Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2004 > July > 01
Thursday, July 1, 2004
Austin knitster goes Hollywood
We all have our causes — literacy, animal rights, global warming.
Vickie Howell of Austin is out to “shatter the stigma that knitting is something only elderly women do.” To that end, she is hosting a new cable show, “Knitty Gritty,” that debuts Friday on the DIY Network.
The crafty new series will air Fridays at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. It promises to take viewers through various creative knitting projects, such as baby Ugg boots, guitar straps and even handbags made of recycled plastic grocery sacks.
This is not Howell’s first shot at uplifting the image of “knitsters.” She also co-founded a hip knitting group called Stitch n’ Bitch, which has chapters in Los Angeles and Austin.
Howell, 30, is the personification of a hip knitster. Pretty and perky, she is also a fashionista, whose online company, Ruby Goes Retro, sells vintage and vintage-inspired clothes and accessories.
Before becoming a crafts crusader, Howell worked in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. After marrying Austinite-in-L.A. Clint Howell, she launched a company there called Mamarama, selling stylish handmade clothes for moms and kids.
Last year the couple and their two sons, ages 2 1/2 and 4 1/2, moved to Austin. Besides Ruby Goes Retro, Vickie helped found the Austin Craft Mafia, a collaboration of nine female-run craft businesses.
So how does a young knitting mom go from online and home business to television? Oddly enough, the show, which sounds custom-made for Howell, was not created for her.
Some brainiac at DIY came up with the concept and then Googled in search of a host. Up popped Howell in connection with Stitch n’ Bitch and Ruby. An e-mail query followed and a correspondence emerge.
“I’ve always wanted to host my own craft show, so I sent her links for her to see me,” Howell said.
After an audition trip to Hollywood last October, Howell, who says she started knitting when she was 8 and instantly became “obsessed with the fiber arts,” was told a couple of women were contenders; a few weeks later she got the job.
Thirteen episodes of “Knitty Gritty” have been shot and 26 more have been ordered. Howell flies to L.A. to film them back-to-back during a period of a few weeks.
“I think there’ll be an audience of knitters and maybe people who aren’t necessarily interested in that kind of thing,” Howell said. “The thing about knitters is they’re very loyal. It’s amazing to me how the word has already spread and that has everything to do with the Internet.”
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