My new umbrella swift

A few months ago, I first discovered the wonderful yarn store mylys, which is located in West-Hamburg.
They offer some of my favourite yarns including Malabrigo, Cascade, Schoppel and Zitron. And they also have a back room, in which one can wind the hanks into center-pull skeins. You have to do it yourself, but the usage is for free. Which is really great, since there are lots of knitters, who prefer to spend their money on new yarn instead. And nobody wants to knit from an unwound hank (If you don't know why, go and try it out...). And let me tell you something: a center-pull skein, that was wound with a yarn winder is veeeerrry handy. Unlike the traditional ball of yarn, with a center-pull you have easy access to either end of the yarn. And since it has a cylindrical shape, it won't roll away, no, it just sits exactly where you placed it. Imagine that!

I find the process of winding the yarn to be relaxing, it is something to do while watching telly. And so about half a year ago, I bought myself a yarn winder. With a crank. Super easy. And fast. And whatnot. Except for one tiny detail, I still had to hold the hank someplace, where it wouldn't get tangled while winding. So, like many others before me, I placed the hank around my knees, which works for awhile, but gets really tiring, because one mustn't operate the yarn winder too fast. And one needs to hold the yarn up and to guide it away from the knees, so that the yarn winder can pull it without yanking the whole hank though the air! Which happens if there is even a slight tangle. Or sometimes the yarn sticks together, it has something to do with the dye.

So, still a lot of problems. Which could be solved with just a bit of money... and so I ordered an umbrella swift, which arrived a few weeks ago and boy! This is amazing!

It is made out of wood and can be attached to the table. Very smooth handiwork. Good construction and overall a very good quality. The umbrella construction is nifty, so one can adjust the swift to the size of the hank since each manufacturer has his own idea of how long those hanks should be.
One still has problems if the yarn is tangled in itself, like the Malabrigo Arroyo (who wound that thing – it's a mess!) I wound with it Saturday evening. But the yarn as a whole is secure. And one has both hands free to unpick the tangles. And if you get interrupted, just leave everything where it is, it can't run away, now can it?

In summary: I should have gotten one ages ago!