a quiet, intimate way to get to know my yarn.
But we don't always have a lot of time. And some skeins can hold more yarn than you'd ever want to manage by hand. A far better solution is the umbrella swift, an ingenious little device for holding skeins under tension so you can unravel them and easily wrap your yarn into balls.
...read the full story
Clara
Your friendly Knitter's Review publisher
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minh
Permanent Resident and Destasher Extraordinnaire
USA
3415 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2009 : 8:52:06 PM
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Such a timely topic for me as I am going to ask DH for an umbrella swift as a holiday present ;)
I already own a Mama Bear swift but since I don't have much space, an umbrella swift is really the best option. The Maine made cherry swift looks amazing! |
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norsknitter
New Pal
7 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 03:37:11 AM
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My husband bought me a squirrel swift for Christmas a few yars ago. I put my umbrella swift away permanently, This sits on the floor and it is so attractive I keep it in the living room. It works beautifully, never over balances and looks like a piece of ealry American Art, which it probably is.
No swift discussion is complete unless and until you mention the marvelous totally functional squirrel swift. |
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sockjoan
Warming Up
Australia
50 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 03:53:04 AM
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| I call my umbrella swift my "Artificial Daughter". It's a lot more biddable than the real daughters, and anyway they left home a very long time ago. I'm a spinner, so I absolutely have to have such a device. DH only has the patience for very short skeins! |
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jhd@atlanticbb.net
New Pal
3 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 05:19:50 AM
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| Check out ChiaoGoo needles web page. I got mine at a local shop and I love love love it.Great price I think about $36.00 |
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knitbliss
New Pal
USA
16 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 05:45:56 AM
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While in my heart I would really love to have a cherry umbrella swift, the kid in me loves my Tinker Toy yarn swift - and it fits my knitting budget. Thanks to Jen at http://www.folkcatart.com/blogs/jen/?p=742 and her ingenious mind we have a demo of how to make a yarn swift out of Hasbro's Classic Jumbo Builder Set (available for around $30). A fun way to wind a ball or two. This swift solution is a little rickety but very colorful. The Tinker Toy swift tends to skate across a hard surface so it helps to put it on a piece of carpet. I get a lot of laughs from my knitting friends when I use it, but, I'm still saving up for a REAL swift.
Knit in Bliss! |
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knitz2
Permanent Resident
USA
1800 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 06:51:25 AM
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a problem I see with most umbrella swifts is that they must be mounted on a piece of furniture -- I have mine fastened to the top shelf of a short bookcase. a lady I spoke with a few days ago would like to get a swift but has measured table edges, etc. at her home and the edges are all too thick for the swifts we have been seeing to fit on them.
I know somewhere - sometime in the past I've seen a wooden umbrella swift with a weighted circular wooden base that sits on a table ~~ maybe someone here can direct me to a place they're sold. I do remember them being a bit on the pricey side is why I didn't get one for myself at the time but Ms B could afford one.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass ...
.....it's learning how to dance in the rain!Come visit me at http://yarnbasket.wordpress.com |
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Scary Knitter
New Pal
1 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 07:17:43 AM
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| Try looking on Etsy for a swift. I have found several there. I like supporting those who make useful, functional items. I showed my husband the pictures from Etsy and he made me one. His thing is woodworking (he's better at woodworking than I am at knitting. I make him sweaters and socks and he has made me a canoe and a kayak) and I now have a lovely hand made swift of oak. It's set up is similar to the tinker toy swift. |
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zknit08
Chatty Knitter
USA
315 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 07:46:25 AM
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Thank you for this interesting and informative article. I've seen this swift somewhere before, but I did'nt know what it was for, now I know.
Thanks,
zknit |
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Lanea
Permanent Resident
USA
5158 Posts |
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yarnlover
Permanent Resident
1729 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 08:14:21 AM
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I have the squirrel cage swift also - love it. No set up other than putting the skein on it. I also leave it out as an accessory in my foyer. I haven't ever had an umbrella swift as I always liked the time to hand wind using knees and toes to hold the skein. I still do that occasionally, but if I use the squirrel and don't finish, the whole thing can go sit quietly in a corner and be out of the way til I get back to it.
See My Stuff: Here
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chris
Permanent Resident
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 08:26:55 AM
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| I have a clamp on and a table top swift, both wood. I, too, am limited to where I can clamp my swift, but I still use it more than the table top model. It's simply easier to work with. I'm at the point where I have to clamp it and my ball winder to TV trays (wooden ones), but, hey, it works. When I bought my swift(s) and ball winder, I thought I was being indulgent and frivolous. After looking at the same models and seeing how much they've gone up in price, I'm glad I was! I do LOVE the Maine made cherry one! I just can't be that indulgent any more! |
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Cougar1
New Pal
9 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 08:45:22 AM
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| I found a different one at a flea market/antique shop for $5. It's called The New Hubby Skein Caddy...I'm not sure the person who bought it even used it...it still has the shipping paper and her envelope she ordered it with in 1968 inside the box. It cost her $3.98 total, shipping and all. |
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Pat in east Texas
Chatty Knitter
314 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 08:48:04 AM
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Mine is a big lampshade, loosened. It works and it's free!
A civilization that regards nuclear energy as important and knitting as trivial, is surely headed for destruction. - Message in a fortune cookie, paraphrased. |
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hewysmom
New Pal
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 09:19:54 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Clara
I thought it was time for us to revisit a tool that pops up perennially in my in-box: the umbrella swift. What is it? Do I really need one? While only you can answer that latter question, I do offer this input.
In the universal lexicon of hand gestures, if you stand in front of a knitter and hold out your arms, with your palms facing one another, you've just offered to hold that person's hank of yarn while he or she winds it into a ball. For hundreds of years, our early domestic tasks often included holding a skein of yarn in outstretched arms while our mothers, sisters, or aunts expertly wound the yarn into a ball. If a gentleman suitor was willing to hold skeins for his beloved, marital bliss was almost guaranteed.
But today's picture has changed to one of greater solitude, with busy schedules and not-so-willing suitors. Some knitters resort to draping yarn between chairbacks, an often flawed approach. Others simply lay the skein on the floor and patiently rotate themselves around it, stopping repeatedly to disentangle the yarn. When I have time, I confess a preference for setting the skein on my lap and slowly, tenderly winding each yard by hand—it's a quiet, intimate way to get to know my yarn.
But we don't always have a lot of time. And some skeins can hold more yarn than you'd ever want to manage by hand. A far better solution is the umbrella swift, an ingenious little device for holding skeins under tension so you can unravel them and easily wrap your yarn into balls.
...read the full story
Clara
Your friendly Knitter's Review publisher
Hewy's Mom |
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hewysmom
New Pal
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 09:28:29 AM
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Sorry for that first blank - still a newby at this
Found the umbrella part of an umbrella swift at an antique/junk shop. It's missing the pole (the 'handle' on a real umbrella), and, of course, the end of the pole that allows you to attach it, temporarily, to a table. I was thinking I could get the right sized dowel from a hardware or crafts store, but do you have an opinion as to how difficult it will be for me to find the attaching-to-table hardware and attach it to the 'handle' dowel? difficult enough to ditch it and go for a new (to me) swift? If not, any ideas about where I should start (to look for this hardware)?
Thanks for the article - I've been looking for where to ask this very question.
Hewy's Mom |
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GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 09:32:58 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by knitz2
I know somewhere - sometime in the past I've seen a wooden umbrella swift with a weighted circular wooden base that sits on a table ~~ maybe someone here can direct me to a place they're sold.
Here's the link for the swift you are looking for: Nifty Swift
You have to scroll down to "Nifty Swift" which is at the bottom of the page.
I have the above linked swift. Most of my yarn is in hanks that have to be wound and I constantly use the swift along with a ball winder since my personal preference is for a center pull ball.
The weighted base of the swift is so well balanced that I have taken to placing it on my bed and pulling the yarn across to the window where the ball winder is clamped. The swift has never tipped over.
I was another knitter who thought buying a swift was frivolous but within 24 hours after buying it I realized how wrong I was. I don't like to have my yarn wound at LYS and, anyway, a lot of my yarn comes from online not LYS. I like that I can wind a couple of skeins as I need it and the leftover skeins remain in original condition.
I also use my swift to put yarn back into hanks from wound balls. An example is Noro sock yarn which comes in a center pull ball. I rewind the ball on my ball winder to check for knots, twigs, and live forest life (never found any!). Then I wind it from the ball onto the swift to create a skein/hank which I wash in the sink. After it's dry it goes back onto the swift and then the ball winder to create a center pull ball that has no surprises in store.
For someone who does a lot of knitting the money put towards a swift is a onetime expense that will pay for itself over and over.
GFTC of NYCmy knitting photos on Flickr or Ravelry
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2totangle
Permanent Resident
1212 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 09:45:48 AM
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My clamp-on table-top swift is a guilty pleasure. I just wound 11 skeins, all the time being glad that I'd indulged myself during more prosperous times.
However, I find that in my dry climate, my swift isn't turning as freely as I'd like, which means I have to be careful not to wind too tightly. Before I tried sanding, oiling, and other things that might botch it up entirely, I wanted to ask if anyone has any tips for solving this issue.
Suzanne
Flickr pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/2totangle/
Ravelry project page: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/2totangle |
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GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 10:17:16 AM
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Suzanne, check to see if any stray yarn or fibers have clogged the swift where spinner joins the post.
GFTC of NYCmy knitting photos on Flickr or Ravelry
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2totangle
Permanent Resident
1212 Posts |
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modeknit
Warming Up
USA
73 Posts |
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Topic |
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Swifts
