If you’ve been knitting for a while and enjoy watching video podcasts about crafting, chances are you've already come across the Grocery Girls. Tracie Millar and Jodi Brown are the charismatic sisters behind the podcast. Their good humor and knitting expertise have made them celebrities in the fiber world, and helped them foster a tight-knit community of enthusiasts and makers.
They’re the guests of our next panel during Virtual Knitting Live by Vogue Knitting, Lunch Hour Conversations with Nara Takeda. The Zoom session will take place on Friday, December 1, at 1 p.m. EST, and will feature Nara and the Grocery Girls talking about knitting holiday gifts.
KnitLeaks talked to Tracie and Jodi to learn more about their journey and what we can expect from them in the future.
Hi, Tracie and Jodi! Firstly, please give us a brief introduction of yourselves.
We’re Tracie and Jodi, two Canadian sisters that love yarn and all fiber crafts. We chat on YouTube twice a month, sharing our projects and fun things in the fiber community.
Why do you call yourselves the "Grocery Girls"?
We've worked in our family business, a grocery store, our whole life. We're literally grocery girls and are so proud of the family’s business, where we've learned so much about people, customer service, and how to support the community.
How did you get into knitting?
Once Tracie found some more time in her schedule after her kids were in full-time school, she yearned to learn to knit. She began with a book, some needles, and yarn from the craft store and then found a local yarn shop to take classes.
Jodi was a big crocheter first and was inspired to give it a go by seeing Tracie’s knit projects. She took lessons at our LYS and hasn’t looked back.
How did you start the podcast?
Jodi told Tracie about watching these knitting videos on YouTube (shoutout to Little Bobbins, Voolenvine, and so many more). It looked like so much fun, and we decided to share our knitting projects this way, too.
The first video had no audio, and we had to re-record the whole thing! We have zero tech experience and just thought that we would try one video and see how it went. That was eight years ago, and we just love the community that has embraced us and that we've become a part of.
How much of your life is dedicated to things related to fiber arts?
Jodi is a yarn dyer, knitter, and pattern designer, so some days are 100% fiber arts. Other days, just a little bit. Every day has an element of knitting or yarn to some degree.
Tracie also loves to design knitting accessories patterns, and knits every single day. Knitting is her way to relax, and she's also a crazy sweater knitter and always has on her needles.
What do you consider to be the best thing about fiber arts?
We both love the community that we've discovered through the fiber arts. We've had opportunities to travel and meet people in person that tune in to our videos from home, and it's such a privilege to meet them in real life.
The mental health and relaxation part of fiber arts is also something that we hadn’t considered before, but we do realize that it's also something that's such a huge benefit. We love slow fashion, creating things by hand, and supporting small farms that are raising sheep to make the yarn we love.
What can we expect from the Grocery Girls in 2024?
Grocery Girls’ plans for 2024 include getting out into the community a lot! We love to travel to retreats with small groups of makers, and are planning to create some fun experiences like this in amazing locations…stay tuned!
We're also hosting our first-ever knitting cruise to Alaska in May 2024 and can’t wait for this first-time travel experience with all the knitters. You'll also find us dipping our toes into teaching more, too. This is something that we're thrilled to be doing more of in 2024.
We can't wait to learn more about their plans! But for now, don't miss our panel during Virtual Knitting Live by Vogue Knitting! To access the Zoom session, all you need is a marketplace ticket. If you've signed up for classes or lectures, you already have access to all the marketplace activities. Don’t forget to tune in!
