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86 of 86 found the following review helpful:
A invaluable read for any fiber enthusiast Sep 23, 1998
By Urbanspinner Deb Menz offers wonderful information on creating multi-colored yarns for knitting and weaving. As a graphics professional, I thought I had a good grasp on color theory -- until I started to dye fibers for spinning. The interaction of colored fibers is very different than what you'd expect from paints (and I have a big basket of ugly yarn to prove it!) This book helped me understand what was going wrong and gave me new princples to explore. And the range of techniques used by the author (painted rovings, blending colored fibers by carding and combing) are very inspiring. My only reservation about the book comes the examples used throughout the text. The photography is lovely but there are very few closeups. I have often stared at the images and wished I were about two feet closer to see how the colors interacted and how the yarn structure affected the final product. Additionally, I found the range of examples to be surprisingly limited. Deb Menz has a particular style to her work and after a while I found the examples got a little repetitive. Her color theory covers a huge and complex range of possibilities, but the examples seemed to use the same palette of colors over and over again. A little more exploration and contrast between sets of examples would have been welcome. But overall, this book is absolutely invaluable for any yarn designer. There is no other that covers this important topic in such detail and I'm delighted to have it as part of my library.
36 of 36 found the following review helpful:
Exciting and inspiring book Aug 15, 2000
By Susie LaFever I received "Color In Spinning" as a gift and have found it to be one of the best, if not the best book on the subject of color blending that I have read. I was especially intrigued by the section on producing multi colored rovings using a hackle or combs. The many colored drawings and photographs throughout the book make her well written directions very easy to understand. I am now making some wonderful multi colored yarns using the techniques explained so well in Deb Menz's woderful book and I highly recommend it to any hand spinner who wants to create their own unique one of a kind yarns.
27 of 27 found the following review helpful:
Why all spinners need this book! May 31, 1998 If you've ever wondered how to work with color, this is the book for you! Deb does a wonderful job explaining color theory and how to use that theory with fibers. She explains how to blend fibers for specific colors using both drum carders and combs. There is also a section for dyeing roving using Sabraset dyes. The instructions for each section are clear with great illustrations. She also includes self study exercises. In every way, this is a book that will improve your color skills. I can't recommend it highly enough.
21 of 21 found the following review helpful:
Indespensable, with great examples and exercises Feb 01, 2006
By S. Noh Deb Menz's approach to using color in handspinning is firmly based on color theory yet fairly easy to understand and execute, with the help of photographed examples and formulas, exercises, etc. I own the Twisted Sister's book, which is good for inspiration but rather vague in terms of instruction and creating repeatable results. Menz covers handpainting, carding, combing and plying, and shows you how to use colors to achieve different results in each method. I feel that it's probably the only book I need on this subject, I love it!
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Color Me Happy! May 15, 2001 Color theory and techniques for dyeing are only the beginning of the riches in this book. More importantly, it covers how to achieve color effects with fiber. I have found the detailed instructions on hand-combing and drum-carding to be indispensible.
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