Books and knitting. Knitting and books. It’s impossible for me to pick the front runner.

When I started graduate school, I had the chance to hear Louise Fili speak about her art director years at Pantheon Books. Complete awe. Instant job envy.

If my academic exposure to graphic design had come five years later, maybe that could have been my career path. But this was before the digital revolution, and I had piss-poor fine motor skills. I cut Rubylith like a toddler — a toddler wearing oven mitts.

In creating a blanket series that pays homage to Minnesota books, it wasn’t enough to pick my favorite books by my favorite writers.

Nope. It had to be my favorite cover for each one of those beloved books.