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Shear Spirit: Ten Fiber Farms, Twenty Patterns, and Miles of Yarn | 
 enlarge | Author: Joan Tapper
Creator: Gale Zucker
Publisher: Potter Craft
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy New: $18.47
You Save: $11.53 (38%)
New (32) Used (5) from $18.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 18699
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 0307394034
Dewey Decimal Number: 646.26
EAN: 9780307394033
ASIN: 0307394034
Publication Date: April 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
An artisan who captures Maine’s summer air in her sun-and-sea-dyed yarns. A weaver and a poet whose Buddhist stupa sits near the barns of their Massachusetts farm. Two scientists turned sheep farmers whose flock grazes in the shadows of Montana’s Bridger Mountains. A Navajo sheep herder and craftsman in the Black Mesa region of Arizona whose endangered breed of sheep were rescued from extinction. These are just a few of the captivating portraits of America’s fiber farms and ranches featured in Shear Spirit.
Part coffee-table book, part inspirational work, and part pattern guide, Shear Spirit connects knitters to the yarn-producing community in a new and intimate way. Filled with stunning photographs, fascinating essays, and heartwarming profiles, this book follows the writer and photographer to 10 fiber farms and ranches across America-from the Willamette Valley of Oregon to the coast of Maine-capturing the essence of the people, places, and animals that, together, create yarn. Twenty projects featuring yarns from the farms surveyed will inspire knitters everywhere.
A visual journey to America’s fiber farms and ranches plus a rich inside look at the challenging but rewarding lives of the people who have devoted their lives to harvesting and spinning fleece into yarn, Shear Spirit takes fiber enthusiasts of all ages and interests right to the source of their common passion.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 eye candy June 15, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Almost every knitter and spinner I know has dreamed of having a hobby farm with sheep of their very own. This book tells stories of those lucky ducks who get to live the life we imagine. It tells of the romance (skirting a fleece with a glass of wine *sigh*) but also tells what an incredible amount of work these people go through to get us our pretty yarn.
The photography is gorgeous. Drooly gorgeous.
 Beautiful stories June 9, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is beautiful to look at and informative to read. This is not primarily a knitting pattern book, but a book about sheep and wool. The photos are gorgeous and the stories are about families and animals and farms--compelling and enjoyable for anyone who enjoys fiber arts and anyone who sometimes feels like chucking everything and going to a farm somewhere to raise alpacas.
Very good read and very informative June 9, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I enjoyed reading and learning about sheep and and their different varieties. I was disappointed though in there not being more patterns. The photography, of course, was spectacular, as well as the stories being interesting. Looking forward to seeing what they collaborate on next.
Gorgeous Photography, Delicious Yarn, Glorious Sheep May 15, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I love this book. I've looked through it layer by layer. I started by looking at the photos over and over. Beautiful bucolic landscapes. Captivating portraits of camelids. As I turned the pages, I felt like selling my house and buying a farm.
Next, I looked at the patterns. While the yarn rocked my socks off, none of the patterns did. The downside is that, for the most part, the yarn isn't available. Beware of falling in love with a specific "look." The author kindly provides a list of yarn substitutions that should be available in your LYS or online.
I was inspired enough by the yarn to learn how to crochet a granny square pot holder. Also, I got some Pastaza to make one of the bags. But it was the yarn that inspired me--not the patterns.
Finally, I started reading the story of each farm. I'm enjoying the little details about life on a fiber farm--the daily schedule, the shearing, the philosophy.
If you're looking for great patterns, this book is not for you. But if you love rural photography or dream of living on a fiber farm, this is a perfect book for you.
A visual delight:; A textu(r)al pleasure May 2, 2008
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
If you are not familiar with Gale Zucker's photography, then you are in for a real treat. Her portraits have an amazing way of compassionately capturing many facets of an individual. Her landscapes and narrative work express joy and excitement for color, light and texture. She takes a personal pleasure in photographing sheep and animals and somehow brings out a human quality in her subjects. These photos make it obvious why the fiber farmers love their work.
Joan Tapper is equally talented at providing an engaging and interesting text for this book. As you read each chapter you feel transported to another location. She tells these unusual stories with an intimacy that gives the reader the feeling that she really knows something about the lives of these farmers. There is nothing typical about their lives and stories, and they are frequently quite inspiring.
This is a book that will remain off the shelves in your home and on hand. You cannot devour the gorgeous photos in one or two sittings. Nor can you keep yourself from checking your recollection of interesting facts. For example, who knew that the Icelandic sheep being raised in Minnesota are genetically the same as the sheep the Vikings first brought to Iceland? I am familiar with a Navajo story about a Spider Goddess and weaving, but I had never heard about Talking God who created sheep from clouds, willows, rocks, plants and rainbows. And although I have spent close to 20 summers vacationing in Maine, I did not know that the Damariscotta River could provide seawater to fix the dye in fiber.
While knitting has gained in popularity as celebrities are seen carrying their knitting bags, this book pays homage to a wide variety of fiber arts. The authors explore knitting, crocheting, Navajo weaving, felting, spinning, and dying. Patterns accompany each chapter which beginners and experts can enjoy. If you are any sort of crafts person, if you are not a crafts person but appreciate the beauty and effort of well made crafts, if you are interested in small agruicultural businesses, or would like to vicariously experience a more rural life, then this is the book for you. I foolishly purchased only one copy. As soon as it arrived I realized that I should have bought at least three more as gifts. (Which I promptly did.)
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