If I knew you were comin’ I’d’ve baked a cake…

“baked a cake, baked a cake…” – If I Knew You Were Comin’ sung by Eileen Barton

Seeing a yarn shop filled with beautiful hanks of yarn makes me happy.  Seeing those hanks of yarn wound into tight, cute, little, center-pulling “cakes” and stacked neatly in my house makes me REALLY happy!  My girls repeatedly ask me, “Mom, why don’t you have one of those cool things that winds the yarn up?”  And my response is, “Oh, girls, if I had the money to buy one of those cool things that winds up the yarn, I would buy one!”  A yarn swift and ball winder are the two tools that work in tandem to transform a hank of yarn (don’t ever try to knit straight from the hank) into a very neat center-pulling “cake”.

After purchasing some yarn online, I received it in the mail only to realize that it was yet to be wound.  This forced my search into a modestly priced swift and winder.  Much to my surprise, I stumbled upon this little treasure – the nostepinde!  A nostepinde is a Scandinavian tool used to create center-pulling “cakes” of yarn.  It requires NO batteries, no table-top to clamp down to, no electricity.  This portable, simple tool can be thrown right in your purse (yes, I’ve done it)!  Well, the more I read about it, I decided to look on Etsy to see if anyone perhaps made them.  DOES ANYONE MAKE THEM!??!  I immediately found several artisans and was so excited to purchase my first nostepinde, when my husband said, “Isn’t it just a dowel? Hold on a minute.”  And off he disappeared into our basement.  An hour later, he returned with this in hand:

Yes, my husband whittled me my very own nostepinde…FROM AN EXTRA TOILET PLUNGER!  He is my renaissance man, a true jack-of-ALL-trades.  I love my nostepinde and it is my most used knitting tool.  Although, not as quick as a winder and swift, and yes it does take practice, this is a must-have tool in your knitting bag of tricks.  Here’s a nice tutorial on How To Use A Nostepinde.

I’ll leave you with one of my most favorite cake recipes.  A MUST make, it’s utterly declicious…

Samoa Bundt Cake (aka Donut Cake in our house)