The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn
"Every once in a while there is a book that lives up to                  it’s hype. Only once in a blue moon are we lucky                  enough to get a book that surpasses all the stories that                  have led up to it.The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebookis                  a blue moon book. The spinning world has been buzzing                  about this book for years, and Deb Robson has been kind                  enough to share writing the process on her blog, but                  that still didn’t prepare me for the completeness                  of the book.The sheer complexity of the subject made clear, useful                  and not just interesting, but fascinating. More than                  200 animal fibers and breeds laid out and dissected by                  an animal expert and a spinning expert jump off of the                  page in concise prose that speaks to the history of the                  breed; fleece, fiber and lock characteristics; using                  the fiber in dyeing, spinning, knitting and weaving.                  The photography is crisp enough to count crimps and shows                  fiber as washed and unwashed; prepped and spun, and sometimes                  knit or woven. The authors manage to do all of this using                  2-4 pages per breed.Spinners (and knitters) this is the book you’ve                  been asking for: more photos and breeds thanIn                  Sheep’s Clothingand more sheepy and animal                  goodness thanThe Knitter's Book of Wool.  A                  labor of sheepy love and a stellar book."(Library Journal)This is an excellent resource for fiber artists curious about different types of animal fibers and how best to use them.(Vogue Knitting)Two experts, one a farmer and livestock guru, the other a fiber magazine editor, join brains to produce this resource for yarn crafters. Far from drab and dreary, Robson and Ekarius enliven the pictures and descriptions of about 200 breeds of sheep, inserting critical information and fun facts. Well written and researched, a reference for all ages.Starred review(Craftzine)Not only is this a library essential for yarn users who take their wool, alpaca, llama, cashmere and yak seriously; it’s also an important text for those involved in the husbandry of our four-legged fiber friends. If we want to preserve our “heirloom” fibers, we need to know their names.(Interweave Knits)A reference you'll return to again and again as you grow as a fiber artist.A comprehensive manual for the wool aficionado. Packed with photos and detailed fiber properties, it covers every breed of sheep you are likely to encounter and then some.