Ok you guys - I'm freaking out here with excitement! So remember how over the last six months or so I've been on the hunt for my dream ball winder to replace the piece of s$%t one that has brought me to tears more times than I can count? Thanks to all off your help on social media I found it!!! Insert the Fiber Artist Supply Co. Maple Jumbo Ball Winder. And top that off I want you all to have a chance to win one too (pop over to my Instagram page to enter)!!! Wahoo!!!!!
A little back story before we get to the real nitty gritty.....so before I started researching ball winders I had purchased a new wooden amish style swift (you can see the one I got here). My goal was to have both my swift and ball winder be wooden and table top (with no need to clamp!!!! Yes, you heard me right - no clamps!!!!). I wasn't sure it was possible and if it was I wasn't sure I was willing to spend huge $$$$ to get it. All I knew was that I really wanted to find a way to make it happen. My set up for winding is not conducive to clamps and I also wanted things that could be stored easily without taking up tons of space because- hello - small studio space here.
After purchasing my swift my friend Lindsay of Standard Knits also got the same one and we started chatting about the said elusive ball winder. After my last instagram post on the topic, when I truly was at wit's end, so many of you recommended to me Fiber Artist Supply Co. that I decided to look into it! I can't thank you all enough for all the comments on both Lindsay's and I's ball winder posts - they have been so helpful! So after hunting for what seemed like forever, and doing tons of research, we both decided that we liked all the options that the Fiber Artist Supply Co winder had to offer and that it was an American company that hand makes their supplies. Plus the price is seriously so good for the quality of the product you are getting. Win win in my book!
Lindsay and I were both super excited to try them out and get winding! So after taking time to use and test our new ball winders we felt ready to give you guys a review and bonus - give one away too!!!! You can read below for my full review and find out how to enter the giveaway and you can read Lindsay's reveiw HERE on her blog!
FIBER ARTIST SUPPLY CO. // Maple Jumbo Ball Winder Review
The easiest and fastest way to sum up how I feel about this ball winder is to just basically say I love the darn thing. Yep. It's all I could have hoped for in a ball winder and more. Sounds cheesy - I know - but it truly does tick all the boxes I was looking for. I love the design of this ball winder and the thought that Fiber Artist Supply Co. put into it's features and construction.
The Maple Jumbo Ball Winder has the following features:
- adjustable yarn placement guide (you can move the guide to different distances from the skein)
- ability to use with our without the table clamp (hello!!! my fave thing about this winder!!!)
- ability to swing the arm the yarn placement guide is on to a different side of the winder (soooo handy!)
- great size for small spaces
- can be disassembled and reassembled in less than a minute for easy cleaning and servicing
- parts are easily maintained and replaced
- ability to change up yarn guide to art yarn guide
- great price point for this type of quality and craftsmanship
- one year warranty
The ball winder has "six sealed ball bearings allow the winder to spin almost effortlessly while a well-balanced main winding assembly allow users to to opt to wind with or without a table clamp. Hard maple and premium maple veneered plywood are finished with Danish oil." It's so lovely to look at and even though I have a tiny office space it looks great in it and I don't mind having it out as it's not a huge space taker.
HELPFUL VIDEOS
Check out the great videos Timothy from Fiber Artist Supply Co. made showing you how the ball winder works and it's many features!
HOW TO USE THE BALL WINDER
YARN GUIDE PLACEMENT VIDEO
In the pics shown in this post I'm winding a HUGE skein of YOTH Yarns Daughter. Now look at how pretty that looks! I had no issues with tension/slipping or winding even though this is a pretty darn skein of yarn! This one skein would have taken me 15 minutes of frustration on my old winder but now I can easily wind a pile of yarn in less than 15 mins! And it's fun! Bonus is my kids can help out again (they love winding) and there's no more curse words and tears coming from me! I honestly had started dreading winding my yarn and putting it off until the last minute it was so torturous.
I definitely recommend the Maple Jumbo Ball Winder to anyone looking to replace theirs and that are also looking for a tabletop (no clamp needed!) wooden ball winder featuring the perks I mentioned above.
You can find all things Fiber Artist Supply Co. at www.fiberartistsupplyco.com and the ball winder HERE. I hope that all the info above helps you on the search to find your "dream" ball winder.
ARE YOU READY TO WIN ONE?
Pop over to my Instragam page HERE to enter to win!!! Good luck and happy knitting (and winding)!
Giveaway is open to Canadian, US and International residents, from May 31st - June 5th, midnight, PST.