Tools for Yarn

There was a time when I thought that working with yarn or thread basically required minimal tools, such as needles or hooks, and a pair of scissors.  Recently I became aware of a whole slew of tools or implements on which the yarn addict can spend all one's hard-earned cash, while expanding one's vocabulary to include quaint and archaic names of tools, such as "nostepinne" and "niddy-noddy."



Nostepinne



Being a word junkie, when I come across a terms that are unfamiliar, I simply MUST find out what the word means (and how to pronounce it).  Obviously, the internet is an invaluable source of information, right at the tip of my fingers.  I soon learned that a Nostepinne (pictured above) is an implement on which one can wind a ball of yarn, with the option to have the working end pull out from the center.  I watched how-to videos and read blogs, until it became clear that having one could prove to be very useful, so I embarked upon the adventure of locating one. 

Always one to support our local economy, I visited the local ye-olde-yarn-shoppe in our town.  Not only did they not have any, but the person running the shop that day had NO IDEA what a Nostepinne was!  I had the same experience two other places.  At a fourth place, the woman running the shop that day KNEW what a Nostepinne was, and told me she had just gotten one - from a friend who made it for her!  She suggested I might be able to find one in Seattle, two hours away.  Given the price of gas these days, I decided to return home and let my fingers do the walking-on-my-keyboard.

I found dozens of them, but didn't like the prices.  And let's face facts - who wants to pay $20-$30 for a tool so simple that a child could, theoretically, make one.  Okay, maybe the child would have to have access to a lathe....

Many thanks to my dad (the master woodworker) for letting me watch while he worked his magic with wood.  Thanks, also, to God who gave me a keen mind and the ability to improvise.  I used some ingenuity and some items I picked up at the local hardware store and came up with a reasonable approximation. 

I can't wait til the urethane dries so I can start using it.