I'm not remotely surprised that you're a fantastic multi-tasker, but today you cracked me up with the details!!

I can't believe you don't have a fancy ball winder, but I admire your process!
Have a great weekend!

Why haven't I thought of that???? You're a genius!

ha! that is a fantastic idea... wearing the yarn around your neck!! i also love yarn winders, yet do not have one.. balling up yarn is always a stressful event for me. hopefully it won't be so bad aymore :)

You are too cute. I don't have a ball winder but I do have a swift - that i rarely use because it's too much trouble to open it to the precise width so that the yarn doesn't fall off or stretch and then to secure it to a table...so I end up winding by hand too.

Three rave reviews can't be wrong - now i need to make those cookies too. They look so yummy!

Oh ladies, treat yourself to a swift and winder! I used to dread winding (I'd have the hank around my feet, prop them up, and bend and wind, bend and wind). It was aweful! Now, I can get several done in minutes!

I don't have a swift or a winder either, but I do wish I did! winding 1000 yards of laceweight cashmere can get old after a while (as I often do when recycling yarn). I would LOVE a winder!

We know what you are baking, but what are you making (with that lovely yarn)?

Fantastic job multi-tasking. Great idea to divide the dough up and make four different versions.

I've been debating about buying a swift and winder but feel like it's unnecessary too. Still holding out.

oh my goodness! do you even wind laceweight like that?

you is crazy lady!

Jeez, yarn in your pocket? I wonder if it makes it into the stew pot as you cook...?!

i just succumbed to one of those winders and it's fun, especially with my son who is obsessed in making yarn cakes! You van give your kids to do it for you, you know?

I love the look of a hand-wound ball. Don't you think it has so much more character than one made otherwise?!

Have you ever made the ones in the cookbook One Bite Won't Kill You by Ann Hodgman? They are awesome. I have started liking nuts in my cookies, too. Wonder what that's all about. But I will try this recipe, too - like the idea of making four kinds, though then that means I'd have to "try" all four until they were finished...

I made your version of the toll house recipe last week and it was so, so good--I don't know if I'll go back to the original version!

And if you--of all people--don't have a ball winder, well, why should anybody? ;)

LOVE the yarn necklace leslie! and the cookies are making me drool, and excited to have a kitchen to bake some myself!

mmmmmm they look really mmmmm!!!! I have just bought a wool-winder and I love it!!!

thanks for the link to the oatmeal cookies... I am going to make them tomorrow.

I have a winder, but not a swift, so half the time I do it by hand as well. But I never thought of carrying the yarn around my neck! :) Clearly a very efficient method! :) The cookies look so yummy!

At the lys I always thought the ball winder caused more trouble than it was worth. Most of the time winding yarn up is pretty relaxing.

Yarn round the neck for winding; great idea!!

totally winding my own too.
the thought is this:
$40 for a ball winder
or
$40 for more yarn?
easy choice!

love the cookie choice this week. will be making them soon:)

Loved your post and the winding on the go. I think I have to bake some cookies today. You inspired me!

Loved your post and the winding on the go. I think I have to bake some cookies today. You inspired me!

I don't have one, either! Glad to know I'm not alone. :) I find that sitting cross-legged with the yarn around your knees is pretty effective (when you have a minute to sit down, that is).

yeah, those are the best.
i have a ball winder. and a swift. my mom got them for me for my birthday one year. but i hate using them. so carl winds my balls of yarn with them. he has much more patience than i...

Love this post! The cookies look delicious! I just had some oatmeal cookies today with craisins and vanilla chips, really good!

Like I said on flickr-genius! My friends will all be so happy I've made this discovery.

I love pretty much everything I've made from SmittenKitchen. It's great for when I need some food inspiration!

My yarn is often stretched between my knees, while riding in the van with my husband driving, on the way to church. I have to do something with that time, right? Yep, I'm often a Sunday morning yarn winder... it works.
Happy knitting-
ali

Mmmm, the cookies look great! I have to laugh at your 'ball-winding' method! I can't believe you don't have a ball winder because you do so much knitting. I don't even know how to wind a ball without one :)

The fastest way to get a swift and winder...ask your husband to hold your yarn while you wind!

Thanks for the cookie links. I got a swift for Christmas and have yet to use it. Hopefully this weekend!

absolutely love it that you custom bake your cookies, what a great mom!

Really? I'm surprised. I know we don't 'need' one but I sure love using mine. Love turning out pretty little yarn cakes :)

(Great photo!)

I don't have a swift or ball winder either. I put the yarn over the back of a chair & wind. Malibrigo lace seems to take the longest!

My mom just gave me a ball winder for Christmas and my fiance became sad saying, "But I like it when I help you wind your yarn." Sweet man. :)
All these years I thought I was torturing him having him hold his two arms bent upward so I could stretch my skein over them and wind away. Apparently I was wrong!
What brand jeans are you wearing in your pic? They look comfy... :)

Well, I am impressed. I tried winding all my yarn by hand for a time, but it almost always got tangled and took hours to sort out, and I finally broke down and bought a ball winder and swift. The draping around the neck and doing little bits as you go is brilliant!

I wouldn't think of having a ball winder either....just work on it when you can....and WHY haven't I ever thought of dividing the dough up into parts to customize my cookies!!!!?????? Brilliant! It is always the little things that make us happiest :)

YUM!

whatever works! and if your knitting is any indication...it works!
oatmeal cookies are mark's favorite! I think he deserves a little surprise this week! thanks for sharing.

I always wind my own, and it's one of my favorite parts of the project. Just this morning I was winding a ball of Lush at a Sunday school parents' meeting (to quite a few curious glances). What's the gorgeous yarn?

i would love a swift, but don't feel i knit enough to justify it. but i hate winding so fatty does it for me. yay!
and now i am craving oatmeal cookies. yum.

I made chocolate chip this weekend - but those look delicious. Maybe this weekend.

I get in such a tangle with my yarn, I would especially if I walked round the house with it! It would end up in the cooking and all sorts!

Alright I guess I need to try those cookies with chocolate chips replacing the raisins.

You have great patience. When I was able to find the right swift I bought it right then and there. Yummy looking cookies.

Well, your solution is so old school I love it. Also--the swift frequently results in terrible tangles, so you really aren't missing anything!

What a great idea!!

These cookies look so good!I hear winding a ball of yarn the way you do can be relaxing. You go girl!

I have the swift & the winder...I used to do it like you, It just took too much time, think of that extra time you would have knitting!

i love to wind the yarn too! My kids have started to do it for me as well. They like to put it around the back of a chair and wind it that way. I am glad I am not the only one.

totally love this post,and the pictures too!
i've used my knees and had the kids hold the yarn, but the kids get "bored".....i'll try my neck next time...hopefully i won't strangle myself!
made the cookies again with walnuts....more yum, now i'll try them again with chocolate chips...what a good mom you are splitting the dough into 4! :)

I like your winding process. Sometimes they wind my yarn in the shop and sometimes, like you, I just wind at home. It's kind of nice to do it on your own.

I made the oatmeal cookies and they were great! I subsituted cran-raisins instead and they were good as well.

Roslyn

LOVED those cookies!!! Thanks for the linky! They didn't last long around here with 4 kiddos. On my list to make again this week...

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