Customer Reviews

Respect the Spindle

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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!

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.

I've attended a couple of beginning drop spindle classes, and they give you a homemade spindle and a bit of coarse wool, tell you how to start it off and, when at the end of an hour you might have something that will hold the spindle and not drop it on the floor, tell you to go home and practice. So many questions unanswered! Why does the spindle do this, why does the fiber do that, what if you want to spin a different fiber, how do you know if you have produced something you can really use, etc., etc. Ms. Franquemont answers all the questions, and even gives a lot of special tips to make the process easier and more fun. And it's a really beautiful book, too! Highly recommended.

In a departure for Interweave, this is a spinning book that is actually chock-full of information. Not since Alden Amos' Big Book of Handspinning has there been so much excellent reference material in one place, and refreshingly, this book is devoted entirely to the humble spindle. Abby Franquemont draws on a lifetime of experience and appreciation for the simple tool that brought fabric to civilization in this deceptively slim volume. Page after page is packed with science, art, and practical advice. The photos are clear and informative and purely decorative photos are limited to the beginning of each chapter, which is a relief. Ms Franquemont writes with clear and informative language without being overly prosy or pretentious. It's so easy to read you barely know how much you're learning!

If you are interested in becoming a better spinner, in the history of the hand spindle, or in the science behind spinning, this book is for you. I am sure I will return to it time and time again as I seek to become a more accomplished spinner with a variety of tools.

Ok, why, given we have spinning wheels (and also, we have wonderful yarns available everywhere) would you want to take a rock and a stick and spin your own yarn? It turns out that spindle spinning is very popular, in fact, more popular than ever and crafters are spinning beautiful yarns using this simplest of tool. "Respect the Spindle" gives you an overview of spindle spinning, shows you types of spindles, yarns created by them and gives you basic techniques to start spinning as well as including a DVD that shows you the methods.

I first learned to spindle as part of a spinning course. It is FRUSTRATING. They don't call it a "drop spindle" for nothing. Clunk it goes, right on the floor. Learning to spin is like riding a bike--you have to learn to coordinate. But with about a week or two of practice, you can actually make finer yarns than you do on the wheel. I belong to a group on Ravelry, a large fiber arts website, and the spindle-spun yarns never cease to amaze me. And you can now purchase the most beautiful tool-as-art spindles from artisans around the world, or make your own from a dowel and a CD.

The book starts with the basics of spindling, how to choose one shows you how it works, and then you learn about different ways to spin. Drafting (pulling out the fiber to insert twist) is demonstrated, as well as pulling out slubs and thick areas to make your yarn smooth and even in diameter. There is a demo of Russian spindles; these are support spindles, rather like long sharpened sticks, with a thick point at one end (the whorl) and a thin point at the other, the spindle itself, where the fibers get twisted. This is the way the fine Orenburg shawls are done-- with Russian goat fiber that is handspun for that ethereal, fuzzy, thin gossamer thread that is knitted into lacy confections. You really cannot buy Russian shawl yarn, so many have been drawn to spindling to make their own for knitting. The demo here is good. Five projects give you something to make from your spun yarn.

There is a companion DVD for this book. Visuals are helpful when spinning.

This is not the be-all, end-all book of spindling, and frankly, if you are an experienced spindler, this will not really be a revelation to you. This is a good starting point for spindlers, or for spindlers looking for newer techniques such as the Russian spindling but you will need more as you advance. But if all you've done is spin wheel yarns, or if you've never spun, this is a great book. Along with a decent spindle you can pick up online or at sheep and wool shows, and a ball of roving or batt of wool fiber, you can learn a portable craft that provides relaxation and beautiful yarns.

Wether you are a seasoned spinner or not , I think you will benefit from this book. It gives you the insight into someone who grew up spinning. You can learn a lot from reading it and it is a great teaching tool. I would recommend it as a gift for a spinner. I have been spinning on a drop spindle for over a year and I found it to be helpful. It guides you through the basics without much trouble. Respect your spindle brings a point forward, don't underestimate the power of the spindle and your ability to create yarn like from the beginning of time. Is a must have for spinners.

Respect the Spindle is a great book for beginning spindlers. Spinning thread on a drop spindle isn't all that easy in the beginning, and Abby does a great job in explaining the basic techniques in words and pictures. As an experienced spindler, I enjoyed the book, not because I thought I should start from scratch, but because there are always things that we forget over the years, or things that leave us scratching our heads about why this or that happened. Sometimes a fresh look, which Abby gives us, is just the thing we need. If you're a spindler, get this book. It's a keeper.

Abby's easy way of explaining and the pictures of her doing the spinning, step by step, make for clear understanding and give the entire book a homey feel. It's great to know that the least expensive, homemade spindle can and does function just as well as an expensive piece of equipment. Abby helps us to understand that spinning on a drop spindle is for anyone who has the interest in it, and that it's a hobby that practically everyone with the interest can afford! How cool is that?!

The icing on the cake is the history of spindling and Abby's personal stories of her spindling experiences that she has included. I love reading about her experiences and knowing that the expert was also once a beginner, just like the rest of us. There are also a few beautiful patterns toward the end of the book geared to use your handspun yarn, once you've mastered the basics.

I found this book very useful. The pictures were very clear and the wording very understandable. I learned so much in the world of spinning and I would highly recommend this book for a beginner. Excellent!

I had just made my first drop spindle when I got this book and was trying to teach myself to spin. This book was very clear and full of super great info and very helpful. I would very much recommend this book to anyone starting out with spinning.