Respect the Spindle [Paperback]

Abby Franquemont (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

Enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to the current trend of DIY crafts, the hand spindle remains one of the most productive, versatile, and convenient tools for creating stunning fiber arts from home, as this beautifully illustrated guide from a veteran spinner and spindle aficionado demonstrates. With step-by-step instructions, this essential manual details the basic steps of spinning and then advances to the more complicated spinning wheel, showing how to use the spindle to make specific types of yarn, explaining traditional spindle spinning techniques, and detailing five simple projects designed to instill confidence in creating a variety of yarns with this simple tool. Combining fascinating historical narratives, traditions, and cultures from around the globe with vivid photography, this all-encompassing tour of the spindle also boasts easy-to-follow, contemporary techniques and styles that affirm the tool's enduring legacy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A good introduction for those beginning to explore spinning, and a comprehensive guide to technique for experienced spindlers." — Library Journal

"I have a decent assortment of spinning books, including some excellent ones that focus on spindles, but this book blows them away." — KnittingScholar.com

"A great choice for those new to spinning and those who might feel cheated because their budget—or their living arrangements—make a wheel an impossibility." — About.com Guide to Knitting

"Be prepared to have clichéd thoughts about spindles and spinning on spindles blasted out of the water. Abby Franquemont has given spinners a encyclopedic gift on the topic of spindles. In a single volume, she will change the way you look at, think about and use...spindles." — Knitty.com

"The instructions are very well done, nothing is rushed and there are good photos of everything you need. I'd happily recommend this to a beginner." — YarnMaker

About the Author

Abby Franquemont was raised in the United States and the Andes, where she was taught to spin on a spindle at the age of five. She has been spinning, knitting, weaving, and crocheting for more than thirty years. She is a fiber artist, teacher, technical editor, and writer whose work has appeared in Spin-Off, Spindlicity, and Twist Collective. She lives in Lebanon, Ohio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Interweave Press (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596681551
• ISBN-13: 978-1596681552
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #98,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Respect Indeed, November 19, 2009

By 

JG (TN, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Respect the Spindle (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book for people who want more than just a few pictures and words of advice about spinning on a spindle. You get history lessons, science lessons, math lessons, as well as spindling lessons. There is wonderful advice for beginning spinners as well as the more experienced - on everything from choosing a spindle to the varying techniques for using the tools.

The book is informative, beautiful, helpful, well organized and fun to read. You will rush through it the first time, and then settle back and read in detail the second - and then use it for reference the next time you need to figure a way out of the problem you have gotten yourself into. The photographs are informative, detailed, and if you are a spindle geek, beautiful. The book is a treasure, and you NEED one for your spinning library!

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserves a Place of Honor On All Spinners Bookshelves, December 9, 2009

By 

Chewiedox - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Respect the Spindle (Paperback)

As a passionate spindler, I eagerly awaited the release of Abby Franquemont's book. I was not disappointed. The text is written in an engaging manner, complemented with photographs that illustrate the various concepts in a clear, step-by-step fashion. The graphics and photography are beautifully executed and the author covers all types of spindles..bottom-whorl, top-whorl, and supported. If you are a beginner, you will find everything here that you need to get started making yarn with a spindle. If you are already an accomplished spindler, you will find ways to pack more yarn onto your spindle, understand WHY different types of spindles behave the way they that do and learn new methods of spinning to add to your repertoire. There is something for everyone in this fabulous book!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful, fun and beautifully done, December 12, 2009

By 

L. Downey "LarasCreations" (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Respect the Spindle (Paperback)

As a spinner of a few years now, I still find there's always more to learn and try. This book covers a great deal of information both for the basics and well beyond. The exercises are very useful and there is emphasis on the fact that this is a craft that you may understand quickly but takes time and practice for your body to execute without thought.

The pictures are beautiful and the spindles varied. The layout flows easily.

In short, I've learned from it already and am looking forward to going through this more than once. As long as I'm open to learning something new from it, it's almost inevitable that each reading will refresh or inspire something new and different.