Fiber Hooligan

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (07/08/13) my guest will be designer, teacher, author and illustrator Franklin Habit. Franklin is the author of It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons (Interweave Press, 2008) and proprietor of The Panopticon, one of the most popular knitting blogs on the Internet. On an average day, upwards of 2,500 readers worldwide drop in for a mix of essays, cartoons, and the continuing adventures of Dolores the Sheep. He recently founded Yarn Shaming, because while he loves yarn, yarn does not always love him back. Franklin's varied experience in the fiber world includes contributions of writing and design to Vogue Knitting, Yarn Market News, Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, PieceWork, Cast On: A Podcast for Knitters, Twist Collective; and a regular columns for both Knitty.com and Lion Brand Yarns. Several of his independently published designs are available via Ravelry.com. He travels constantly to teach knitters at shops and guilds across the country and internationally; and

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (07/01/13) my guest will be the very talented and dynamic, Becca Smith, owner of BagSmith. One of the things that I love about Becca's company is that it's really a family operation… Becca's mother, son, and husband have all be involved in the business. BagSmith is perhaps most well known for Big Stitch projects and yarns, worked on size 11 needles and larger (and their size 35 and 50 needles are also very popular). Becca, herself, is a lifelong knitter and longtime fixture in the fiber industry. Becca & BagSmith offers fun, innovative, and creative challenges to an ever-changing market through a line of unique products featured at more than 600 independent yarn shops throughout the United States, Canada, the UK and France.Becca is not only a good friend, she's an 'out of the box' thinker… and it shows in her products and ideas. I hope you'll join us for what should be a very unique episode.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (6/17/13) my guest will be my dear friend and 'Dye Pot Goddess', Jeannie Randolph, owner of Fiesta Yarns. Jeannie has been the owner of Fiesta Yarns for over 12 years and is the driving force behind the amazing colors that her company produces… if you've ever picked up a skein of La Boheme, you'll know what I mean. Jeannie is also one of the most savvy marketing minds that you could ever meet. I hope you'll tune in next week when I'll have the distinct pleasure of sharing one of my best friends with you.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (6/10/13) my guest will be Lindsey Martin of Erin Lane Bags. Lindsey is an 8th grade teacher by day and organizational superhero by night. Armed with a sewing machine and design prowess, (from her mom) she is solving the organizational problems of the knit/crochet community. She founded Erin.Lane with her mom 4 years ago with just 5 products. Since first exhibiting at STITCHES, they now have 19 products that organize everything from notions to large blanket projects. Lindsey runs the studio after school & during her planning period (please don't tell her principal).Lindsey is unlike any business person that I know. She's charismatic. She's outspoken. She's more interested in what's real than what is politically correct. And find her a 'breath of fresh air' in the business community. Like most things in Lindsey's life she doesn't do anything the way you would expect. How else can you explain a full teaching schedule & running a small business--total insanity and a

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (6/3/13) my guest will be designer, teacher, and entrepreneur Gwen Bortner. Gwen is a Craft Yarn Council Certified Teacher, teaching at venues, including STITCHES, throughout the country and is the author of Entree to Entrelac. Her designs can be found in a variety of knitting magazines and through her business, Knitability, LLC. Education is probably the most important component of the Knitability business plan as all efforts focus on the company motto of "Taking Knitters to the Next Level". Whether teaching at a local yarn shop or at a national knitting convention, meeting new people and sharing the love of knitting is one of her greatest joys. Gwen's teaching philosophy can be summed up in the following quote, ?My job is to make the students' toolbox bigger. If all you own is a hammer, everything looks like a nail! In the process of providing options, more skills are developed and a better knitter is the result. My mantra is knitting is fun, if you added something to y

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (5/20/13) my guests will be the marketing powerhouse duo, Kathy & Steve Elkins who are the co-owners of WEBS - America's Yarn Store located in Northampton MA & online at yarn.com. WEBS was founded in 1974 by Steve's mom. Kathy & Steve took over in 2002. Prior to WEBS, Steve was Director of On-Premise Sales in CT for Pepsi while Kathy was Director of Marketing for Tommy Hilfiger Footwear. They both hold MBAs. When not at WEBS you are most likely to find them in a hockey rink cheering on their two boys. Steve & Kathy continually bring excitement & energy to the fiber arts world. They're also really sweet people who are always willing to support worthwhile charities. Their own podcast, Ready, Set, Knit!, is one of my favorites. I've been privileged to have been a guest on their show where they let me ramble on about me. I'm thrilled to be able to have them on Fiber Hooligan so we can talk about THEM! Please join us for this very cool show.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan (5/13/13), my guest will be Laura Bryant, owner and creative force behind Prism Yarns. Laura specializes in color & hand-dyed yarns, and has published over 70 pattern booklets for Prism. Laura has written six books, including The Yarn Stash Workbook, The New Knitter's Template (coauthored with Barry Klein), and recently produced the DVD Knitter's Guide to Color with Laura Bryant and Yarn to Fit with Barry Klein. Her newest book newest book is Artful Color, Mindful Knits from XRX Books. She teaches and designs with a 'no rules' approach, and her very popular classes are designed to bring out the creativity within all of us.Laura will be sharing her story with us… and talking about her inspirations and her take on the fiber arts world. She is one of smartest people in the industry. You owe it to yourself to NOT miss this podcast episode.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan, my guest will be Nathania Apple, co-owner of Purlescence Yarns in Sunnyvale, California. Her designs have appeared in Knitty, Twist Collective, Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and on Ravelry.com. Her passion for color & texture meet in the intricate workings of lace, cables & colorwork. Nathania is an award-winning image consultant, certified color designer, and yoga instructor. When not in the shop, she spends time with her husband, three daughters, and three dogs in downtown San Jose?and teaching Yoga Tune Up®, a therapeutic yoga technique. Nathania is also one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met. She'll be talking with us about what it's like to run a yarn shop, her philosophies on the industry, her approach toward customer service & building a community, and about a charity project that she's working on in her store with her partners. Everyone who meets Nathania falls in love with her… and if you tune in next week, you will too.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan, my guest will be the very funny and talented Myra Wood. Myra is a fiber artist, both a knit and crochet wear designer, and author of Crazy Lace and Creative Crochet Lace along with numerous published patterns in magazines and books. She's appeared on numerious TV shows including Knitty Gritty & Knit and Crochet Now. Myra teaches a wide range of inspiring knit and crochet classes for STITCHES Expos and Craftsy.com. She'll be joining us to talk about her design sensibilities, how she approaches design, as well as to talk about a special project that she's working on. We'll also be having the winner of the guest co-hooligan contest, Mary Sarnese, on the show to help with Myra's interview. You won't want to miss this episode.

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan, my guest will be Drew Emborsky (a.k.a. The Crochet Dude™). Drew is going to talk to us about his career as a designer, teacher, and as an icon in the fiber arts world. He's also going to be talking about his new line of yarns and the other great things he has planned for this year. This is going to be a show you will not want to miss!

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan my guest will be the very talented designer, teacher, podcaster, and entrepreneur, Marlania Bird. We'll be talking about her designs, the work she does with yarn companies & publications, and the classes she does at events and on Craftsy.com. Marly is one of the most positive, energetic, and creative people in our industry. And my conversation with her is not only going to be interesting… it should also be a lot of fun! Oh yeah... And there WILL be prizes given away on this show!

On the next edition of Fiber Hooligan, my guests will be some of the gang from Team Ravelry. We're going to talk about some the things that they are working on, their philosophy on the fiber arts community, and their most recent milestone of getting to 3 million users on Ravelry.com. I'm not exactly sure who from this dynamic team will be joining us on the show, but I know it's going to be great. You'll want to tune in for this episode.

This week we have some very special friends joining us to talk about our 'Under the Sea for Kids' campaign - a hat and toy bombing for children who are being treated for cancer at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - Egleston & Scottish Rite.BeLinda Creech of Elephants Remember Joplin, Pam Haschke of Halos of Hope, and Marian Rose from the Atlanta Knitting Guild have partnered up with XRX, Inc. to make this spring special for the youth of Atlanta as part of our program for STITCHES South 2013.We are excited about this opportunity for four great groups to come together to do something fun for these kids and the Atlanta community. Please join us!

For our next show, my guest will be Rick Mondragon, editor of Knitter's Magazine. He'll be talking about K110, the Spring 2013 issue, in local yarn stores and on newsstands now, as well as teasing you with what you'll see in the upcoming Summer issue. We invite you to listen as he takes you into the pages and between the lines of Knitter's Magazine. Gain insight on how it all comes together—stitch, color, and silhouette—along with logical approaches to what appears on the page and why. You'll want to have your hard copy or digital edition (on your iPad, or computer) of Knitter's 110 at hand for the full experience of Rick's visit with us. (Note: If you don't have a copy of K110, you can follow along with the projects on the K110 patterns pages on Ravelry.) Besides being our editor, he is a creative designer with lots to share. And I know you'll love his insights as much as I do.

I'm pleased to announce that I have scheduled the premiere podcast of Fiber Hooligan. And we've got an amazing show planned. My first guest will be the incredibly talented author, Debbie Macomber. Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of today's most popular writers with more than 170 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Macomber brings to life the compelling relationships that comprise family, community and enduring friendships, filling her readers with a sense of love and hope. Please join us on Monday, March 11th at 11:00 am (Central Time) as we talk about knitting, her own story, her beautiful yarn store, her most recent book, the wonderful work that she's doing with World Vision, and much more.