Thoughts Awry

book review time! recently I picked up 51 Yarns to Spin Before You Cast Off by Jacey Boggs Faulkner. it's a hybrid reference book and check list, featuring a collection of 51 different yarns the author recommends you try spinning.

this book is basically a check list that covers a pretty large variety of handspun yarns as well as some info on the whys and hows of making them. it does not go in depth on every yarn type and though it does supply enough information to get you started, if you are unfamiliar with certain techniques you'll need to use it with additional books like Sarah Anderson's Spinner's Book of Yarn Designs.

if it's not a how-to-spin book, who's it for and what use does it have? I think it's best looked at as a type of experiment/inspiration/reference book. if you are a new spinner who's gotten comfortable with the basics of drafting, look through this book to discover ways to experiment and grow your skills through making different yarns. perfection is not the goal, learning about new skills and different ideas is. meanwhile more experienced spinners may find themselves stuck in a rut, always spinning the same yarns. get out that spinning number wheel that Tumblr loves and play with whatever it chooses.

so who should get this book? people who are looking for a textbook to work through new yarns. people looking to explore, play and experiment outside of their usual yarns.

this is not a book I feel everyone 'needs'. it doesn't go into enough depth on the various yarn structures so if you're on a tight budget or just don't have extra space in your library, you can pass it over in favor of something that fills that requirement better. 51 Yarns has some good benefits but it is more of a supplemental, nice-to-have book.

one notable issue with the book: at times in the text of the book, the regular black print is replaced with text in a different color. sometimes the color is a very light yellow and was difficult for me to read. there are several different colors used in the book and I am unsure if people with color blindness or other vision issues might have trouble reading those lines. I plan to reach out to the publisher and ask if they made any changes for the digital version and will report back.

Students: *collective gasp*

I’m glad we took that X-ray

so one time i was in the eye hospital (id been there the day before and a junior doc dismissed me entirely as nothing being wrong, sent me off with no treatment, and my optician was Not Having It)

selfsame junior doc eye rolled and, when it was clear i wouldn't be leaving again, begrudgingly called in the consultant who took one glance at one eye, said "oh my god" and sent for a second consultant

who took one look and said "'ive never seen anything like it" and sent for a third

who took a quick look and said "wow. jesus. what a mess" and sent for the fourth etc

(junior doc getting progressively more embarrassed the whole time)

“Camels are largely made of knees, going in all directions”

“Camels gallop by throwing their feet as far away from them as possible and then running to keep up”

sharing it because it is

very beautiful

lvl 2: the plural version of octopus is octopi because if a word ends with "us" the plural version replaces the "us" with "i" e.g. cactus -> cacti and fungus -> fungi

lvl 3: actually, that rule is only for latin words. octopus is a greek word and the correct plural is octopuses or octopodes

lvl 4: actually, language is descriptive not prescriptive. since enough people over time have used octopi as the plural for octopus, it's a valid plural