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Rating: 
Summary: Inspirationally Twisted!
Review: As a spinner and knitter by profession, I love books that inspire and create ideas--not just give me a batch of patterns that I usually don't follow anyway. I've read the book from cover to cover 3 times and tested almost all the patterns. I discovered or re-discovered many ideas. I like the way the book is laid out. It's a great size for working with or to put in a bag. I love the beautiful photography--tons of photos! TSSW has excellent gauge charts, clear and easy to understand instruction diagrams, many variations on knitting, dyeing and yarn design. IMHO, it is an excellent resource book for those who use handspun yarns, want to use lots of color in their work, or yarns from their stash. This book is definitely a must have for those who don't color between the lines..... and those who want to be inspired/encouraged to go beyond the published pattern and yarns that everyone else has!
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Summary: Great dyeing, spinning, and sock knitting book
Review: Don't get me wrong, I like this book, and I'm glad that I made the purchase, it's just a little much for me. The knittig patterns are too complicated for me. I had my mom, an experienced knitter, look over it and make me a sample sock, but she couldn't get the basic heel part to come out right. I've yet to try spinning my own yarn, but I'm very excited to try. The pictures are beautiful! I like looking at them, even if I can't make pretty socks yet =( They even have toe socks!!!
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Summary: Too much for beginners
Review: Don't get me wrong, I like this book, and I'm glad that I made the purchase, it's just a little much for me. The knittig patterns are too complicated for me. I had my mom, an experienced knitter, look over it and make me a sample sock, but she couldn't get the basic heel part to come out right. I've yet to try spinning my own yarn, but I'm very excited to try. The pictures are beautiful! I like looking at them, even if I can't make pretty socks yet =( They even have toe socks!!!
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Summary: Great dyeing, spinning, and sock knitting book
Review: Even if you are not a spinner, this book provides excellent basic information on how to create your own multi-colored yarns. You don't even have to use the dyes discussed in the book. My friend and I have had great success dyeing roving and yarn using this book. Vogel also discusses how to make the best out of multi-colored roving -- how to split the roving, how to spin it for different effects.
She covers several basic cast-on, cast-off, and heel methods for socks as well as giving a basic sock pattern that even my mom is able to follow and use. The example socks are beautiful. She writes in a clear, concise way that I found helpful.
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Summary: Great Inspiration
Review: I found this book wonderful. I am not a spinner...yet, but I love dying yarns and knitting. I found this book to be a great inspiration. I want to learn to spin now, just to make those beautiful yarns. You can easily apply a lot of the techniques to hand dyed yarns or even store bought yarns. The sock pattern part of the book is really nice too. You get the basics of measuring and making a sock, so you can make whatever sock your little heart desires. Just had to knit up a pair of socks after reading this book.
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Summary: The best manual out there for informal and fun dyeing!
Review: I teach spinning and dyeing classes, and I have often used this book as a manual for those classes. Many people are afraid to try dyeing, especially after they read most other dyeing books (_Color in Spinning_ comes to mind) that are very technical and intimidating. Usually dyeing books are written for the engineer, rather than the dabbler. All you really need to make beautiful dyed yarn and roving are some acid dyes, vinegar, water, and an oven. Dyeing is all about exploration, serendipity, and enjoyment of color, not worrying about depth of shade or how many tenths of a gram of dye to put in a stock solution. It's really terribly simple. This is the only book I have ever found that celebrates that simplicity. This book is clearly and cheerfully written, with excellent illustrations and an enthusiasm that makes you want to dive right in. The information on spinning painted roving is also exceptional. I haven't even tried the sock patterns yet (they seem to be thorough and walk you through lots of different options like afterthought heels and other ideas I haven't seen many other places), but this book is worth it for the dyeing information alone.
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Summary: Why would you dip your socks in Kool-Aid?
Review: If you love wildly-colored socks, space-dyed yarns and color, this book is for you. You can learn handpaint techniques for yarns, then follow it up by knitting up a pair of your own wild socks. Random or pattern-dyed yarns are really popular right now with knitters and the recipes and methods for making socks like these are scattered all over the Internet. Nice to have the methods together here on one book. If you don't dye your own sock yarn, this is a good book for visualizing the effects with space-dyed yarns. Not all patterns or texture stitches look good with varigated yarns, so having examples knitted up is helpful. I don't dye yarn, but I like to look at the effects people achieve, so this book isn't my favorite, but if you like to dye wildly-colored yarn, this one's for you.
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Summary: Fun sock book
Review: This book is about knitting socks! The first part deals with dying the yarn and then moving on to the knitting. Even if you are not interested in the dying of yarn, the knitting information they give you is very helpful. Maybe you might even try some dying,,,,the Kool Aid dying is easy!
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Summary: Much more than you'd expect!
Review: While I cannot judge for others, this book was a perfect match for me. I love knitting socks, I have just learned to spin, and I love dyeing. The only (slight negative is that only spindle spinning is covered but there are plenty of other books on spinning). The range of information on creative dyeing, spinning and plying for knock-your-socks-off socks is here, and with great illustrations. Every sock is an inspiration and you are walked through several methods of dyeing, how to process the results to spin beautiful yarns and several ways of knitting socks. No other book has all of this in one place.
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Summary: Much more than you'd expect!
Review: Why is the Twisted Sister Sock Workbook always getting sold out at yarn and fiber shows? Because it's a great book! It not only teaches a beginning to intermediate knitter how to knit a basic sock, but it then proceeds to expand your creative mind with myriad variations on a theme. You learn about multiple ways to turn a heel, various toe treatments, after-thought heels, knitting flat, knitting a tube, selecting yarn, dying yarn (ha! you probably didn't expect that from this book), various top-edge treatments, Fair Isle patterns, and on and on! This book gives you so many ideas that rather than make you follow a boring pattern to make your socks look like the ones in the book, you get so jazzed you can't stop improvising and creating. You'll be making your own unique works of art for feet in no time. I find myself often browsing through the book in the evening just for the pure enjoyment of the photos, artwork, and enthusiasm. Twisted Sisters is a book that will kick your creative expression to a new level.
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