Caking yarn

On By CarynIn Craft

Because of the bulk and quantity of yarn I produced on the Ashford Traveller spinning wheel, I decided to let time set the twist rather than do a wet block. Setting the twist in freshly spun yarn gives a more balanced yarn which doesn’t kink up when slack, making it easier to work with be it knitting, crochet, or weaving. A quick way to set to twist is to get the yarn wet and let it dry (there are many variations, but it boils down to this). Time will also set the twist; sitting under tension for a while lets the fibers relax and accept their formation.

Photo description: three-ply bulky alpaca merino blended yarn wrapped on a niddy noddy
Photo description: very thick skein of bulky yarn

I did not have to transfer the yarn to a niddy noddy, I could have wound it directly to a cake, but I wanted to see it in skein form. It was an overfull skein, though, so wasn’t as pretty, but I wasn’t willing to cut the yarn, or make a bigger skein. Oh well. I wound it all into cakes using a Royal New Wool Winder.

Photo description: four cakes of bulky yarn

I have many projects that need completing before I can get to this yarn, so it has some time to sit and settle. It is all queued up though, with the needles and the knitting plan in the bag with the yarn cakes.

Blocking the swatch

On By CarynIn Craft

My small swatch of hand-spun merino/alpaca dyed yarn experienced a small amount of shrinkage after I rinsed it and let it dry.

Photo description: moss stitch swatch straight off the needles measuring 7 inches
Photo description: same swatch after blocking measuring 6.75 inches, but looking more tidy

The good news is that there was no visible bleed when I blocked the swatch. I was concerned that the beautiful dark red would bleed.

Dividing the last

On By CarynIn Craft

I spun up nearly a whole bag of alpaca/merino roving, filled up six small bobbins of singles, and two large bobbins of three ply yarn. The roving that remained was not enough to fill three more small bobbins, so I weighed it and divided by three.

Photo description: “rose hip” dyed alpaca and merino roving divided up into three roughly equal parts and put back in the bag, separated by clips. Ashford Traveller spinning wheel in the background with left over single spun yarn on the bobbins.

Dividing the roving worked well, but I still had one bobbin run out of single spun before the other two when I was plying. To use up all the singles, I chain plied the last bits. Since chain plying creates a slightly different yarn than plying from three bobbins (there are U bends in the yarn, but it is still three ply), I knit up my swatch with this last bit of yarn. So I didn’t loose track of which part was chain plied, I knit straight off the spinning wheel. The yarn was nicely balanced, so this wasn’t difficult.

Photo description: knitting a moss stitch swatch straight off the spinning wheel

My spinning and plying created a “bulky” yarn, about 8 wraps per inch (wpi), so I knit with size 11 needles by Prym.

Cat games

On By CarynIn Cats, dog

Thor the gray tabby made an interesting decision to hang off the side of the rocker.

Photo description: large gray tabby with a bemused expression and his front two legs hanging down over the arm of a leather rocker

What he was really doing was waiting for Missy the dog to run by so he could grab her tail.

Oh my delicate parts

On By CarynIn repair

My youngest’s Nintendo Switch lite broke. The left joystick actually flopped around, not just drifted. She received a new to her full size Switch for her birthday, so the old one was a wash. Since it didn’t hurt anything to try, I bought an under $20 joystick repair kit and found directions. The directions had 28 steps just to get the joystick out, then the same 28 steps were retraced to put it back together. The kit came with two joysticks, which looked identical, except for part numbers on the back. There was no indication anywhere which was left, and which was right. I picked one. The disassembly didn’t go too bad for the left joystick, although I did break the left speaker connection because I didn’t realize that the plug was a teeny tiny white part in a slightly larger tiny white socket.

Feeling brave, and while the device was open anyway, I decided to replace the right joystick as well, after all, I had the part. Oh dear. The right joystick is a whole different set of steps, and involves removing a motherboard. I didn’t break the right speaker, and I had to replace the motherboard three times before all the cables were in the right spots, I thought. I missed the fan cable, and when I tried to retrieve it through the motherboard, it tore. Nuts.

Photo description: motherboard removed from a Nintendo Switch lite, all the removed parts placed on a sheet of cardstock and labeled
Photo description: broken end of a fan cable

Things I learned in this process: don’t force it (honestly I really should have known this, this is not my first rodeo). The engineering and durability of these devices is amazing. If I hadn’t been ham-handed, this is a doable repair. Inverted washi tape rings make great holders for tiny screws. Label everything. I saw my eldest set up for a deconstruction this way with wells embossed into card stock and it is brilliant.

The number one thing I was forcefully reminded of in this project: stop when you’re ahead.

The pieces and parts are now marked for a trip to tech recycling.