Long Thread Podcast: Kate Larson, Farm & Fiber Knits

Kate Larson is the editor of Farm & Fiber Knits and a beloved teacher of spinning, knitting, and weaving. She took time out from lambing season to talk about the magazine’s goals.

A new addition to Kate Larson’s flock. Photo by Kate Larson

Kate Larson isn’t making a magazine only for farmers and handspinners. In this episode, she talks about what Farm & Fiber Knits is really for: helping knitters connect with the natural fibers they love. Whether you’re buying wool at a yarn store, tracking down a small-batch skein at a farmers market, or dreaming about rare fibers from around the world, Kate makes the case that you’re already part of this story—you just might not know it yet. When developing new issues of the magazine, she looks for stories to bring that world to life, with armchair journeys to fiber traditions as far afield as the Faroe Islands and Madagascar. The magazine’s patterns are designed to work for any contemporary knitter using a wide range of yarns from one-of-a-kind to available everywhere.

Nearly twenty years of teaching have shaped Kate’s approach to designing the new Farm & Fiber Knits retreats, including a recent trip to farms in New Hampshire and Vermont where participants met shepherds, handled fleeces, and watched the connection between knitter and fiber come to life in participants’ hands.

Three bags full of wool from Kate Larson’s Border Leicester sheep. Photo courtesy of Kate Larson

Listen in to hear Kate push back on the myth that sheep are stupid, learn what Farm & Fiber Knits offers for knitters at every point on the natural-fiber spectrum, and hear the story of a shepherd seeing yarn from her own flock for the very first time.

Links

Farm & Fiber Knits magazine and website
Farm & Fiber Knits retreats
SpinOff magazine
Spin Off Autumn Retreat (SOAR)

This episode is brought to you by:

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