Believe it or not, I'm a lil bit crafty.
I discovered knitting last year, and it is by far my favourite thing to do when in need of chill time.
And I love sewing too.
Yep, laugh it up, but all the cool kids stich y'know!

Sarra Manning, fabster author/journo girl has just written a feature in this month's Elle 'bout the joys of knitting and I recently interviewed the coolest crafter, Vicky Howell. Now if she cannot persuade you that craft is cool, then no one will. Fact.


Vickie Howell - author/craftster - is promoting her sparkly-gorgeous book Not Another Teen Knitting Book...

* Hey craft-girl, loving the book - tell us about it... Why a book specifically for teens?
Hey there! Thank you so much—I’m really glad you like it. Not Another Teen Knitting Book is a knitter’s take on the stereotypical high school experience. It’s laid out like a yearbook and includes projects representing different events milestones and social cliques—Populars, Brains, Punks, Prom, First Car, etc. I try to infuse a bit of American pop culture into everything I do and in this instance; I’m hoping that effort also brings some humor to the subject of knitting. It’s really important to me that people, especially kids, get and stay creative—hopefully this book will help make that idea appealing.

* Knitting is cool. Fact. For those crazy girls who don't dig stichin', what are they missin'?
Fashion can be pretty cookie-cutter, making it hard not to look like everyone else in your school. One of my favorite things about knitting however is how easy it makes it to express your own personal style. An easy project like a scarf, wristband or capelet can completely change your look. In other words, knitting enables anyone to create their own couture—I love that!

* How did you get to become a professional craft-girl? (we're green with envy!)
I started a couple of craft-based web businesses and Stitch n’ Bitch Groups, basically as a hobby. Through those I slowly began networking and getting my name out there. The producer of the TV show I host here in the states, Knitty Gritty, did a web search for “Hip Knitters”—which happened to be a tagline on my knitting group’s logo. She e-mailed me, I called her immediately and pitched myself and then flew out to Los Angeles, California (I live in Austin, Texas) to audition. Once I got the show gig, I started pitching myself to publishers and magazines and basically just trying to get my projects into any publication possible—I worked for free a lot at first, but it was totally worth it!

* What's next in the world of Vickie?
Well, the other TV show I co-host, Stylelicious, is currently airing on the DIY Network(www.diynetwork.com), There’ll be new Knitty Gritty episodes airing in July. I have an interview with Isaac Mizrahi coming out in the next issue of Knit.1 Magazine (www.knit.1.com) for fall and I’m working on three new books: 2 knitting and 1 crochet. Check in with me at www.vickiehowell.com for any late breaking news, though! ;-)