Where’s Kate? Top 5 Roving Reporter Blog Posts of 2017

Many of us, including the editorial team at Spin Off, spend our days seated in front of a computer not our spinning wheels. So it’s no wonder that we look forward to Kate Larson’s latest Roving Reporter—we can’t wait to see what she’s been up to! Here’s a look back at Kate’s top five blog posts in 2017.

Spinning all day, walks in the woods, and family-style dinner . . . a spinner’s dream holiday.

Surrounded by the blossoms and abundant greens of an Indiana summer, I am stockpiling fleeces for fall spinning workshops. Among my autumn travels around the country, I get to spend an entire week with fleece-hungry spinners at John C. Campbell Folk School creating breed-specific yarns and cloth. I’m busily washing piles of shimmering longwool locks and mountains of Merino. Read more...

2. Looking for Perfect Buttons? Make Your Own

A few of Kate’s handmade buttons.

With fingers flying and knitting needles blazing, January has been a month of yarn immersion. I have been finishing a series of samples for my new workshops. While I love spinning and knitting cardigans that incorporate beautiful buttons, I used to struggle to find the right ones. Then I learned to make my own buttons—and you can, too! Read more...

3. Tea and a Pound of Cotton

A mug of tea and natural-colored cotton make a rich start to the day.

In these long, hot days of summer, I’ve carved out a morning ritual: spinning a bit of cotton while I drink my morning tea. This is the time of year that I can take a few deep breaths and try to gather myself in between haymaking on the farm, writing and researching, prepping for fall workshops, and so on. In the repetitive movements of spinning, I can find a quiet, still space—do you? Read more...

4. Getting to Know Ewe: Columbia Sheep and Their Wool

Spinner’s socks on the needles. The pattern is easy to memorize and fun to knit.

Are you ready for the new issue of Spin Off? I wrote a new article for the Summer 2017 issue about my first fiber love—Columbia sheep. It’s always a pleasure to write about sheep breeds that I enjoy using, especially when it’s a breed that is less commonly used by handspinners. Read more...

5. Why I Love My Handcards: Carding Wool Three Ways

Hold a lock firmly in the center; drag one end through the carding cloth at the top edge of the carder; turn the lock around and do the other end; and you are ready to spin!

I love and collect handcards the way that many of my friends collect spindles. New cards, antique cards, flat or curved, they are all unique and do different jobs well. However, if you have not fallen in love with the pursuit of the perfect rolag, you are not alone. Read more...

Follow our Roving Reporter Kate Larson’s adventures every Thursday on the Spin Off blog!