Fiber and Knitting

Two new crafting books are sitting in front of me that I want to quickly share about...

The first is titled Cable Left, Cable Right by Judith Durant.  I have to admit that I am a basic knit and purl knitter so the charts in this book are beyond my skill.  So I turned to a friend at 4H this week who does more advanced knitting than me and asked her opinion.  She looked the book over and was very positive about what she saw in it.  Her praise fell on the charts for each of the cables.  She thought they were very helpful and easy to follow.  The pictures and descriptions also made sense to her.  So, if knitting cables is something you enjoy, I'd definitely check this new book out!

The second book in front of me is a beautiful book about yarn for spinners.
Yarn-i-tec-ture.  I don't weave, spin, or dye wool, but I can appreciate the work that goes into it.  A few months ago, a 16 year old girl gave a presentation to the 4H group we visited about her wool, spinning, and the sheep she was getting to raise.  I loved hearing about what

she had learned in order to spin the world into yarn that she could work with.  This book would be perfect for her.  It is the next step.  This book is for someone who can spin and knit but is interested in improving their skills.   There are tons of great pictures showing the differences in dying, types of spinning, grist (the density of a yarn and how heavy a particular length of yarn is), plying (and even the mistakes that come up), tips on how to knit with yarn you've spun, and even patterns using the yarn.  It's a great all-in-one book for someone who's really pursuing this hobby!

I admire people who enjoy knitting and spinning and have mastered these skills.  I can see how both these books would be helpful and encouraging to someone loves cabling and spinning wool into yarn.  Storey's books are always beautiful, well formatted and easy to read.  And these two books are just that!

Please note that I received complimentary copies of these books from Storey Publishing, but I have chosen to write this review with my own opinions in it.