Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook - More than 200 Fibers from animals to spun yarn by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius






This book is an amazing book! It is huge! It cover everything you need to know about all the different fleeces and fibers you can spin on a spinning wheel into yarns, threads, and more. I believe the author named this book what they did today because if she were to name it Spinning, most of you would associate it with bicycles today! Nope. She is referring to the old-fashioned Spinning Wheel. This book is a must-read book and is so educational. You will learn what our ancestors did before there were stores where we could just purchase wool and other fiber items off the shelf.
Yes, spinning wool and other fibers involves a lot of work, but when you have the finished product, it is divine!
I have my late mother's spinning wheel. Yes, she got heavily into spinning. On that spinning wheel, there is a long tail of wool she spun. I also inherited a lot of bags of wool. Unfortunately, I have now found out I am allergic to it and cannot even touch it! So I keep the spinning wheel as a remembrance of my mother spinning, and will have to find people who are interested in the bags and bags of wool she has. I had gone on many a trips with her to purchase the wool from different farmers. Believe it or not, this craft is very active, and wool and other fibers from animals are very sought after, even today. These farms are very close to where I live! I was so surprised! 
There is a good certain monotony to spinning. It gives you a lot of time to just get lost in the art of the project, or to pray, or to think about life in general, or whatever your certain thing to do would be while doing it. Spinning involves the whole body. You use your foot to make the wheel spin around, and you use both hands to craft the right amount of fiber into what you are trying to make. The more fiber you use, the thicker the resulting yarn or threads will turn out. I always liked to watch my mom spin and see the different looks on her face, and try to guess what she could be thinking about. I honestly think she enjoyed the overall experience.
I cannot begin to tell you everything that is covered in this book. I sure had fun reading it. I should have done the review immediately after I finished the book, and now I am sorry I did not, but, I can tell you it is a fleece and fiber lover's dream come true! I had a little difficulty writing the review because it was so close to my mother's passing, that I am just now able to write this review. I didn't really catch on to exactly what this book was about, nor did I think it would bother me to read it when I did, but it did, especially after finding out it is all about Spinning. Now the book has expired from NetGalley, so I don't have it to refer back to it. I am giving you what I remember from the book.
This book talks about the different fleeces and fibers available from the many different animals, from sheep, to rabbits, and many more! OH! The animal on the cover of the book, on the lower left hand corner! I cannot think of the name of that animal! Yes! It's fibers are wanted as well! Can you believe it? I was shocked when I found that out! There are many farms with those animals on them, too.
The author gets into talking about cleaning the different fibers, to the brushes used to brush them, and many more of the different tools needed for the different techniques needed to use these fleeces and fibers, etc. 
The author takes us into spinning these items as well. She shows us how to do it, gives us suggestions and more.
For anyone interested in Spinning, this is THE book to have!
Even if you might be interested in learning what it is about, even how it works, it's worth checking out at the library if you don't want to invest in the Spinning Wheel, or don't know if it's for you.  This is "the" book for fleeces and fibers. You will enjoy it immensely! 
I received this book for FREE from NetGalley, through their Book Reviewers Program in exchange to read this book and write a review about it.  It is NOT required for this review to be either positive or negative, but, of my own honest opinion. “Free” means I was NOT provided with ANY MONIES to read this book nor to write this review, but to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html
Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.


1 comment:

  1. That looks amazing! I have goats and some day would love to have angoras'

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