(Photo: Jenny Gordy, Wiksten)

Last year when Flipboard added in Google Reader functionality I suddenly had blogs as the main course in my daily media diet again. That combo is hands down, for me, the very best way to browse the web. I fell back in love with some old favorites (101 Cookbooks, Emma’s Designblogg …) and began adding new feeds at a pretty steady pace. But it spiked when I took up knitting a few months ago. One of the first things I did was to go looking for inspiring knitters around the web, and now I’m ever on the lookout for more. The other day at Design Sponge, the designer of Odette (gorgeous), whose home was being featured, made a point of mentioning that the scarf in one of the photos was knitted by her friend Jenny Gordy, of Wiksten. So you know I clicked that link.

There are lots of beautiful blogs from beautiful makers of beautiful things, and this is no exception. But I don’t remember the last one that drew me so far into the archives. Gordy’s a designer through and through — a dressmaker who is also an exquisite knitter and now ceramicist. (Three of my favorite things.) And she’s actually got me thinking about knitting socks, which I never thought would interest me — the photo above and this post were enough to convince me. (Almost enough? I do love double-points.) As I bounced around in the archives, I discovered that she recently moved from Brooklyn to the midwest, and I think she may actually have grown up in the middle as well. Having grown up in Kansas City, and having been in California for quite some time, I’m increasingly aware of the instant — albeit subconscious — vibe I get from midwesterners. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t tell you how often I’ve hit it off instantly with someone only to discover later that we’re both from flyover land. And that might be at play here. Anyway, reading her blog felt like encountering an old friend I simply hadn’t met yet, which I think is what all the best blogs feel like. And it’s just thoroughly inspiring to me.

I really loved highlighting great blogs at Readerville and think I’ll try to do the same here from time to time. So there’s one for you: Wiksten.

(I’d love to hear about your favorites in the comments.)