Fiber Beat, Episode 20: "Old Skool Rules!" featuring Caro Sheridan and Deb Brisson
Media Link: Old Skool Rules!(46:10)

There's a million crafters in Fiber City and we've all got a yarn to spin.

This episode of Fiber Beat is made possible with the support of Entangled magazine, our brand new sponsor from New Zealand! Entangled is a new digital only, quarterly fibercraft publication. Issue One featuring Claudia from Wollmseise, the history of Saori weaving, and all about Angora rabbit fiber is out now and available through Zinio

This episode of Fiber Beat is also underwritten by Bobbin's Nest Studio, from Santa Clara, CA. Bobbin's Nest is a fabric and yarn store specializing in: knitting, sewing, crochet, and hand embroidery.

Episode twenty - that's got a nice ring. It’s sweet to be outta the teens, let me tell you. A nice even twenty. A twenty year old can be a diligent student working hard to get through college or it can be a deadbeat sleeping till noon, eating junk food and watching reruns all day long. Hopefully you kind listeners will think of us as the former: studious, productive, disciplined and ready to go to school! On today’s episode we do just that - as a matter of fact, we go Old Skool. After years of following their exploits on the web, I finally met and interviewed the talented Caro Sheridan (aka Splityarn) and her partner in crime, the hilarious Deb Brisson (aka Stitchy McYarnpants).

Earlier this year, I attended my very first TNNA, which stands for The National Needlearts Association trade show in Southern California. I went as a journalist, but also as a worker bee/teacher/advocate for the Verb for Keeping Warm posse. The event was a veritable Who’s Who in the world of fiberarts. Luckily for us, Caro & Deb flew in to promote their latest collaboration, a book of patterns entitled Knitting It Old School featuring modern re-interpretations of vintage & kitschy classics. And, it turned out that TNNA was the opportunity I'd been waiting for to sit down with Deb & Caro. We talked about sewing, knitting, photography & all the hard work that went into their latest opus: Knitting It Old School.

KIOS features the work of many talented designers from all over - with patterns ranging from cheeky hot pants to his and hers sweater sets. It just so happens that two of the designers featured in “Knitting it Old School” are friends of mine. Tammy George (known to her Etsy fans/followers as Punk Rawk Purl) and Stephen Houghton (guy knitter/designer and the first boy on the Blue Moon, hizKNITS). I bribed them into the Fiber Beat studio one Sunday morn with coffee & croissants. We talked about their backgrounds, their designs & their work for Knitting It Old School.

Knitting It Old School is not your regular pattern book. It’s a stylish, humorous romp through the history of a select group of vintage garments totally retooled for a modern sensibility. While it may not appeal to the less adventurous, it definitely has something to delight the knitting thrill seeker, the fashionista and the retro-hipster who wants a breath of fresh air.

The following people, places and things were mentioned:

• Marnie, speak! Good Girl blog
• James Lileks
• Debbie Stoller
• You Knit What?
• Moose Knuckle
• Jean Leinhauser
• Putt Putt Golf
• Tin Can Alley
• Shelby Free wearing Stitchy's gown @ 1:01 mins!!!
• Rhinebeck Bingo
• Grant Lee Phillips
• Possum Dixon
• Magic Castle
• Article Pract, Oakland LYS
• TKGA The Knitting Guild Association
• Knitty Gritty
• Franklin Habit
• John Brinegar
• South by Southwest aka SXSW
• Cascade 220 yarn
• Blue Moon Fiber Arts
• Sock Summit 2011

Winners of Fiber Beat CONTEST for Episode No. 19

We had three great prizes to award in conjunction with the previous episode. The prizes/winners are:(1) Set of two tickets to the see the Primary Structures go to CraftyAndy & Elword; (2) Souvenir catalog of the Primary Structures show go to Ditetre; (3) Cause & Cure hat patterns (designed by Kyle Kunnecke) go to TurtleKnit, Suzanne, JudyG & Holli. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone for participating!

Fiber Beat CONTEST for Episode No. 20

We've got two copies of "Knitting It Old School", each signed by Deb, Caro, Tammy & Stephen!

All you have to do to enter the drawing for these prizes, is answer the following question: What vintage garment or pattern would YOU like to redesign for a modern fashionista? It can be a more well-known pattern or classic pattern (like the granny square jacket) it can be more of a silhouette (like empire waist dress). You can leave your answer on fiberbeat.com or on the Fiber Beat Ravelry forum. Winners will be randomly selected from all the entries. DEADLINE FOR ENTERING IS JULY 7, 2011.

An old school & Emily-Post-approved note of gratitude to Deb & Caro for being on the Fiber Beat. A super stylish merci beaucoup to glamour pusses, Stephen & Tammy. Big hugs to new Fiber Beat sponsor, Entangled magazine. Finally, the warmest embrace to all of you, our loyal listeners, for downloading and listening to our first TWENTY-SEVEN episodes (audio/video) of Fiber Beat! If you like what we do, please consider leaving a review on iTunes.

We used snippets of all the songs below in this episode. If you like the music, please support the artists (links provided for your convenience):

• "Fiber Beat theme" performed by Anthony Bonet from exclusive to Fiber Beat (2011)
• "Kisses In The Wind (Extended Album Version)" performed by Neneh Cherry from Raw Like Sushi (Virgin, 1989)
• "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" performed by Dinah Shore from Popular Hits of the 40's, Vol. 1 (Dobre Records, 2011)
• "You Always Hurt The One You Love" performed by Spike Jones from Strictly for Music Lovers (Proper, 1998)
• "Theme from Love Story" performed by Francis Lai from Love Story (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Paramount, 1970)
• "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" performed by Nino Rota from Romeo & Juliet [Soundtrack] (Capitol, 1968)
• "Don't Say Nothin' (Bad About My Baby)" performed by The Cookies from The Very Best of the Cookies (Master Classics, 2010)
• "Why Wait" performed by Pérez Prado from Big Hits By Prado (Marathon Media International Ltd., 1960)
• "I Like Pie I Like Cake - But I Like You Best of All" performed by The Goofus Five from Goofus Five 1924-1925 (Timeless Records, 2002)
• "Goody, Goody" performed by Della Reese from Della [Original Recording Remastered, Extra Tracks] (RCA/Bluebird, 2002)
• "We All Work Together" performed by Ramblin' Jack Elliott from Woody Guthrie's Songs to Grow On (Folkways Records, 1961)
• "Star Fire (Jet Plane)" performed by Bob Thompson from The Sound of Speed (Bacchus Archives, 2003)
• "Une Very Stylish Fille" performed by Dimitri From Paris from Sacrebleu (Atlantic, 2001)

My name is WonderMike and I'll catch you on the FLIP SIDE on the Fiber Beat!!