Portable and productive, the hand spindle has been responsible for creating the world's yarn for millennia. In Respect the Spindle, veteran spinner and spindle aficionado Abby Franquemont teaches spinners old and new how to create incredible yarn with this amazing, yet simple tool.

Many contemporary spinners view the hand spindle as a beginner's tool, suited to learn the basic steps of spinning before moving on to a spinning wheel. In Respect the Spindle, Abby emphasizes the spindle's importance and its use in making yarn in advanced ways for high-end to novelty cloth.

The perfect how-to book for any spinner with a growing collection of spindles or even just a dowel, Respect the Spindle includes:

• Step-by-step photography with detailed illustrations, making the spindle spinning techniques clear to even the novice spinner.
• Techniques from the basics, such as getting started on the spindle, to more specialized techniques, such as using the spindle to make specific kinds of yarn faster than imagined.
• Profiles of spindle spinners from various traditions are presented in sidebars throughout the book, which introduce heartwarming and historical fiber stories from around the world.
• Five simple projects give spinners practice in creating a variety of yarns and patterns.
• And more!

Spin in more places ith the handy Respect the Spindle eBook!

Introduction
Spindle Anatomy
Getting Started
What About The Wheel?
Fine Tuning
Spindle Productivity
Plying
Your Spindle Lifestyle
Five Spindle-Spun Projects
Bibliography
Index

Abby Franquemont was raised in the United States and the Andes, where she was taught to spin on a spindle at the age of five. She has been spinning, knitting, weaving, and crocheting, for more than thirty years. She is a fiber artist, teacher, technical editor, and writer whose work has appeared in Spin-Off, Spindlecity, and Twist Collective.

'Be prepared to have clichéd thoughts about spindles and spinning on spindles blasted out of the water. Abby Franquemont has given spinners a encyclopedic gift on the topic of spindles. In a single volume, she will change the way you look at, think about and use... spindles.'--Knitty.com 

'Abby Franquemont says spinning with a spindle can get you any kind of yarn you want; a spinning wheel never needs to be in your house if you don't want it. She makes this argument -- and proves the point nicely -- in her book Respect the Spindle.'--About.com

"A good introduction for those beginning to explore spinning, and a comprehensive guide to technique for experienced spindlers."--Library Journal, April 2010