It's official: Respect the Spindle: Spin Infinite Yarns With One Amazing Tool is available for pre-order, to arrive in November. You can see a preview at the link supplied, and if you pre-order it from me, you get it signed. ;-)

Here's what my publisher, Interweave Press, says about my book:

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 Franquemont's emphasizes the spindles importance and use to make 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!

We're on a rather dramatic and long-lasting power outage event right now. So if you're trying to email me or hit abbysyarns.com, you're SOL. I can get text messages, phone calls, and occasionally to my yahoo mail if I hit the coffeeshop in town (like right now).

We're fine, there's no damage (other than to perishable foods) and our biggest problem is "bored 10-year-old." School is finally back in session though and power could be back as soon as this weekend. Though it could be longer.

Since it's not national news if large portions of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana have power outages on the order of millions of customers, and since there's so much other apocalyptic news in the news right now, anybody interested in finding out how things are can check our local paper: http://www.western-star.com/ . Enjoy.

What's to say?

Every once in a blue moon, I really like a horoscope.

Vis:

On the piece of birthday cake that is your life, are you saving the rose made of frosting for the last bite? There's no need to hold off on enjoying the good stuff today. Dig right in, and don't worry that there won't be more coming along soon. You have to relish the gifts you are given today, and use them! Do not put them away for a rainy day, save them to share with someone else, or anything like that. What you have been given is yours to do with what you will.

Now... where DID I put that frosting rose?

Still around, still spinning, have some spindle and fiber pr0n.

Franquemont Fibers is having a massive SALE, now through next Friday, August 3! All yarn is 20% off, and all fiber is 10% off, throughout the store. Fabulous laceweights, sock yarns, handpaints, handspuns, novelty yarns, you name it! Hand-dyed silks, fine wools, medium wools, terrific values, don't miss out!

( What kinda stuff is on sale? Just look! )

What do customers say about my wares? Here are a few links:

Too Much Wool Cassie spins batts!
Yarn Harlot Stephanie spins silk!
The Keyboard Biologist spins sock blends!

and some of my ebay feedback:

• Super soft and delicious colours. Abby does it again! A+


• gorgeous batts, a dream to spin, and regret at the end of the experience! MORE!


• Better than advertised!


• Such a pleasure to patronize this seller! Thank you a million times!


• Absolutely, positively the most wonderful eBay item & buy ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shop my sale and find out why. ;-)

Close enough for government work.

You know, because there's so much government work that involves dyeing and blending merino, tussah silk, and camel down into batts like this.

I spent so much time producing new batts for Batt Club, and no time producing new stuff for my regular inventory, that I'm sick of looking at the same stuff right now. So help me move it out! Everything in my ebay store, here:

http://stores.ebay.com/Franquemont-Fibers

is 10% off. Yes, everything! All yarn, fiber, all of it!

Coming soon: handpainted cashmere/silk top! More superwash/tencel! Other luxury blends, custom dyed, lots of new silk, and some very special new batts.

We're now at about 30 inches unblocked across the top edge, and into the turnaround point on the second bank of diamonds. 80% of the skein of yarn remains; without a doubt, I have too few beads.

I've reached the first stages of project remorse; the beads (of which I bought too few) are not high quality, and what was I thinking? And I'm afraid the whole thing is too big. I'm summoning up project faith and charging ahead.

It's growing, and now it has beads on it, too.