Kate Larson Textiles

I love travel—to be out in the world, brushing up against new places and new ideas. My latest adventure was to the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Festival north of Chicago last weekend. I had a great time catching up with very dear friends, like John Mullarkey, and meeting new folks on the fiber trail, like Franklin Habit. If you have not visited Franklin’s blog, The Panopticon, I suggest you do! I stumbled upon it early in my blog-reading days and still love it. And the name—how clever and sly. What is a panopticon? Franklin explains it here. As a sociology student in England, I was blown away by Michel Foucault’s use of the panopticon as a sociological metaphor. Heavy stuff. However, Franklin’s book It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons is great fun and not nearly so dreary as Foucault!

And then I return to my studio and the sheep and the farm. I was able to spend this day balancing the weekend’s excitement with a quiet day of work. A day like this always makes me think of a quote from Sylvia Plath: “We stayed at home to write, to consolidate our outstretched selves.” This is what my consolidation process looked like today:

I love to read while I spin. It finally occured to me to use my painting easle to hold a book—its perfect! Today’s book selection: Everyday knitting: Treasures from a Ragpile by Annemor Sundbø. This is my second time reading this book cover to cover—one of my favs.