Vickie Howell is Crowdfunding for a Knitting Show

In case you haven’t already heard about this one, Vickie Howell, once host of “Knitty Gritty” and all around champion of the fiber arts in any medium she can think of, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a web series called “The Knit Show with Vickie Howell.”

The series will be the first studio-produced, community-funded episodic knitting program that will be available worldwide through YouTube.

Howell says she receives messages daily from people who miss DIY crafty TV, and she has been working behind-the-scenes for years trying to figure out how to make it work. But networks aren’t that interested in shows that aren’t reality TV or big budget scripted shows of the type that win awards.

“There isn’t currently a place at the table for niche, how-to programming. The cool thing is, though, we can make our own table,” she said in the launch video.

The Kickstarter is seeking to raise $75,000 — and raised more than $10,000 the first day — to produce the first season, though the documentation doesn’t suggest how many episodes that might be. It does say they will be about 30 minutes long and include guests, knitting tutorials, patterns to download and features on the wider knitting world.

Funding levels start at $1 and go all the way up to $5,000 and more. Rewards include free patterns, tote bags, mentions in the show, even on-location shoots for yarn shops or other folk in the industry.

It’s a big ask but I hope that it works out because this is something we as knitters could really use. Shows are great for building community around and a fun way to learn new skills, too.

What do you think? Have you contributed or will you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo via Kickstarter.]

As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just changing up the colors would make others work for Christmas, or keep it neutral and use them all year long.

What got me started thinking about this was the lovely and simple Fresh Bread Dishtowel, a free pattern from Purl Soho. Worked in a lovely cotton and linen blend, the towel is mostly stockinette stitch with a bit of texture on the borders.

You could use this same kind of pattern to make anything from placemats to a table runner, but let’s look at some specific patterns for those kinds of projects as well.

The easy moss stitch table runner from Glass Bird Knits is beginner friendly can can easily be modified to fit your table (or, again, to make placemats instead of or in addition to a runner). This version is worked in macrame cord, but you could also use bulky yarn.

Emielle Design has a garter stitch runner pattern that’s made with braided cotton cord for a lot of texture without a lot of work. But be sure to take a lot of breaks when knitting with cord because it can be rough on your hands!

I also love the diamond pattern on the Hamilton Table Runner from Wyndlestraw Designs. It calls for a DK weight cotton and linen blend yarn and comes in three sizes with different widths and lengths. The pattern has both written and charted instructions.

Amy Marie’s Table Pumpkins (on Ravelry) is a fun mosaic knitting pattern that would be great to use as a table runner through the fall and for Thanksgiving. It uses a worsted weight cotton yarn in two colors, and you can make it as long as you like for your table.

The no cable knit placemats from Yarn Culture Studio have a fun faux cable look that would be great for the table through the fall and winter.

Or here’s another pattern from Wyndlestraw Designs, this time for an easy knit and purl stitch placemat pattern that looks different but still good on both sides. It calls for worsted weight cotton and comes in two sizes for placemats, but also has instructions for coasters, a hot pad and a table pad all using the same stitch.

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