Writer, illustrator, and photographer Franklin Habit's first piece of knitting—a vaguely rectangular six-foot scarf—was produced during his student days at Harvard University in the 1990s. Until the widespread revival of the craft, he stitched in solitude, turning out a small but steady stream of mittens, scarves, and hats for startled friends and relations. In February 2005, inspired by the emergence of the online knitting community, he created The Panopticon (the-panopticon.blogspot.com). What began as a project diary is now one of the most popular knitting blogs on the Internet, with mentions in publications as diverse as Knit 1 and The Advocate. On an average day, upwards of 2,000 readers worldwide tune in for a mix of essays, cartoons, and the continuing adventures of Dolores the Sheep. In response to reader demand, The Panopticon spawned its own online shop in October 2005.

Franklin's publishing experience includes writing lifestyles features for the Boston Phoenix, reading his own essays for the knitting podcast Cast On, and writing for Interweave Knits, PieceWork, Yarn Market News, and Knitty.com. He contributed to the premier issue of MenKnit, an online magazine for male knitters (menknit.net) and designed (and earned) the Gold Medal for the 2006 Knitting Olympics organized by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot. He has recently embarked on a photography project entitled "1,000 Knitters," a long-term project to (surprise!) photograph a thousand knitters.

These days, Franklin knits and spins in Chicago, Illinois, sharing a small apartment with an Ashford spinning wheel and colony of sock yarn that multiplies alarmingly whenever his back is turned. Interested in hosting a visit from Franklin at your shop or guild meeting? To receive information on travel requirements and open dates, send an email to Franklin with the subject line "Tour Stop."