The Intentional Spinner W/DVD: A Holistic Approach To Making Yarn

The Intentional Spinner w/DVD: A Holistic Approach to Making Yarn

If you are interested in exploring the infinite possibilities of making your own yarns, veteran spinner and teacher Judith MacKenzie McCuin offers insight, understanding, and invaluable information about your craft in The Intentional Spinner with DVD.The Intentional Spinner with DVD is a compendium of spinning wisdom, with a fun blend of technical knowledge, history, tips, and gently opinionated narrative. Yarn making is approached in three fundamental areas: Understanding Fibers: Compare the rich historic traditions of plant and animal fibers with the fascinating scientific advances in synthesizing fibers. Managing Yarn Structure: Step-by-step instructions and photographs demonstrate the range of possibilities in yarn, from sturdy plied yarns to playful novelty yarns. Practical Uses: Learn how to make yarns that precisely match your needs with decision making and planning to create the exact project you want from the beginning.The Intentional Spinner with DVD includes four projects that demonstrate how handspun can be used in weaving and knitting. The projects explain how to choose material, techniques, and finish the processes. The enclosed DVD features detailed information on yarn diameter, plying, novelty yarn structures, and finishing. Blending technical expertise and fascinating lore, The Intentional Spinner with DVD is a must-have reference for every spinner.Review"Of course it's good! What did you expect? Judith MacKenzie-McCuin + Interweave = spinny goodness." - Knitty.com"In this complete overview of the art and science of creating hand-spun yarn, McCuin covers characteristics of different types of fiber, techniques for spinning yarns, and caring for hand-spun yarn and includes a few basic projects." - Library Journal"5 out of 5 stars. Fascinating reading. This is an excellent, detailed book with lots of technical information." - Knitting News"If the words 'warp' and 'weft' spark off a dream of sitting by a spinning wheel on a wintry afternoon, this book can make your dreams come true. It explains everything you need to know about fibre types and how to spin, and includes several start-to-finish spin-and-knit projects." - AllAboutYou.comWhen I first picked up [this book] I would never have guessed that this relatively small, slim volume held so much information. But then, to design and produce a yarn with the properties you intended, a holistic approach, considering all the factors contributing to a yarn's properties, is desirable. And that's a lot of information. Before moving on to yarn design, this book covers the qualities of many protein, cellulose and manufactured fibres (spider silk, anyone?), methods for analysing existing yarns, and spinning techniques from fibre preparation to singles creation, plying and cabling. The spinning techniques covered in the second part of the book are simply inspirational. The drafting methods alone will keep an improving spinner happily practising for hours, and the wheel adjustment flowchart is definitely a go-to reference. The plying, cabling and design section is so rich, so detailed, that a single reading (or two, or three) simply isn't enough to absorb all it has to offer. Techniques are described clearly and illustrated with step-by-step photographs. Four projects complete the book nicely, each requiring a particular type of handspun yarn, designed to encourage you to put the principles of the book into practice... Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone seeking to improve their spinning repertoire, and I feel it is destined to become a well-thumbed addition to many spinners' bookshelves." Alison Barker (Online Guild) - Journal for Weavers Spinners & Dyers"If you're a wheel spinner with some experience who wants to take a more intellectual and scientific approach to yarn making, The Intentional Spinner is full of information that can help you take your spinning to the next level." - Sarah E. White, About.com Guide"If you