Get the most from your blending board!

As more and more spinners delve into fiber preparation for intentional spinning, the blending board has become more popular than ever before. It's space efficient, lightweight, and far less costly than investing in expensive blending tools and machinery. While most spinners know that the blending board makes lovely rolags, few are aware of the many other ways it can be used in one's fiber preparation practices.

In The Spinner's Blending Board Bible, widely regarded spinning teacher and writer Deborah Held explains the many ways to use a blending board to its fullest capacity. Step by step, she reveals secrets for maximizing the board's carding and blending properties, providing an as-yet untapped level of know-how for putting the blending board to use in color management, combining fibers and mix-ins, and for creating specific yarn structures in spinning along the woolen and worsted continuum. Beginners and advanced spinners alike will find plenty to learn from her beautiful and instructive photos of fiber, detailed explanations of techniques, and numerous blending "recipes."

About the Author

Debbie Held is a freelance writer and international fiber arts educator. She's a recurring contributor to Spin Off magazine and its blog, PLY Magazine, the SweetGeorgia blog, and more, and she's the writer behind the former Interweave column, Her Handspun Habit. She teaches courses online for the School of SweetGeorgia, as well as in person throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Debbie lives on an urban farm in Atlanta, Georgia, with a Persian cat named Stanley. Both Debbie and Stanley enjoy watching the spinner's flock of Shetland sheep roaming outside their windows. Write to them (all) at http://debbieheld.com.

Reviews

Encompassing both Debbie's artistic creativity and logical, reasoned, technical information, this book fills a niche sorely lacking in the world of fiber arts. Prior to reading this book, I had never given the blending board much credit as a preparation tool, but since then I have been converted. The sheer versatility demonstrated is staggering both for initial preparation and blending. Almost no stone is left unturned as Debbie discusses various techniques ranging from fiber blending, add-ins, fleece preparation and more. I feel that this book would be an asset on the bookshelf of any fiber artist, whether they be experienced or beginner. It has certainly made me want to grab my blending board and start experimenting, and I have no doubt it will do the same to you!

-- James Perry aka LongDrawJames

Debbie's book is a delight, because in these pages she shares her deep love of fibre preparation with a humble, accessible, and unassuming tool-a blending board. I love how Debbie demonstrates how a simple DIY blending board can provide just as much blending capability as a more expensive piece of fibre prep equipment.

With a blending board, Debbie shows us an incredible number of ways to play with different colours, textures, and fibres to create everything from rolags to punis to batts, and so much more.

As I read through Debbie's instructions, I got that creative itch to grab my blending board, pull out my spinning fibre stash, and just play. The photographs will spark inspiration and your imagination. You'll soon discover that with blending boards, the possibilities are endless. Whether you love spinning woolen yarns from rolags or smooth worsted yarns from near perfectly aligned top, the blending board can create all these fibre preparations. Debbie shows us that one tool can rule them all!

-- Felicia Lo, Founder & Creative Director, SweetGeorgia Yarns



Book Information
ISBN 9780811773676
Author Deborah Held
Format Hardback
Page Count 176
Imprint Stackpole Books
Publisher Stackpole Books