Yesterday I was telling you how excited I am for my new Stanwood Winder. Well, ITS HERE! I took the opportunity to take it out of the box and use it straight away! I only wound 5 skeins, because the progeny were getting TOO interested in what I was doing.

The box was smaller than I expected, but the winder itself is HUGE. I had a couple pieces that I needed to attach, the instructions were helpful.

Unfortunately, this winder doesn’t fit on my dining room table either. I’m still using my ratchet set-up for now: an old stool and an unstable tv table. Maiden voyage yarn: AT Haynes House Yarns Haynesville Fingering (100% Superwash Merino, 415 yards) in VKL Exclusive Colorway: It’s Nobody’s Birthday. I have a hat idea that I can’t wait to work up in this yarn, for reals. The new winder makes a TIGHT cake, my only “complaint”. Once I took it off the cone, it relaxed a bit. I remember reading that you can damage your yarn if its wound too tight and stored too long.

Next, I wound 7.9 ounces (223.97 g.) of this beautiful handspun! The winder easily worked this into a nice cake. I spun it sometime between 2013 and 2018 (because I’ve barely spun in the past 18 months). Unfortunately, I don’t remember the wool type, the dyer, or the colorway. I will update if I find out the information; I’m always finding tags in with my spinning supplies. I DO know that I set it with tension, and when I wash it, its going to bloom. Right now its about 11 WPI, putting it in DK/Light Worsted territory and therefore between 400 and 500 yards. Like my modeling pics? This yarn is destined to be worn around my neck. These colors suit my skin tone, with or without purple hair.

Lastly, I wound up approximately 600 yards of a green hand-dyed. I have no idea what this is destined to be, but at least it won’t get tangled in storage.

So- my initial thoughts on the Stanwood High Capacity Winder, I like it. No major mishaps, all the inconsistencies are from where I had to stop and start again; user error as opposed to product issue. The mechanism is a bit louder, but again, it is significantly larger in size to my previous winder. I’m excited to use it again in the future. I am please I decided to upgrade my previous model to this one.