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Vickie Howell to Host “Knitting Daily TV”

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vickie howell knitting dailyI’m sure you all know about “Knitting Daily TV,” the fiber-arts-focused show produced by Interweave for PBS. The show is in its 11th season and has been hosted all that time by Eunny Jang, who was editor of Interweave Knits until earlier this year.

The word is out that Vickie Howell will be taking over the hosting job and getting her name in the title of the show, which will be called “Knitting Daily TV with Vickie Howell.”

Vickie, of course, is well-versed in the world of crafty TV, having hosted “Knitty Gritty” for eight seasons, as well as being the co-host of “Styleicious,” among other projects.

“Knitting Daily TV” is considered the longest continuously running fiber arts show in production (counting some time as “Needle Arts Studio with Shay Pendray”; it became “Knitting Daily TV” in 2010). The show’s format has changed some through the years but it focuses on knitting and crochet instruction, learning about yarn and project tutorials.

In a press release, Vickie said she “can’t wait to be back in fellow stitchers’ living rooms sharing my passion for yarn-crafts and the vibrant community surrounding it.” The feeling is mutual!

[Photo courtesy of Bernat via VickieHowell.com]

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Comments

  1. I was really sad to hear Eunny was leaving IW and KDTV, and this news makes it worse. Vickie’s site and patterns always seemed to me to be aimed at pre-teens. I hope the standard of KDTV doesn’t sink that low.

  2. I agree. While I don’t dislike Vickie Howell, I have not seen even one single pattern of hers that I would ever consider making. I also really dislike the fact that her name is in the title. It would be different if Eunny’s name had been in the title before. This seems egotistical. On the screen shots I have seen, I have seen no mention of other people I love, like Kristen Omdahl, Laura Bryant and Barry Klein, Shay Pendray, and Clara Parkes. All I have read is Vickie saying, “I, I, I,” and “my, my, my.” Why did Eunny leave? I truly hope Kristen Omdahl did not leave, too. And I hope the show doesn’t start featuring those childish, clunky, unsophisticated type patterns I associate with Vickie Howell.

  3. Vickie turns me off. Her facial expressions look like she is so bored with her guests. Its like she’s being put upon to have the guest there and would rather do the whole show by herself.

Have you read?

A Blanket Knitting Pattern Where Yarn Selection is Everything

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]