About 13 years ago, at my first Spin Off Autumn Retreat, I met a fellow first-timer. Kate Larson, a young scholarship recipient, was already such an accomplished spinner that she’d been hired as a spinning model for a book! She began contributing to Spin Off magazine the next year. Since then, she’s done it all: book author, video artist, and popular teacher—not to mention Roving Reporter!
Kate’s not the only Larson cover girl. Joan graced the Winter 2015 cover.
The Sheep Beat
Although Kate wrote about Sally Fox’s natural-color cotton project in Spin Off Winter 2014, we keep calling her back to the flock—the flock of sheep, that is. Forgive me for pigeonholing her, but Kate has such an understanding of sheep and wool that we asked her to write a whole book about it,The Practical Spinner’s Guide: Wool. It’s not just Kate herself who appears in our pages; the Winter 2015 issue featured a portrait of her beloved ewe Joan as the face of the Natural Fiber Issue.
Every Craft Is Spinner’s Craft
Our research indicates that although more spinners knit than pursue other yarn crafts, we do it all: weave, crochet, stitch, dye, and more. The same goes for Kate. Her work has been on the cover of Spin Off magazine 3 times (not counting Joan!), once with a knitting project (Spring 2012), once for a woven band (Spring 2018), and once with dead sexy yarn (Summer 2017). Her North Road Hat made the cover of our special issue Spin + Knit. She even has a popular class on Dorset buttons.
Kate’s creativity notebook is the subject of a popular class (and the envy of spinners who dread keeping notes!).
The Traveling Teacher
Kate has been on the road most weekends for the last few years, bringing her spinning wheel and wide-ranging knowledge to classrooms around the country. She’s covered her classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School, fiber festivals, and as one of the busiest teachers at Interweave Yarn Fest. If you prefer to learn about spinning from your own home, she’s also created several on-demand videos and courses for Interweave. (And everyone should watch her show how to make a yarn ball.)
Embedded content: https://youtu.be/z2HxJBXVoww
New Directions
A few months ago, I accepted the role of editorial director for Interweave’s yarn and fiber communities, and Spin Off magazine deserves someone who can think about the handspinning community full time. Although it’s hard to leave the editor’s seat, Kate’s knowledge of the craft and the community will take the magazine to wonderful new places!
Please join me in welcoming Kate to her new role. —Anne Merrow