Winding yarn for crochet

Here in the Philippines, we don't have much variety of yarns to choose from for our crochet or knitting hobby. For those who are able to order yarn from abroad, or receive it as a gift, a hank of yarn is luxury!

In 2007, I received this special silk yarn from Argentina, from my friend Vik. Its so lovely! I'm still saving it until I'm sure I've got the right project...

For me, a hank of gorgeous yarn is just so nice to look at and so wonderful to feel, its like I don't want to turn it into something else! But if I really need to use it for a project, I'd have to wind it into a ball...
Winding yarn manually is easy once you get to practice it. A gadget isn't necessary, but if you have a swift and a yarn winder it would save you some time.
Note: Skeins of yarn are tied together at intervals to prevent tangling. Do not untie the skeins until you are ready to wind the yarn into balls.
Here are the simple steps to manually wind yarn.
First hang the skein on the back of a chair so the skein forms a circle, cut or untie the knots.

Pick up one end of the yarn and begin winding. You can follow the steps here, or do as I did:

I used the cardboard tube found at the center of the Cannon threads from my previous projects. If you can't find one, a toilet paper tube cut into half can also be used ;)

Wind the yarn evenly on the center of the cardboard, then continue winding diagonally, while slowly rotating the cardboard in the opposite direction.

Continue in the same manner, and you can see the yarn will form neatly into a ball.

In a few minutes, you're done!

Good to be Back!

Its been more than three months since my computer broke down...turned out, the computer is still ok and only the electrical outlet was defective! So now I had to change its location and plug it on another outlet. While doing that I rearranged furniture and stuff and also got to clean some neglected areas and corners of the house. I think that's a good way to start the year! However, much as I'd like to take control and put everything back to "normal", I didn't get so lucky...my older son got sick last week. He's now well but still on sick leave, and now my younger son is sick! I feel like getting sick myself, but I've got no time for that. Soon as my family is well, I'll be focusing on my crochet projects and designs. I'm so eager to get going again! I also have some tips and tricks that I haven't shared yet...
Meanwhile, that's a picture of me and my SIL last Christmas, featuring my own design using Cannon threads. I finished it a year ago. Pattern will be available in print, soon (I hope!)