Had a little bit of a rough week, full of sad things. The least of which was the demise of my beloved and trusty plastic Royal brand ball winder. Above is the last cake of yarn it will ever make, an 880 yard skein of lovely olive green merino laceweight yarn that I purchased from the Yarn Chef for a super secret project.

Alas, when one’s husband trips and knocks over the kitchen stool that the ball winder is attached to, the plastic handle may just break right off upon impact. And herein lies the greatest weakness of the plastic ballwinder. The plastic handle and the winding mechanism are all one piece. All plastic. So when the handle breaks off just where it projects from the base of the winder it is impossible to fix. We tried to epoxy it on but the amount of epoxy needed to seal it would have stopped the mechanism being able to turn. Not so handy in a ball winder.

So, I ordered another one. A wooden one, made by the Strauch company, complete with ball bearings. It’s set to ship on or around the 22nd, and hopefully will arrive shortly thereafter. It’s a more expensive ball winder, over twice the cost of the Royal but it’s general sturdiness, better clamping abilities and the ball bearings mean it will last easily twice as long as the Royal, therefore justifying the cost. I’m buying for longevity, baby.

Speaking of buying for longevity, I should officially extend congratulations to T and Mr. T, on the impending purchase of their first home. Coming soon, a product review!