Meet Anne Hanson

Knitspot owner and designer Anne Hanson, a life-long knitter with a background in the fashion and graphic design fields, began designing knitwear sometime in the 1970s. Anne also teaches and writes about knitting, spinning, and designing at her blog, knitspot.com, and lives in Ohio with David, who loves wool, too.

Anne’s background as a patternmaker/draper, technical designer, and costumer in New York City’s garment district informs her work, providing a rich source of experience in garment construction and fit, as well as knowledge of a wide range of fibers and fabrics.

Anne’s design work has been included in Knitty, Interweave Knits, and Twist Collective, as well as several upcoming publications. In addition, her designs have been commissioned for several popular sock and lace clubs, including the Rockin’ Sock Club®, the Woolgirl Sock Club, the Yarn4Socks club, the Fearless Fibers “Seven Deadly Sins” sock club, and the Wooly Wonka Seasons of Lace Club.

(Let me to preface this with the comment that I thought that Anne would have an impossible time answering this. I was really having fun with this thought...until this morning when Anne answered it in the most succinct way!)

If you had to choose one element of nature with which to draw your inspiration, what would it be?

Light.

I love to look at light in all its forms and the effect it has on objects and air. I'm fascinated by the negative spaces in nature, the shapes that are created around light, almost anything from a spider web to criss-crossed twigs to flower create spaces between and translucent light effects that interest me. I assume that's why lace and textured fabrics appeal so much to me in my work!