Interesting, informative, well produced.

It isn't fair to complain of a book for not being what the reader wants, if the author doesn't pretend it is. Parry doesn't go into the finances of her farm, though she does mention the costs of hay and the need to sell yarn to be in the black.

I'd like to know if the operation, including capital costs, actually makes money, or if it's a hobby farm. That sound derisive, and I don't mean to be, she has created a great life for herself and her sheep, hard but rewarding. ( )

Adventures in Yarn Farming is about a couple whose second "career" became raising sheep and processing their wool into yarn. After an introduction to their location in Massachusetts and how they came to this adventure, the narrative travels through the seasons which dictate the activities on the farm. Interspersed through the book are patterns and directions for projects that use the raw materials sold by the farm.

As a weaver, knitter, and spinner I enjoyed the book even though I never intend to take up animal husbandry. The author's target audience is people with interests similar to mine. ( )

This book was written for anyone who has ever picked up a pair of knitting needles, a crochet hook, or a ball of yarn. Adventures in Yarn Farming is one of the most delightful books yarn-lovers will encounter. Barbara Parry, the author, tells her story with the gentle compassion of one who lives the realities of the difficult life many city-dwelling sheep lovers romanticize. Barbara takes the reader with her through a year of living with and caring for very dependent livestock. She gives glimpses of the challenges of farming, and she invites readers to share in the joys and delights of living and working with sheep and their wool. Not only does Barbara share her story with tenderness and humor; she has filled the volume with the sweet, silly, fuzzy, and lovable faces of her sheep, who look out of the pages of the book, begging to be hugged.

Should reading about what truly are adventures in producing fluffy fiber make a person's fingers itch for projects worthy of such storied material, there are projects and directions for spinning, dying, weaving, knitting and more. And as Barbara Parry knows probably all too well, every really good book needs at least one food recipe.

Barbara Parry's Adventures in Yarn Farming would be a much loved and appreciated gift for any fiber aficionado. I have no doubt it will be shared with glee-filled laughter in many knitting circles. ( )