Kitchen Aid Magic

http://geocachingknitter.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html


It already exists, I googled someone who googled someone else. Directions are pretty simple, a dough hook and a paper tube.

Knitting with a KitchenAid stand mixer:
Faced with winding 30 some skeins of Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper weight into center pull skeins, I decided to search the web for an easier method than a swift and a hand cranked ball winder. Not wanting to pay for an electric winder, DH and I figured out there had to be a way to attach a small motor to the ball winder. NOT! So what other small motors were in the house that allowed a circular wind motion? Why an electric mixer of course!!! Having had surgery for carpal tunnel once, I prefer to save the hand motions for knitting rather than winding.
Google search brought up these sites from knitters who already had the idea:http://www.figandplum.com/archives/000365.html using a hand held mixerhttp://geocities.com/mama_bear_007/ using a stand mixer
So out came the Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook. I found that cutting a 4" square of lightweight cardboard, taping it into a tube and slipping it over the dough hook worked perfectly. There were no empty cardboard cylinders in the house at the moment but I will save some paper towel cardboard. I think they would be even better than thinner cardboard tubes.The first couple of skeins were a bit comical as they looked more like children's tops than balled yarn but what the heck. It saved a lot of hand winding. Kitchen Aid stand mixer run on motor speed 6 balled a skein of yarn in about 45 seconds.
Lesson learned - Google is your friend.

And my aspirations as an inventor are crushed... I may have to try this. I have a elementary school teacher buddy who saves everything, I am sure she has toilet paper tubes. While unhappy that it's not original, I think tomorrow will be fun. And I can hardly wait until J asks, "What the heck is a mixer doing in the bedroom honey?" He wants to hear fresh whipped cream, he is going to be really confused with "making yarn balls".