I’ve been getting back into knitting and crocheting more and more in the last year. I’m now on two websites (Crochetville and Ravelry) that are communities for people in the yarn crafts. One thing I’ve heard about a lot on Ravelry was something called a yarn bowl.

It was easy, from what I was reading, to get an idea what it was like: a bowl that you put balls of yarn in, so that they didn’t wander around when you worked the yarn. However, I always wondered: how do they keep the yarn in the bowl? I’ve tried it with normal bowls and, if the bowl is shallow enough, they bounce right out. If the bowl is deep, it tips the bowl over or drags the yarn.

Today, I finally decided to look them up on Google. OMG! I’ve seen them before, in Michael’s or Joann’s or some craft store. At the time, I had no idea what they were. They’re usually ceramic (so that they’re nice and heavy), deep (to cup the yarn properly) bowls. Here’s the thing: they have slots down the side that curl around (most are sort of J-shaped, some curl around more). The yarn goes into that slot, effectively pinning the ball in place and keeping the yarn from dragging over the side of the bowl.

Now that I’ve seen them, now that I know what they are: I want a yarn bowl! I want a yarn bowl so much that I almost want to buy one right now – like order it today, while I’m at work. I won’t though. I’ll wait until I’m at Michael’s or Joann’s and see if I can pick one up then. Otherwise, I’ll put it on my Christmas list and force my parents to search high and low for something they’ve never heard of before. For now, I’ll just use my little backpacks to tuck my yarn into.