I am in a pre-Christmas-knitting-frenzy to finish up (or even start - horrible me!) the last presents for my nearest and dearest... I guess that you all are in quite a similar situation!!!

So I started working on my sister's gift: a pair of quick and easy armwarmers, which thankfully don't need any intellectual activity at all and can be knitted up while working on the computer or while thinking about the next present that needs to be done....

Soooo... while I was working and minding other stuff, my centre-pulled yarn ball started to tangle and it dropped to the floor more than once and generally couldn't seize to annoye me - That's how I remembered a tip I had seen on pinterest some time ago...

... I went to the kitchen and found a nice sturdy, big enough bowl and a simple binder-clip and I made my own, perfectly functioning yarn-bowl:

I am absolutely loving it... it keeps the yarn in one place (don't choose a light bowl that might move around) and the yarn flows out smoothly without any problems. I took the binder-clip apart to put my yarn in the loops, since I thought about this DIY yarn-bowl after having already started the project - and it could not have been easier to set everything up!

In less than 2 minutes everything was done and my knitting resumed... only this time I had a very obedient yarn ball sitting in a nice looking bowl next to me!
Another plus is that whenever I wan't to put my WIP away I can just put it in the nice bowl and it looks much better than just thrown in a corner, as was my former "method" of organisation!

Here you can find the original post that was linked to pinterest, where I had read about this great idea! And for the curious amongst you: the yarn is "Cool Wool Big Melange" from Lana Grossa in the colourway 617 & the pattern is the free SoftCables I published in November. 

Have you tried all left-leaning decreases known to man and just resigned to the strange and floppy look that they have in comparison to the one right-leaning decrease we all love: 
the K2tog?

Well... me too: The SSK, the PSSO, the K2tog through back loop, and many more... they all end up with a huge loop underneath the left leaning stitch that bunches everything up and makes a strange zig-zag instead of a clean, smooth line of decreases, like the k2tog does....

But I now "found" a way to work a decrease that has nothing to be embarrassed about...

This decrease needs some practice to get used to. I found it quite cumbersome at the beginning, but was too delighted with the result to just let go - and I can confirm, that after some happily executed LK2tog-decreases they now are really quick and easy to make!!!!

To see a larger version of the tutorial, you can click here.
... and you can also check out some other tutorials  here, if you like .

Update: we have started a discussion on the subject of this decrease-technique on my group on ravelry here (since it is easier to exchange ideas there than in the comments) and I wanted to invite everybody to come to the ravelry forum to post questions, remarks or impressions on the LK2tog. 
Tell me if you like it or hate it or whatever you think about it...
...everything interests me!!!
:)

Do you know this sensation? When it's cold and grey outside and you step into a warm and beautiful shop full of soft, cozy, beautifully coloured yarn... the moment when the door behind you shuts and you stop in utter wonder and amazement - feeling like a kid in a candy shop!

I was blown away by the sheer amount of luxurious yarn on display! Even the tiniest corner of this sunny shop had something wondrous to see, touch and admire....

... the little shop is filled with loveliness displayed in the most beautiful way ....

"Die Mercerie" has so much to offer: not only the gorgeous choice of famous yarns from every corner of the world, cute buttons and tools, but it also serves the best Latte Macchiato and tasty cakes here in Munich....

... and that's the best idea ever: a beautiful  yarn shop with a friendly and convivial atmosphere, where you not only buy the most gorgeous tools of the trade but also have lots of fun using them. Right there on the spot!!!!