Preparing and arranging fibers, using the spindle and wheel, dyeing natural materials, and experimenting with yarn design are discussed. Eliza Leadbeater is a handspinner who has earned a world-wide reputation for her contribution to the craft. She has researched the development of textile hand tools and cottage industries and is the author of Handspinning, a recognized classic among instruction books. For over a decade she lived in a cottage in Cheshire where she designed and manufactured equipment for handspinning, weaving and dyeing. Products she designed are in use all over the world. In the 1980s she returned to the United States and lives in New Hampshire.