I’d like to use this post to introduce you to something you may or may not know about – yarn bowls. I first came across these when talking with Anne – a friend of mine who started the knitting group I belong to with myself and Joie. Well, as it turns out, Anne is not just a great knitter, she is also very good with clay and makes her own pottery. She was talking with someone who mentioned these things called knitting bowls and Anne was intrigued. She spent some time researching them and made a prototype. Like all great things, the first wasn’t the best. Although it was workable, Anne learned some valuable lessons (kinda like making a sweater) and endeavored to improve. I want to tell you that now they are spectacular. I just bought one from her today and plan on getting another. Here’s a picture of some of the ones that she had to choose from today. I got the cobalt blue one but I am sure Anne would be happy to make another if you wanted one like it.
So what exactly is a yarn bowl and how do you use it? A yarn bowl is used to hold yarn while you are knitting so that it doesn’t spin out of control all over the place. If you have a cat you could get a lidded one so that it doesn’t play with your yarn while you are knitting. There is a slot in the bowls where you feed the yarn through while the ball rests inside the bowl (lidded or not). Why would you use one if you’re using a center pull ball? Good question but there’s a simple answer – actually a few of them.
- If you’re using more than one color, the bowl will help you keep them organized. Each bowl had two slots for yarn giving you the choice when you’re using one color, and the organizational capacity when using more than one.
- The work becomes easily portable when you’re using a yarn bowl. Need to go upstairs for a little peace and quiet while you knit? Grab your bowl and traipse on up!
- The yarn bowl declutters your space and makes it look neat and tidy – even when you’re knitting. There’s no loose ball of yarn hanging around.
- There’s a certain je ne sais quois about a bowl holding yarn sitting on your coffee table. When friends are over it’s a great conversation piece and you can each have your own bowl keeping your work tangle free and neat.
This bowl has two balls ...
Of course, the real beauty of the bowl is using it for a ball of yarn being used from the outside. When you’re using silk or other yarns that you use from the outside, or hand wound balls, or variegated yarns where you go from the outside, the bowl keeps the yarn in place and prevents the tumbling around of the ball. Not only does it keep it where it should be but it also keeps it clean. A good trick would be to lightly coat the bowl with lanolin when using natural wool so that the work would have the feel of the natural oil as if it came straight from the sheep. This also helps make your work water resistant – again when working with a natural wool.
Regardless of how you use your bowl, I can promise you that you will be impressed with the craftmanship of Anne’s work and enjoy the bowl immensely. The bowls range in prices and start from around $50. I am sure Anne would even be willing to make larger ones for you by special request. She can be contacted at anne@divafish.com if you’d like to inquire about getting a bowl of your own!
Hugzzz 😎