Spinning Books

Amy King fibers spun and unspun by me!

You know, I've been looking at the list of spinning books published by Interweave Press in just this last year and there are a lot! I don't remember any one year when so many books about spinning were published. I've bought and read most of these new books.


I had to buy Judith McCuin MacKenzie's Intentional Spinner because I can't decide whether I like her or not. Do I think I don't like her just because she learned all this stuff at the same time I did and she's famous while I'm not? Do I think I don't like her because she seems to be a know-it-all? Plenty of people think that I am a know-it-all. (Though in reality I am simply one who likes to know and then tell other people so that they will know too. Yes, there's a difference. I'm happy to be corrected because I want to know the truth. Know-it-all's really think that they DO know it all and you can't tell them anything.) And I say "think I don't like her" because I don't know if I do or not but I think I don't. Maybe. I did like her book and that makes me suspect that I would like her if I had ever met her. Whatever, her book, though full of good information, had nothing new to offer that led me to a greater understanding of spinning. It didn't provide me with any ah-ha moments.



So on to Amy King and her Spin Control. I was sure that this would be the book. I very nearly held my breath til it finally came out and I got my copy. Now I'm glad I didn't. I was pretty certain that I liked Amy. I'd been a subscriber to her fiber of the month club until I had two big baskets full and had to acknowledge that I'd never catch up, let alone keep up, so I had to un-subscribe. :( But then I had her book. No ah-has here either. :( I didn't get better control of my spinning after reading it.



What am I looking for? After 30 years of spinning (the anniversary was uncelebrated this year, in fact, I just now realized it has been thirty years when I started typing this paragraph!), I still feel out of control as a spinner. I don't aim for tightly controlled, exactly-the-same-as-millspun regular regulated yarn. I can buy that! But I want to think I've got some conscious choice about my yarn despite having learned over the years that if Mable couldn't instill this in me, nobody would. And even if someone had, what I really cherish about handpsun yarn is its difference, it's innate funkiness.



So why do I look for a book that embodies the Holy Grail of spinning? I've already rejected the yarn it produces. I don't want to be the sort of person who laboriously washes, picks, cards, and spins wool to make a perfectly uniform yarn with which to knit the perfect, classic sweater for some toddler to puke on.



Maybe I just want the knowledge, even though it's only use to me is to not do it that way. And all of this to say that I cannot decide if I want Abby Franquemont's Respect the Spindle or not. General spinning books that have slightly disappointed are bad enough. Finally, someone has written a book on spindle spinning (and had the raw nerve not to be me!) and I don't know if I can stand to be disappointed by it or not. I'll be disgusted if she doesn't know as much as I do about the subject. (Mostly disgusted with myself for not having written a book first, not disgusted with her.) I'll be disappointed not to learn anything new. And I've pretty much given up on finding a book that can affect my spinning more than Paula Simmons' Spinning for Softness and Speed did when it came out nearly 30 years ago. Paula taught me more in one small $8 paperback book than I've learned in all the other much more costly books on spinning I've bought since then. And I've got quite an extensive library of books on all sorts of topics.



I can't believe that I'm deciding to wait for this one to come to a bookstore near me so that I can read some of it before I decide to get it.



Maybe it's time to sit down and write my own book!

On Being Perfect

I was reading Knitting Daily this morning and it brought back a really special memory. The editor of PieceWork was talking about Galina Khlemeva and Orenburg Lace Shawls and it brought back a really special memory of when I met Galina for the first time and took a spinning and knitting workshop from Galina and her mentor, Olga Alexandrovna Fedorova.

I thought I'd share with you all the comment I left for the author.

I remember that 1996 trip to the US well. My spinning group was so excited to be having a special session to welcome Galina, George, and Olga to Dayton, Ohio where they would be conducting a workshop. They were the last to arrive at my friend Cay's home, and we all were anxious to meet them. When I saw Olga for the first time, it struck me that she looked much like the older women in my family, who were of Eastern European descent.

I sat at her feet that evening and showed her all my spindles and how I used them. We didn't speak the same spoken language but we clearly understood each other. It was my honor to be their chauffeur while they were in Dayton and I spent most of the day with them for three days, going to class to learn to spin and knit in the style of the Orenburg shawls, learning a few words of Russian as we worked, and attending evening activities with the Dayton Knitters Guild and the Weavers Guild of Miami
Valley.

My knitting has always been more enthusiastic than anything else. Many times during our three days, Olga would say, "Nyet!" then take the needles out of my hands, rip out my stitches, then painstakingly hold my hands in hers as she attempted to make me the knitter she wanted me to be. The only thing I could do to make her smile was to prepare the down and spin it. She was a tolerant teacher, a perfectionist in her work, completely unpretentious though I'm sure she knew that she was the greatest shawl knitter alive. She was a really sweet woman who seemed to enjoy sharing her knowledge, expertise, and love of her craft with a new generation of knitters.

The day they left, as I dropped them at their host's home for the last time, Galina told me that Olga had something to say to me. I expected to hear that Olga thought I should give away my knitting needles. Instead, Galina translated as Olga spoke, "From the moment we met, I knew you were the special one!" We hugged and I cried. I knew I probably would not see her again. She left me with the knowledge that you should always strive to make your work the very best it can be.

It has been thirteen years, but she still has a special place in my heart. When I look at the Orenburg shawls I own, see an article by Galina, or just see my own Russian spindles among my collection, I remember the days spent with three new friends, and that I should always strive for excellence even if I can't be perfect!