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.]
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