Long Thread Podcast: Susan Strawn, Knitting Historian

A lifelong lover of fiber arts, Susan Strawn’s career in textiles began in an unexpected corner: with training as a biomedical illustrator. She found cloth far more exciting than biology, so she turned her eye for detail to illustrating PieceWork magazine. She added photostyling to her duties, bringing textile stories to life and demonstrating the steps of various needlework techniques. After a decade on the staff of the magazine, she decided to devote herself to studying and writing about textiles, earning a PhD in Textiles and Clothing.

Although her initial interest was in writing, she discovered that she loved teaching. She became a Professor in the Department of Fashion at Dominican University, with a roster of classes she loved to teach (and that would make a textile lover swoon to take). Now retired from the university, she is exploring the importance of textiles, especially knitting, in her own life through essays and illustrations.

With a particular interest in everyday cloth and the insight it offers into women’s lives, Susan’s hands are always busy with needle, pen, or keyboard.

Links

Susan Strawn’s website
Susan’s Substack
Discover Knitting America and Susan’s other writings
Knits of Yore video
The Gaman Mittens pattern is available in the Farm & Fiber Knits library or in PieceWork September/October 2017.
Read about Susan’s visit to the nuns of Shaw Island and their flock of Cotswold sheep
No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne L. MacDonald
A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt
Blazing Star Journal from AgArts

This episode is brought to you by:

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