We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Handspinner’s Companion by Amanda Hannaford.
We may have heard rumour that Amanda was writing a book and have been cheering her on in the writing process. As you’ll know she teaches spinning workshops for us and we couldn’t think of anyone better to write this book as she’s a great teacher as well as being an expert spinner. This book is just like having Amanda in your spinning bag providing just the right advice at the right moment. Throughout the book her voice is clear in the way that she explains things – we can even hear her reassuring Yorkshire accent as we read.
I think my favourite part of the book is the detailed step-by-step images that are really helpful to a novice spinner as they show exactly how to hold your carders or your rolag or your hands to make the next step easier.
Amanda peppers the book with insider tips (“If the seller won’t allow you unroll a fleece and inspect it, then don’t buy it from them”. She explains the properties of different fibre properties in a non technical way and it feels like bringing your expert spinner friend with you to a fleece fair guiding you in your first fleece purchase.
She also shares how to make a simple spindle using a dowel and a CD, or a lazy Kate using two knitting needles and a plastic crate. We really appreciate how she focusses on acquiring the skills first and the kit later. It all helps to make the craft achieveable to beginners and makes it accessible to everyone. In the same vein she explains a process visually with her fabulous step-by-step photos, but will also explain the process in words and add technical details, so that whatever your preferred way of learning, you can get to grips with this book.
When we graduate to spinning with a wheel, Amanda also covers the care and maintenance of your wheel. As with weaving you need to know how to troubleshoot your equipment should it not be working as you would want it to be. There is also a plethora of those lovely step-by-step photographs to guide you in your first tentative steps into spinning with a wheel.
While Amanda makes everything approachable and explains everything in laymen’s terms, she doesn’t shy away from providing technical details where needed. We know she is passionate about really understanding the physics of spinning, so that yarn can be repeatable and will look uniform when knitted into a garment. She suggests records that are needed to keep and why to make sure we have good habits right from the start of our spinning journey.
So far we’ve talked about how beginner spinners could gain a lot from this book, but those looking to progress their skills can also find support here too. Amanda also looks at different ways of spinning; with worsted fleece, from slivers, using the English woollen longdraw method and spinning other fibres in her knowledgeable, approachable way.
We hope by now you’ll realise why we ask Amanda to run spinning workshops for The Loom Shed. She’s an accomplished spinner, a kind tutor and someone who’s opinion matters in the world of fibre.
The Handspinners Companion is published by Crowood and is available through them, craft shops and bookshops. Amanda will also be travelling with a stash of them wherever she teaches or to the Guilds that she visits.
