Spindlicity

Book Review - all new Homespun Handknit by Amy Clarke Moore

Hooray!  Interweave has published a follow up to Homespun Handknit; the All New Homespun Handknit: 25 Small Projects to Knit with Handspun Yarn by Amy Clarke Moore, editor of Spin-Off magazine.

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596681446
• ISBN-13: 978-1596681446

The original Homespun, Handknit was one of my favorite books as a new spinner because it gave me project goals to aim for.  The newest volume delivers in just the same way.  This book is chock full of small projects that you can easily accomplish with less than a half pound of fiber.  There are beautiful socks, mittens, childrens sweaters, scarves, shawls and hats.  I love the fact that so many fiber types and yarn styles are represented, from chunky, softly spun singles to beautiful, delicate laceweight.  The designers represented in All New Homespun Handknit include many of the spinnerati in the fiber community - The directions are clear, and, as always, the photos are charming.  The All New Homespun Handknit makes you want to snuggle up on the sofa with a cup of cocoa and spend a dreamy afternoon knitting up some of that lovely yarn you've spun!

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Comment Contest:

Enter to Win a copy of Amy King's Spin Control!  Leave a comment any day from October 1-8th and you will be automatically entered for our random drawing on October 9th.  You may enter each day.

Book Review - Spin Control by Amy King

It's been a banner year for spinning books!  We've got quite a few to review here at Spindlicity.  First up is Spin Control: Techniques for Spinning the Yarns You Want  by Amy King.

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (June 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596681055
• ISBN-13: 978-1596681057

Fans of Spunky Eclectic will recognize the author of Spin Control, Amy King, as the dye genius behind Spunky's beautiful fibers.  She is also a spinning shop owner and excellent spinner, and this book showcases her many talents.  It is an overview of many areas of spinning, with a little bit in each section to show you how that technique can be used to create the yarn you want.  There is a little bit about color, novelty yarns, core spinning, determining grist and twist, ply structures and finishing your yarn. 

The book is written in a straightforward and friendly style, inviting the reader to experiment and learn.  The images are beautiful, as you would expect from an Interweave publication.  This book is ideal for the advanced beginner or intermediate spinner who wants to grow beyond their "default" yarn style.

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Comment Contest:

Enter to Win a copy of Amy King's Spin Control!  Leave a comment any day from October 1-8th and you will be automatically entered for our random drawing on October 9th.  You may enter each day.

Book Review: Fiber Gathering by Joanne Seiff

Fiber Gathering: Knit, Crochet, Spin, and Dye More than 20 Projects Inspired by America's Festivals
by Joanne Seiff

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (March 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047028935X

If you've never been to a fiber festival, Joanne Seiff's Fiber Gathering is a fun place to start.  Joanne spent the better part of a year traveling to fiber festivals across the U.S. photographing the festivities and bringing a bit of the flavor of each festival to the armchair traveler.  Each chapter in the book focuses on a different festival and its interesting aspects.  Each chapter also has projects for you to do, from knitting, and spinning to dyeing, rughooking, recipes and even fleece washing.  Joanne's prose is part descriptive travelogue, part folksy almanac and all fiber love.  The festivals are arranged according to region, and festivals included are Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, NYS Sheep and Wool Festival, New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival, Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, The Tennessee State Fair, Michigan Fiber Festival, Heart of America Sheep Show and Fiber Fest, Black Sheep Gathering, Estes Park Wool Market, and The Wool Festival at Taos.  The book is hardcover and coffee table worthy.  If you're new to festivals, this will make you want to attend one, If you're a seasoned festival goer, you'll be itching to try out the unique festivals across the country from you.