#137 The Knit Vibe with Vickie Howell

What does knitting and crochet do for you?

This year has taken me on a journey of discovering my place in the community and figuring out how my strengths and values can enrich someone's life. Although knitting and crochet affects many areas of my life, at it's core, the process is what fuels me the most. 

Yarn does more for me than just make a pretty thing.

That has become a mantra for me and you'll hear me say it more and more as B.Hooked grows and develops over the next year. Until recently, I haven't been able to put my finger on how I came to this realization. That is until I started reading Vickie Howell's new book, The Knit Vibe.

She's on the show today to talk about that, what's in the book and so much more. 

About The BHooked Podcast
Brittany's primary goal is to inspire you and help you grow in your craft with The BHooked Podcast. Through her own stories and the stories of each special guest, you'll discover tips and tricks to improve your crochet and knitting skills and find inspiration to achieve your hobby goals. When you want to kick back and learn from yarn industry experts, grab some yarn and turn on The BHooked Podcast. There's never a shortage of all things crochet, knitting or yarn.

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Transcript

Brittany 0:00

You're listening to The Be Hooked Podcast, episode 137, with Brittany. Hey there, welcome to another episode of the Be Hooked Podcast, the place where we love yarn, we love to learn, and we truly believe yarn can do more for us than just make pretty things. And boy oh boy, do I have a treat for you today. So I've been keeping a tiny little secret from you for over a year now, and I am bursting at the seams and over the moon excited to share that secret with you today. And to help me share the secret with you is Vicki Howell. She's returning on the show to talk about her new book, The Knit Vibe. This book is my jam right now. Now I'll let Vicki do the honors in sharing what this secret is, so keep that in mind. But before we get to that, I want to let you know that she has also offered a giveaway to one lucky listener. So you'll want to stick to the very end of the episode. We'll go through the instructions of what to do and what you could potentially win as you participate in that giveaway. Also, keep in mind that the show notes can be found at BeHooked.com slash 137. You'll find all of the information that we talk about there and all of the information for the giveaway on that page. So keep that in mind. And let's get to my talk with Vicki. Vicki Howell, welcome back to the show. How are you doing this morning? Wonderful. Well, I'm pretty pumped to have you on the show for a second time, but I'm extra excited today because I get to share a little secret with my audience that I've been keeping from them for over a year now. Do you want to do the honors?

Vickie 2:17

Why, yes, I will. That's so cute that you keep things like that you have secret. I don't think that I keep. I mean, unless I'm contractually obligated. I feel like every part of like the process of anything I do is is public. So, I mean, yeah. That's awesome that you do that. So I have my 13th book is coming out or is out as of the 8th, October 8th. It's called The Knit Vibe, A Knitter's Guide to Creativity, Community and Wellbeing for the Mind, Body and Soul. And it is a huge book that encompasses sort of like all the That is our community and it's sort of a love letter from me to the knitting and crochet community. And as part of that, I have a whole section featuring different designers of all sort of like, you know, from different places in the world and also different parts of the industry. And you are one of those designers featured.

Brittany 3:22

I am so ecstatic. Actually, you know, I don't keep a whole lot of secrets because I'm really not great at that. But I was... I

Vickie 3:31

mean, you're the only person in the industry that nobody knows your last name. I know. That's a pretty good secret.

Brittany 3:38

You know, that was something that was just a choice that my husband and I made really early on. And... Now it's just become a thing. So I'm

Vickie 3:48

just saying that that takes some fortitude. So give yourself credit where credit is due.

Brittany 3:53

Yeah, it's not difficult. And it's not that I'm trying to conceal my identity or anything like that. I just I don't know. It's kind of hard to explain, to be honest with you. I like to just keep it simple. Keep the focus away from me and on the craft as much as possible. So.

Vickie 4:09

Well, you don't owe anybody any explanation for why you do what you do. I just think that it's pretty amazing that you've been able to do it was my only point because there isn't a lot of anonymity in general, but also when you are the face of whatever it is, your own brand, your own site, whatever somebody else's brand, it becomes exponentially harder. So good job keeping your integrity at the level that you want

Brittany 4:36

it to be. Well, I appreciate that. You know, I didn't – I think I mentioned it in passing to my husband when we first connected about this because that was just like – I kind of had just a crazy geek out moment there because I was so excited to be able to connect with you. So I'm sure I mentioned it to him, but I haven't said anything to him until recently the book arrived. And I had it on the counter for when he came home. And I was like, I'm in this book. It's so much fun. So he kind of flipped through and was reading it. And it was just kind of a... Just a really surreal moment that I got to connect with somebody who I have always really considered a mentor. And to actually be a part of one of your publications is just amazing. So first of all, I want to say thank you for choosing me to be in the book. But I definitely want to get into some of the details of it because since I've had this in my possession, I can't put it down. There's so much interesting stuff in here. So much... information that I am really interested in, topics we've talked about here on the show before, so I know my audience is interested in it as well. So let's just dive into it. First of all, the name is really intriguing. What's the story behind that?

Vickie 5:58

Well, originally, this book was a at least two years, if not longer, in the making. I knew that I wanted to work with Abrams, the publisher. They're putting, hands down, putting out the most beautiful books right now in the craft category. But I wasn't sure what it was. I didn't really think that I wanted to do another straightforward knitting book. I had some other ideas. And then the knit show happened, and so we decided that we would just do a knit show book. And And in case your listeners don't know, I have a 10-episode series that is on Roku and also on YouTube featuring 20 guests, and it's a proper sort of knitting and crochet show. So we started... doing that, just sort of encapsulating the community that was involved with that and sort of the zeitgeist of what went into that show. And just slowly, it kind of morphed into its own thing. And it was actually my editor, Shauna Mullen, who changed the name. She just, after seeing the content, seeing just sort of the breadth of material and not... not just the amount, but just sort of the range of what I'm trying to convey, she came up with the title. And I had to sit with it for a bit. I wasn't sure if it was right. And now I can't imagine it being anything different. And as we've sort of progressed with the book, and now obviously that it's out, it really has become... sort of my catchphrase for what I'm talking about in the entirety of this book. And for me, what the knit vibe is, is that sort of intangible feeling that being a knitter or crocheter, or as a side note, whatever your creative, you know, outlet is, happens to be, it doesn't matter if you write poetry or paint or play music, I believe that how you're creative really crafts the lens through which you see the world and also is a conduit for how you communicate, how you're an activist or not, how you serve others, how you have fun. And so that really, as far as this book goes, is what the Knit Vibe is. It's the nest. It's the essence of being able to create. It's the essence of communicating with other people whether it's virtually through Ravelry or in a Facebook group or in a Knit Hive or Stitch and Bitch group, or even if it's just you're on a subway and someone strikes up a conversation with you because you are physically making something and they see that as an in to talking to you about some memory that they have. So it's that, but also... Some people, and we'll talk about this in a little bit, use their craft to get in touch with their spirituality a little bit more. There have been several articles over the past, I don't know, maybe five years about how knitting and crochet are really good for our mental wellness as a stress reliever. So we talk a little bit about that. And really just... how the knitting and the crochet is, yes, it's a ball of yarn and a hook or needles, but it's not, that's just the jumping off point. It really is the opener. It is the window that we all climb through for all of these other things that surround us. And so that is the knit vibe. And so that's sort of the evolution of both the book and the name all wrapped up in one.

Brittany 9:58

Yeah, I absolutely love it. I connect with that so much because for the past, I would say this year, I have really tried to hone in on my place in the community. What am I here for? What do I have to offer? And the discovery of that was like learning a lot more about myself. What is it that I get out of the craft and how is it that I can share that with somebody else. So I started thinking about it, jotting some ideas down, and what it boils down to for me is that yarn does more than just make pretty things. And so that's sort of become a saying now that I've mentioned here on the show, I've mentioned it in my YouTube videos, But because I love the process so much, for me, working with yarn, whether it be knitting or crocheting or just randomly dyeing yarn for fun because it's something different, the process for me is what is a craving, I guess. And it does more for me than just create that end result. And for the longest time, I haven't had a really great way of explaining that. And I think that's why I'm so drawn to this book and the knit vibe as a whole. I think it really explains what I'm trying to portray or helping to explain to the world how to express what yarn does for you. Does that make sense?

Vickie 11:36

Yeah, I think for me, incorporating some form of creativity, even if you consider yourself not to be creative, which I fully believe is not a thing, in some way is extremely important for our sort of personal growth and the evolution of our community. Because when you're creative, there's an openness. Creativity creates that openness. And when there's an openness, then you will actually be See more things be willing to listen to more people and if you're listening and seeing more Then maybe then then you can have these conversations that are really important that you may not have had if you didn't have that openness And so for me, it's a building block you know, you may find yourself at a you know at a knitting table with a group or at a yarn store with people whom you would never have crossed paths for any other reason and And that might be just geographical. It might be because you're at different socioeconomic levels. It might be because you're different from different political sides of the fence. It might be different religions. It might be it could be any ages. It doesn't matter. Gender, sexuality, sexual expression. It really doesn't matter. But you found yourself in this space because of knitting or crochet. And that is a gift. Because that is an opportunity to open your world, to open your eyes, to have conversations that you may never have had the opportunity before. And I believe that our place on this earth is to experience it, to experience relationships, to experience the different levels of living. And you can't do that without being open. And so it's like, you know, it's like a, if we're looking at a graph at a chart, it would be an arrow in a circle, you know, one begets one thing begets the other. And so that's sort of the, I don't straight up talk about that specifically in the book. It's what I'm hoping will be clear by within its pages by the content and the people who are a part of it.

Brittany 13:51

Yeah. When I was listening to what you were saying, it reminded me of something you say in the introduction where you say, for me, life is about showing up for who and what you love. That really reminded me of this. Is that sort of what you had in mind while you were writing that?

Vickie 14:10

Yeah, it is. Let me see if I can edit this so it's a little more PG rated. I have a personal motto. Um, and it's essentially show up and don't be a jerk. And I really think that that's like, those are like, those are the two things that I live by the most in friendship and, you know, in career in family and for knitting, you know, you and I are both in the industry and it is an industry that struggles largely knitting and crochet is still considered, you know, quote unquote, women's work, using that as a derogatory term, there is not the value placed on knitwear designers that there are on, say, fashion designers or chefs or musicians or anybody else who is creating something for someone else. And often, our industry struggles, as I just mentioned, but also as in many different industries right now, because of the way that media is progressing, we're all having to sort of grasp at straws to fit in. And so for me, showing up for the craft means to be out there talking about what the actual benefits are beyond creating these beautiful wearable garments or home decor. To me, it's using my voice to share what's past the tip of the iceberg. And so that's how I hope that I'm showing up so that I can help fellow designers, yarn companies, yarn dyers, and just hobbyists who really get something emotionally and physically and mentally from these crafts, I hope that I can help them rise together. I hope that we can all help each other rise together.

Brittany 16:21

Yeah, that makes sense. I think we all have a common interest, which is yarn. And we all have a common interest, which is to help our industry succeed so we can all keep doing what we love doing. And I think that's important to remember that. So I love that that's the message that you're sharing here. I think we need to be reminded of that every now and then. Well, I'm going to do it a lot. Well, I will be here helping you because I'm sure you've heard the quote, and I've said it here so many times, a rising tide lifts all boats. It's almost said so much that it has less meaning, but it's really so true. Yeah,

Vickie 17:03

it's actually in my mission statement for my subscription box company, Yarn Yay. We are a rising tide company, and that is the Actually, that is the platform for which the rest of the business stands.

Brittany 17:18

Yeah. Well, talk about a woman of integrity. You are practicing what you preach. That's the showing up part, right? Yeah, it is. It is. I love how that comes full circle. It's admirable to... really have all of that figured out. I'm sure it wasn't something that just happened overnight, though. You've been in the industry for so long. I mean, not so long. We don't have... Well, that's true. I'm not trying to... I'm just teasing you. I'm just teasing you. Well, I guess in terms of how long I've been doing it, I feel like it's just been a couple of

Vickie 17:55

years. 100%. 100%. I have been in this industry for... 16 years, 17 years, somewhere around that. Um, so yeah, I've seen a thing or two. You've seen a lot of changes. You've

Brittany 18:10

kind of rode the waves with it.

Vickie 18:12

Yeah. I mean, I, I really, really have done my share of pivoting over the past decade and a half for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Um, you have to be very creative to be in our industry and that creativity has nothing to do whether or not you know how to design it's it's, It's literally creating a career that

Brittany 18:36

is sustainable. a big part of that is knowing how and when to pivot.

Vickie 19:04

Yeah, for sure. I think that I get a little frustrated when I hear, you know, they're being blame placed, but, you know, and this could be from yarn stores or this could be from, you know, any, anybody in the industry who's frustrated and that frustration is absolutely justified. But I feel a little frustrated myself when I hear it being blamed on, you somebody else doing something that's hurting somebody else's business inadvertently, not maliciously, but you know, somebody else starting an e-commerce site for their shop. Well, that's taking away, you know, somebody else's shop business or somebody else, you know, we can't do this because we can't compete with Amazon or we can't do this or we can't. And, and for me, that's wasted energy. What we need to do is find out, like value ourselves enough to really know our Followers, subscribers, customers, audience, whatever it is, and know what they want from us and lean into that and do more of that and less of the other thing that we feel like we're failing at instead of placing blame on other people for things not working. Because we are in the Wild West right now. We're still only about 20-something years into the internet, first of all, which is like infancy for technology. And social media really... Real social media, how it is now, is really only about seven years old, eight years old. So we're all here. And you have to be flexible. You have to be pliable. And for me, I try to think of it and think of it as an opportunity. We're pioneering. Yeah, we have to be creative. And to speak to the point of it not necessarily being about what we make, being the way that we're creative. You're a great example of that. You started your career by not making anything at all. And we talk about that in your feature in the Knit Vibe, how you started by just having a beautifully curated Pinterest board, well, several of them, account would be a better way to say it, of other people's stuff. And it has morphed into you teaching and designing and being an influencer and that kind of thing. I mean, that That takes strategy, and strategy is a – even if it was unintentional, strategy takes creativity as well.

Brittany 21:29

Yeah. I would like to say that there was a lot of strategy that went behind that, but honestly, I'm not sure that I can. I mean, obviously, I knew I wanted to keep making things, and eventually I wanted to share what I was making. And because at the time I didn't know how to read a pattern, I was – sort of designing even though I wouldn't really call it designing I knew I wanted to share those things and in order to share that stuff with other people you have to have a community of people so I mean there was a little strategy but I didn't consciously think about that knowing what it was going to be I just looked at the situation that was in front of me at that moment and figured out the best way to accomplish that one goal. And that was just to share what I was creating with somebody who was as ecstatic about that project as I was.

Vickie 22:24

Yeah, and I think that that's a good point, too. It's really important. I mean, yes, having some form of strategy is important. But what's also important is the again, the pliability to be open to I'm back to being open to whatever that morphs into to the opportunity that might come to you that you might attract by just following that one nugget of passion that you have. And then just sort of like letting, letting things happen, you know, finding that balance of forcing things happen through strategy, and letting things come to you that might not be what you would have seen, but end up being what is actually right for your path.

Brittany 23:08

Right, that I would have never seen for myself. Right, right. Yeah, that's so true. And it makes me think of how things are still changing and evolving right now. I'm a little bit of, I wouldn't say I'm a control freak. Have you ever heard of Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies? You ever heard of that? Okay, so she has a way of categorizing our tendencies, right? And I feel like I am, I kind of skate between two. And I think I lean more towards what she calls an upholder. And that's somebody who can achieve outer and inner expectations with no accountability. I say all of that to say that I like to know what's going on. I like to have a plan. I like to have a process, a routine, like all of this stuff scheduled and And mapped out. But you can't really do that so much in business. And to relate it back to what you were saying, when we have a goal in mind, it's great to have that to strive towards. But what ends up happening is usually different than whatever that goal is. And a lot of times it's better than what we could have imagined. Because like you said, we don't always... have that vision for whatever is coming about.

Vickie 24:36

Yeah. I mean, I, an example, a personal example is that I had never planned to have a subscription box business that is not even just running a small business other than, you know, just obviously it's a business, just being a host and spokesperson or whatever, but an actual, you know, retail small business was not ever something that was in my plan. Although I did think that the retail aspect was the big missing piece in my overall sort of career. But it was doing the show that was my true passion, the knit show, that attracted the company that helped me start Yarnier, the subscription box company. And now Yarnier is like 80% of what what eats up my time that I wear my focuses because it combines a lot of the things that community design, um, supporting other designers, supporting other small businesses, um, you know, empowering people to be creative, also bringing in, you know, money for the family that is not reliant on any, uh, anybody else cutting me a check, you know, all these things. Um, and it was not planned at all, but because I was, you know, I've, did what I really wanted to do. And I made my own show on, you know, on my own. I mean, with a production company, but you know, without any other backing, that that has attracted a few different things that I hadn't intended, but have been really good, if nothing else, stepping stones to whatever the next big thing is.

Brittany 26:08

Yeah, I think to summarize, just to experiment and try and see what works, I think us sharing these two stories, the thing that ties them together is we just tried something. And it's okay if an experiment doesn't work. One of the things that I'm sort of playing with right now is different types of formatting of videos on the YouTube channel. And that's part of an experimentation process to see what works. I like to see what my viewers like to watch. And some things won't stick, and some of it will. And I think that is a great way to help find your place, but also find what lights you up creatively.

Vickie 26:53

Yeah, it's really important to note that you can't be an entrepreneur without risk. And risk involves trial and error. So it's not always going to go well. That's just not how being an entrepreneur works. But if you can go into it knowing that, that gives you a little bit of a pass for things to not work until they do.

Brittany 27:18

Yeah, very true. Well, to circle back around, there are a couple of topics in the book that I really want to get your thoughts on because I know that there are a lot of maker businesses here I kind of want to touch on. both of these areas. So I appreciate the wisdom there on trial and error and figuring out what works and the encouragement behind that because that's really important. But underlying that, we all are creators and we can't ever make any of those things, our goals, our businesses, we can't ever make any of that a reality until we really check in with ourselves, set our intention, and really hone in on what this craft does for us because I feel like that is the thing, that's the driving force to keep you going through all of this hard stuff. Because being an entrepreneur is wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it's harder than any job I could have ever picked for myself. And if it weren't for this craft and what I love and the benefits I get from it, I'm not sure that I would have it in me to keep going. So you talk about different areas, different intentions, and I would love to kind of focus in on that right now. Okay. Well, you know, there are a couple of areas that I know I'm super passionate about. Yes, I want to

Vickie 28:45

hear it. I'm really interested to see how this resonates with people because there's not... I mean, I could be wrong, but I don't think there's another book out there like this in our genre. And so there's so which is, you know, obviously good for for many reasons, but it's also and we're here we are back to it. It's also risky. Am I going to be able to convey everything that's in this book, you know, so that people get it, you know, because people don't buy pattern only books the way that they used to because, you know, we're back to the Internet. And also, I mean, I really fought for the subtitle that we had to sort of fit as much in as we could, you know. So it's an experience. This book, as everything in my career, to be frank, is also somewhat of an experiment. I don't know if it's going to resonate with people. It's just sort of my truth, you know.

Brittany 29:41

Yeah, I love that. And I think that is what people will resonate with the most, because although we might not realize it, All of this stuff is going through our mind. I'm a strong believer in that. One of the areas that I have explored this year is yoga to help me with the constant pressures of having to turn projects. I mean, think about it. If somebody is, well, if I were not a business owner, I would not pressure myself to make as many projects in a year that I do because it's hard. It's difficult to make an entire blanket in a week or two. It's not necessarily healthy to try to do that.

Vickie 30:24

Girl, I'm making an eight foot by six foot version of the cover, crocheted version of the cover of my book right now. I hear you. It's not good for your body.

Brittany 30:33

No. And so I have experienced some issues with, I mean, obviously wrist and hand. I feel like that just kind of comes with it.

Vickie 30:41

Yeah. That's part of the territory.

Brittany 30:43

Yeah. So for the last year or so, I have been struggling with shoulder problems. Yeah. I hear that a lot. Yeah. It's so weird. It's off the wall. You wouldn't think that your shoulders would be affected by it. But I guess because I sort of hunch forward as I'm like looking at my work, my posture has been affected. And therefore, I don't want to get too technical about it, but basically the nerves and the arteries that run through my collarbone that innervate my hands and arms, they are getting pinched. And that's a really uncomfortable situation to be in. So I turned to yoga. because I didn't know what else to do. I tried physical therapy for a while and I thought just...

Vickie 31:28

Is it helping? The yoga?

Brittany 31:31

Absolutely. Yeah. If I miss more than a couple of days of just doing stretches, mainly focusing on my upper body, my arms primarily, and my back, I feel it. I feel it when I work the stitches. It's almost like little... pins and needles. I feel kind of up and down my arms. So I know this has helped me. And it hurts to see comments that come through that say, I really want to do this, but it hurts so bad. This is something that people need to be aware of, that there are stretches that you can do that are not difficult. I'm not athletic. I would not consider myself an athletic person and I'm not flexible either. So I can get down on the floor and I can see a big difference.

Vickie 32:16

Flexibility is so important for aging bodies too. And, you know, we're both relatively young, you're much younger than I am, but this is the time that you have to start preparing your body. You know, flexibility is, is one of the big factors in my, you know, elderly people break their hip fall and break their hips and all that, you know, like that. And, And, you know, strength and it's important now. And we're being harder on our bodies then. I mean, not than athletes, most certainly, but we're definitely harder on parts of our bodies than some people for sure. And it's so important. And we do talk about that in the book. And there are I focused for their yoga. I focused on shoulder openers and wrist exercises mostly. But I'm a huge proponent of stopping every 20 minutes and stretching your arms. With the clavicle area. So that area on the front side of your shoulders, and then and your wrists, and also stopping and icing them, which is not something I got into in the book, but it's really important for the long haul, not just for getting through one project, but for being able to, you know, still make things 20 years from now.

Brittany 33:24

Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. I haven't heard of icing. So you're just putting it directly on your wrists?

Vickie 33:29

Oh, yeah. You have to. Yeah, you have to.

Brittany 33:31

I'm going to have to try that. So every 20 minutes, do you let it sit for a

Vickie 33:35

few minutes? Oh, so I don't do this. I don't ice it as often as I stretch. So stretching, you stop every 20 minutes. I will ice at the end of the night sometimes if I've had a long session or if I notice that there's sort of the beginning of pain. It helps a lot. I'm definitely going to have to try that. I would also like to say that I have like I have a zero medical background. I'm just telling you what has worked for me.

Brittany 34:03

Yeah,

Vickie 34:03

I think practical advice is the best kind. So there's there's some yoga in there. And there's also my former trainer. So I've been doing Pilates, yoga. on and off, mostly on for probably seven years. And that's what I do. I do do some yoga, but really Pilates. So there's the strengthening aspect too, is a big focus for me. And my former trainer, when I was at a gym versus just a Pilates studio, is also in the book. And she also did some segments on the Knit Show. And she really focuses on core strength, because you need your core to support your spine, right? You want to not have back aches, right? And so that sort of, it involves so much more than just taking care of your wrists if you want to continue on knitting and crochet. Like having a strong core means that your back is supported so that you can sit and knit or crochet for longer. So that's another part of sort of the physical well-being aspect of the knit private.

Brittany 35:01

Yeah, that makes sense. And that is something that I could probably focus a lot more on because you don't realize how much your core is involved in your posture.

Vickie 35:11

Yeah.

Brittany 35:12

Oh, yes,

Vickie 35:13

absolutely. And that is just – that's something that Pilates and yoga instructors both really try and focus on is how important that, you know, that ab strength is.

Brittany 35:23

Yeah, yeah. Now, something else you mentioned too, and this was – it's so – obvious yet so subtle. You wouldn't think of it, but your diet and how that plays a role in your bone health, your joints and muscles and all of that stuff. That's like the next step. You want to keep yourself flexible and keep everything moving and strengthened, but the basis of all of that is your diet and how you're fueling yourself, how you're fueling your cells.

Vickie 36:00

Yeah, so I've mentioned that sort of at the very heart of this book is community. And I really reached out to my own community for many aspects of the book. So the yoga instructor in the book is actually my brother's wife. The trainer, as I mentioned, was my former trainer. And the nutrition information comes from Dr. Michelle Lane. And she is a professor of nutrition. She helped heads up the nutrition team. department at Texas State University and she also happens to be my neighbor and so we have talked she also crochets too and we have talked at length about the subject of nutrition as it affects the body for many different things and so I asked her if she would speak directly about bones, joints and muscles you know the things that we as crafters rely on the most and so she put together I mean, she's a professor, so she wrote it up like a paper. I asked her for a blurb originally, and it is a very in-depth two-page spread on omega polyunsaturated fatty acids and calcium and vitamin D and the foods that you can get all of those nutrients from for physical health.

Brittany 37:25

Yeah. And I think that's relatable for everybody, too. I mean, we all have our own, you know, dietary restrictions and that sort of thing. But at its core, these are really basic elements. Yeah. And I think that no matter how you like to eat or what you can and can't eat, I think there's a way that you can incorporate all of these into your diet. Did she share any personal stories or anything like that about how incorporating these has helped her personally? No, because

Vickie 38:00

I think that this has just been her life for so long. Like, I'm not sure that she like this is like this is what she practices. And it's not just like she focused for me on these elements. But, you know, she spent. years and years studying vitamin A and also D. This is her life's work. So that in and of itself has been the effect on her life.

Brittany 38:24

Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting. Another area that I think is kind of winding us down this journey, this is the one that I guess is really relatable to me because I I mentioned earlier, I really enjoy the process, maybe more than the finished project. And mindfulness is really a part of the process. And you talk about that in the book as well. So what did you learn about mindfulness as it relates to us as knitters and crocheters? Yeah. So this

Vickie 39:01

is another time that I reached out to my community, um, And this is actually a woman that I practiced Pilates with for years. We were in the same class for For years, my friend Chelsea DeCroft, and she is a psychotherapist. She's also a life coach and spiritual leader. And so she really, and she also happens to be a knitter. And so she talks about a couple different things in the book. One is a little more technical. She talks about the neuroscience of creativity and how just being creative affects your brain. But then she moves over to mindfulness. And not only how knitting and crocheting can influence mindfulness but also how the way we approach our knitting and crochet can be more mindful and she says it a lot more eloquently that I'm going to but she's essentially saying give yourself a break like stop focusing on what you're doing wrong breathe and just let the process happen um and so um That's a really interesting couple pages in the book as well, is just sort of really learning about not only the benefits of the craft, but just also how you can change your perspective just a scoach to get a more mindful and meaningful experience out of it.

Brittany 40:29

Yeah. I'm curious. Do you practice meditation?

Vickie 42:01

I would say, so the truthful answer is not really. The in earnest answer is I really intend to. My intention is to bring more. And then the expansion on that is, I do a little bit, but just not in the way that people think of. I'm not sitting necessarily cross-legged in a room and focused. A lot of what I do are repeating phrases to myself, or as I'm drifting off, hyper-focusing on gratitude and what I want and what I have already received. So not in the technical sense, but... In the very general sense, yes.

Brittany 42:44

Yeah, I can relate to that so much. I think meditation is different for every person. That's something that I have really explored quite a bit this year as well. Well, I guess starting last year, I started with Headspace, which is just your traditional meditation app that you can get. That's an app that people can get. They have a sort of like a freemium app. model you can get a few guided meditations for free and then you pay on a monthly basis and I really wasn't invested enough to pay for it so I listened to what I could for free and moved on to something called the Muse which is a and again this comes from my technical science background it's a device that you wear that gives you instant feedback of whether or not you're doing it right. Based on the weather.

Vickie 43:35

So we're back to being perfectionists.

Brittany 43:37

Right, right. It's a common theme for me. But what I learned through having that device is that meditation is different for everybody. I think you spelled that out so well with explaining how you practice meditation. Now, today for me, I would say I am much more doing – practicing meditation kind of like you are. I use the Muse device less because I feel like I know what it's supposed to feel like to calm your mind. For me, that was just a completely, that was something that didn't exist. I didn't know what it was like to not have thoughts. And the Muse certainly helped me with that. But I also think that there is a strong sense of of meditation while we're creating and we may not call it that or we may not know that we could be meditating but I think a lot of us are as we're either zoning out when we've got a pattern that's really easy to work with or when we're hyper focused on what that pattern is. Yeah, I agree. Maybe it's the word that's associated with it that makes it sound and feel different. But I wanted to highlight that in the book because I think it's something that we should all check into and see if perhaps we might be practicing and reaping the benefits of the craft and through meditation.

Vickie 45:11

Yeah, and just to sort of like put a – or period on it is that, or underline it a bit, is that knitting in itself can be meditative, as you mentioned, and often for me, I would say that that's probably, obviously not on big deadlines or whatever, but happening a lot because I choose to not do really technically difficult projects most of the time because I want to be able to sort of let my mind wander. And so... I think for me, you know, I had a hard time. My whole reason for starting knitting, you know, years ago was that I don't do well just sitting still. And that was a way for me to sort of like channel that energy and sort of kind of calm my mind enough that I could be tuned into whatever else was going on with the family or in life. So I think that there are different definitions and different ways that people can incorporate meditation into a life.

Brittany 46:09

Yeah, I agree. I agree. That's a great way to put it. So there's a couple of other sections in here that I was, I just thought were really cool. And I just wanted to highlight those areas of the book because to your point earlier, it's something that's very unique in what is available right now. There's a section I thought was really fun, astrology for kids. knitters. And now I want to say it's not just knitting. It's not just knitters. The book isn't for just knitters. It's knitting and crochet as well. But there's a section called knitters astrology. And I thought that was super fun to sort of just read through if that's something that you're into.

Vickie 46:47

Yeah, it was meant to just, you know, just just be fun. And again, it's just underlining that point that knitters you know, when you love something, you incorporate it in every aspect of your life. And so this was, this was a really great thing that I was thrilled to have as a part of the intention section. Carrie Ann Godwin is an astrologist. She's I believe she's Australian, but she lives in the UK. And she used to write the astrology or the knit astrology column for a magazine that no longer exists that I used to write for called Knit One. And it was through that, Tricia Malcolm, who is the former editor-in-chief and editorial director of Vogue Knitting, she put us in touch for this book. And so I was thrilled that Carrie-Anne was willing to write up some books. some fun blurbs for all of the zodiac signs for this book.

Brittany 47:42

Yeah, I thought it was fun. And just to share with my listeners here. Now, actually, I heard a while back. Now, I'm not typically into astrology. It's not something that I keep up with. But I remember hearing a while ago, did they end up changing the date ranges? No, that was like

Vickie 47:59

a thing for, I think, a blink in time. And here's the other thing. True astrology, like, as it were, involves so much more than just your actual birth date. It's like location and time zone and time and there's so much more. So this is just the most surface of surfacy levels. But it's meant to be just for entertainment purposes.

Brittany 48:26

Yeah, absolutely. Well, from an entertainment standpoint, I definitely enjoyed reading I'm an Aquarius. So the amazing Aquarius was was the section that I read.

Vickie 48:37

Yeah, it was it was the woman who wrote the mindfulness and neuroscience book. section that you related to or felt a connection to, she is also an Aquarius.

Brittany 48:51

Okay. That's interesting.

Vickie 48:52

So there you go.

Brittany 48:53

Yeah. Yeah. Another really fun section I kind of wanted to just breeze over real quick is the knitting and numerology. That's something I have never heard of before. So I went through... Numerology or putting them together? Either. I went through and I found that I am a... Was it a... a life path number nine.

Speaker 02 49:17

Okay.

Brittany 49:17

So you have a, like a little swatch for all of the different life paths. And I thought that was really fun. I want to knit up that swatch. I think it would be really fun.

Brittany 49:28 Brittany 49:28 Brittany 49:28 Vickie 49:28

This is another, just like my intention was to be fun. I actually had a numerology reading with Dr. Felicia Bender myself as part of my, my last birthday was a, I did all of this sort of like introspective stuff. Um, I had crystal readings. I had a numerology reading. I had Diva Zappa, who's also featured in this book. She did a tarot reading for me. I did all of the things. And after that, I asked her if she would be willing to let me excerpt parts of of both her website and one of her books. And then tie it into knitting some way because there's so many numbers in knitting and crochet that I just thought it would be fun to sort of link them together. And so they're not actually, like knitting and numerology isn't actually like a thing that's out there. I just thought it would be fun and she was up for it. So she gave me all of the descriptions for the life path numbers and the instructions on how to calculate it. And then I went and found... stitch patterns that had the combination of using the same number of either stitches or rows or both, and also had fabric characteristics that lined up with the personality traits of each life number. So it was kind of a fun little exercise for me. And I'm actually doing a couple of events. I know I'm definitely doing it at Craftcation in April, but where we And I'm hoping to do one in Denver where Dr. Bender is located, where it's just sort of a fun thing where people come and they figure out their life path number and then they make the swatch that corresponds with it. Just a light event that I think can be a lot of fun. And again, it's just looking at the craft in a completely different

Brittany 51:20

Right, right. It's just another way for us to connect the dots and make it a little bit more meaningful for us.

Vickie 51:28

Yeah.

Brittany 51:28

Now, outside of all of that, there's so much more in this book that we haven't touched on. You mean the actual knitting and crochet? Yeah, that's only half of the book. You have so many patterns in here. It's amazing. And they are both knit and crochet. Again, it's not...

Vickie 51:47

It's not only, but we should be fair. The majority of the patterns are knit because I don't want to misrepresent to my crochet-only friends. But there are several crochet patterns for sure.

Brittany 51:59

Okay, yeah. So I think this is a... Wonderful book to pick up. I would love for you to share where my listeners can pick up a copy. And I'm on page 40, which I am like ecstatic to be able to say. But aside from that, like I said, there's so much goodness in here. So where is it available for them to pick up?

Vickie 52:20

It's everywhere. I mean, they can get it on Amazon. They can get it from their local independent bookstore. If your yarn store doesn't already carry it, ask them to. That would be great. I sell it on my e-commerce site, yarnyay.com. I mean, really, you can get it wherever you like to shop for books. And if you'll tag at Vicki Howell in anything that you do from it or anything that resonates from it, I would really appreciate that because it takes a village to get the word out. about a book these days.

Brittany 52:52

I've heard that as well. It's difficult. Also, reviews, I know, are a really big part of that, getting the word out. I know there's a lot of us, myself included, I I like to buy from Amazon. And so leaving a review on Amazon, I think would also be really helpful for you.

Vickie 53:11

Yeah, that's a great, that's a great thing to mention. I appreciate just as much you leaving me a five star review as you not leaving me a review at all. If you did not love it. Consider that a service if you're not into it.

Brittany 53:30

Yes. Okay. Well, I will have a link to the book on Amazon again, because that's sort of where I like to purchase. Now, once again, I was given a copy of this because of being a part of it. But we should also give one to your audience too, if you want. That would be really fun. Could we do that? I don't see why not. All right. So let's come up with a giveaway here on the fly. It will work best... over podcast if we can send them back to the show notes page for this episode it's b hooked.com slash 137 and let's have them leave something in the comment section and i'll just pick a random winner after say a week does that sound good to you. Okay, so leave that in the comments section on the show notes page, behooked.com slash 137. And I have to ask too, are there any restrictions for location? Are you able to ship worldwide or just certain countries? I

Vickie 55:00

think that we can ship worldwide. I know that it's also out in a few English-speaking countries, so I think that we can definitely handle UK or US. Because I know that and we're doing this on the fly, let's say UK and US.

Brittany 55:15

Okay. Sounds good. And I will contact that winner just completely at random. It's not going to be based on what the comment is because they're all valuable. It'll just be totally random. That sounds good. And I can also communicate with that person through the comments and I will share my email address and say, Hey, yeah,

Vickie 55:36

do that. Let's do that way. That usually goes better in my experiences. If you give people an email address to send you their information too.

Brittany 55:43

Okay. That sounds good. So that's what we'll do leave your comment I will pick someone at random or just a comment at random and I will communicate with you via that same page. So you'll get the reply there from me and then I'll have you send me an email with your contact info so that way we can get your book to you. So thank you so much for that. I know that that'll be a real treat for somebody in the audience because like I said I'm really really enjoying this book right now and I just want to say thank you so much. It's been a pleasure to chat about this. I know there's so much more that this book goes into and And we can only scratch the surface. But now you just got to get the book because it's wonderful.

Vickie 56:28

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Brittany 56:30

If somebody wants to connect with you after hearing the episode, I'm sure they can probably find you if they type in your name in Google. But what's your favorite place to connect with people in the community? Do you like to use Instagram?

Vickie 56:45

Instagram is fine. It's just at Vicki Howell or Facebook, which is just also

Brittany 56:49

at Vicki Howell. All right. Wonderful. I will send people there. I'll have that information for you in the show notes page so you don't have to remember that. And Vicki, thank you again. It's been a real pleasure.

Vickie 56:59

Thank you.

Brittany 57:01

All right, just to recap that giveaway, the information there. If you are listening to this between October 10th and October 17th, 2019, and you want to take part in this giveaway, head over to the show notes page, behooked.com slash 137. Scroll down until you see the comments section and tell us your story of what knitting or crochet has done for you. That will be your entry into the giveaway. And on the 18th of October, 2019, I will just randomly select a comment and reply to that. So be sure you check back at the show notes page on the 18th to see if I have replied to your comment. If so, that means you were the randomly selected winner of Vicky's book, The Knit Vibe, and I will need you to email me so I can get your information so we can get the book out to you. Now, as Vicky mentioned, she knows she can ship anywhere in the US and the UK, so we will be limiting the giveaway to those regions. So keep that in mind as you make a comment. And good luck. I know this is a wonderful book. It's something you totally could hear that I am really excited about that right now. I love the information that's set out. I think it's such a valuable resource for the community to bring some awareness to some of these things that I know we're all struggling with and going through. but we don't have any guidance on that. I feel like that's what this book is certainly doing for me right now, giving me that guidance that I need to make sure my body, my mind, my health are where they need to be so that I can continue to reap the benefits of my craft. Now, this isn't a sponsorship or anything like that. I'm just really on fire for this book right now. So if you do want to pick up a copy, It's available pretty much everywhere. I will have a link to where you can purchase on Amazon on the show notes page. And like Vicki mentioned, if you do end up picking up a copy of this book, snap a photo, share it with her on social. That is really helpful for her. And of course, those reviews are always very valuable to help spread the word about a new book. All right, now that'll do for this episode of the Be Hooked podcast. Thank you so much for joining me this week. Thank you so much for listening every week, for subscribing, for leaving reviews. All of that stuff really, really helps the show. It helps keep me motivated. It helps me in so many ways. So I just wanted to say thank you for that. And I'll see you next week, my friend.