On the subject of swifts

[pensnest]

My birthday is approaching, and my Beast is looking into buying me a swift, for he is a good Beast. However, he doesn't know anything about swifts, and I don't know much more, so I wonder if anyone here might have some advice?

I'm more of a dk/aran knitter than a lace knitter, so presumably I'll need something reasonably sturdy. Beyond that, we neither of us really know what to look for. Are there any recommended brands or styles? Any that we should avoid? Is having the arms tied together with string a good thing or a bad one?

We're in the UK, and it would seem sensible to order one in this country rather than on the other side of the Atlantic, but even so, examples of the ideal would at least give us something to look at!

Comments

[pinesandmaples]

I have a very functional, solid Glimakra of Sweden umbrella swift that does quite nicely for the price. There should be retailers (and etailers) in the UK selling them at a good price, too.

Would I be purchasing with an unlimited budget, I'd be buying a custom-finished squirrel cage swift to match my wheel. But that's future planning, not present reality.

[pensnest]

I've passed this brand name on to Beast to investigate—thank you!

A 'squirrel cage' swift? Hm... very interesting images on Google. I didn't know there were such things.