yarn hanks to yarn balls

Yesterday, I got a package.  Weee!  It's my yarn for my next sweater, which I carefully labored over what I wanted to pick. I'm making a Mr. Greenjeans with Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks that Rock Heavyweight" in Beryl, a beautiful dark greeny-blue slightly variegated color.

So of course, that meant hanks of yarn to wind into balls to make it usable.

I don't have a Swift or Ball Winder.  That's a big investment, and so I've wanted my craft money to go towards buying yarn and good needles instead.

Last time I turned a hank into a ball, I sat cross-legged and looped the ends around my knees and wound that way.  That's hard on my knees to be sitting that way so long, and it's easy to tangle still.  Before that, I dangled the yarn over the back of E's desk chair, but it just didn't stay where I wanted it to nicely.

Today's solution was my favorite yet.  I have this large wooden board that used to be a shelf in our garage, about 30" wide and 20" deep.  It's been a good lapdesk throughout college (it actually says my maiden name on the spine because I stored it in the dorm one year).  I wrapped it with one of my big towels that was in my guest room from the last time I blocked something, just to protect the yarn from snagging on the board.  Then I set it on my card table with several inches off the end of the table.  This was just perfect for hanging my hank, and I sat on my exercise ball in that room and bounced lightly as I gently and loosely wound a center-pull ball.  This was much better!

(I'd take a picture, but that room is such a disaster area, I don't think I could find an angle that was *safe* to shoot from!!!!)

The ball is still not as pretty as it would be from a ball winder, but it's okay.  Someday, maybe I'll get one and make pretty balls, but until then, this will work... 1 done, 3 to go (one is destined for socks, and the others are for my sweater).