Spinning and a Book Everyone Should Take a Look At

I feel like it's been ages since I did any spinning around here and I honestly don't really remember when I started this particular spinning project. This is the second bobbin (see, I really haven't been doing much spinning lately) of the Targhee roving. As you can see, it's making a textured kind of single and while a 3 ply yarn will even out some of the lumpy bumpys, the finished yarn will still have more texture than my usual yarn.

I also wanted to mention a book that's been discussed around the Internet in several different places: A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd. This book seems to be described as a spinning book, but honestly, I think it's more of a knitting pattern book. There is some spinning information at the first of the book, but the majority of the book is patterns - mostly sweater patterns. I know what you're thinking and 9 times out of 10 I agree - why buy a hardback book of sweater patterns? In a year or two it will all be terribly datable and you won't want to knit the designs in it, right? In this case, it's a big, honking WRONG! Lisa's designs are firmly rooted in classic, traditional sweater design. They are updated a bit to make them more wearable today, but the timeless nature of the designs means this is a book that you will turn to for years to come. Each design is shown in both handspun and commercially available yarn so even if you're Sleeping Beauty and get violently ill around spinning wheels, you can still work these patterns. The other thing that's amazing about this book, and it's probably due to the classic nature of the designs, is the fact that I really like just about every design in the book. Most of the time, if I find more than half the designs interesting, I consider the book a good purchase, but this book has gems on every page. The biggest problem I see with it is deciding what design to start with!