The Intentional Spinner

So you want to learn to spin. Of course you do. I did. Why? I have no idea, kind of seemed like the next direction to take my fiber addiction. And, doesn’t everyone need another hobby?

Enter Interweave Press and Judith MacKenzie McCuin’s book, “The Intentional Spinner”. First off, this book has really cool pictures, and lots of them. I’m a sucker for eye candy, what can I say, I blame it on the fiber addictions. In this book, Judith breaks it all down, from the ground up, from the different forms of fiber bases, cellulose, protein and manufactured, and puts them all together again, you actually know what you’re working with. And people! There are charts in this book! Charts!

Let that one sink in for a minute!

Are you back? Ok. In one section she talks about not only having yarn that is beautiful coming right off the wheel, but aiming for yarn that is gorgous plied, and worked up into your knitting. Knowing ahead of time how to get just the right twist so that the yarn will be just as nice in it’s final resting place as it was right off the wheel.

Preview the book, here: http://www.interweave.com/spin/books/IntentionalSpinner/preview.asp

And…. pssst…… there are patterns in this book too!!

Stitch dictionaries are a fun way to learn new-to-you knitting stitch patterns or to take a deep dive into a particular technique. Debbie Tomkies offers 100 cable stitch designs and thoughts on how to incorporate them into projects in her Cable Knitting Stitch Dictionary.

Each stitch pattern is shown in a large swatch photo and with written and charted instructions. Any special stitches are included on the page. The stitches are rated on a difficulty scale of 1 to 3, and the pattern notes also indicate how many extra stitches you should add to a project if you’re going to work this cable (since cables pull the fabric closer together you need to compensate for that) as well as how many stitches and rows are in the repeat if you want to design a project yourself.

The cables are arranged into sections: classic cables, combinations, all-over panels, creative cables, motifs and panels and cabled edges and borders.

It’s fun to flip through the designs to think about projects you can add a single cable or two to or make with an allover cabled design. Or you could make swatches of different cables and sew them together into a pillow cover or a throw.

At the back of the book there’s a section on general cable knitting techniques, reading charts, working swatches and avoiding errors (though it mentions working the wrong number of rows between cable turns, it doesn’t share how to count rows between cables to avoid this mistake).

It also talks about how to design your own cables, combine cables in a project, choose the right yarn and needles and determine how many more stitches you need to cast on when working cables instead of stockinette stitch. There’s also a glossary of symbols and abbreviations you may find in cable knitting and other patterns.

The book provides a good overview of things you can do with cables, as well as some fun things you might not have tried like infinity cables and horizontal cables. It’s a great book for a designer who likes to work with cables or a knitter who wants to play with different stitches in their projects.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, 100 stitch patterns. Published 2024 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $26.99.

Have you read?