This book will guide a beginner on how to prepare and spin wool and other fibers on a spindle and wheel; includes attractive woven and knitted projects. Good beginner's book.

I didn't find the directions for using a spindle as clear as I have found elsewhere, but this has a lot of useful information for the steps after you spin that first yarn, including some really nice looking patterns for using it. I really love the sweater with just a bit of decoration of other colours - with instructions for how to make it fit you and your wool. Just what I need. (Nov. 2011)

A few years on I'm reducing my rating on this. The directions for carding are very helpful. I find other sections hard to follow. I'm not as familiar with my wheel as I should be, but her directions confuse me more than they help. The black and white photographs are often less than clear. Plying comes much later in the book than I would have put it. I wonder how many beginners can really spin singles even and strong enough to function as warp in a loom as is suggested in the shawl pattern. I hadn't noticed the first time around that that sweater pattern is suggested for singles, but no note is made that the yarn will pull the knitting off the straight.

My final criticism is that she is very prone to think that there is only one way of doing things. For example, that with a spindle one hand controls the spindle and the other the fibres resulting in a one handed draw. I use a two handed draw on the spindle, as most of the time the spindle takes care of itself.

If this is the book you have, you can probably learn to spin from it, but don't assume that her word is the final one. (Jan 2015) ( )

Excellent book for basics and beyond. ( )

16.95