Shannon Okey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shannon Okey (born January 6, 1975, in Medina, Ohio) is an American author, writer and knit designer. Her books include Knitgrrl, Knitgrrl 2, Spin to Knit, Felt Frenzy, AlterNation and Crochet Style.[1]

Knitgrrl appeared on the New York Public Library's 2006 Books for the Teen Age list [2], a list of titles recommended by librarians for younger audiences, and also received a starred review from Booklist. [3] Knitgrrl 2 was nominated for a CraftTrends Award of Creative Excellence in December 2006 [4]. Both Knitgrrl books are designed to teach beginning knitters and feature colorful illustrations by Canadian illustrator and webcomic artist Kathleen Jacques [5]. They are notable for their extensive back matter and step-by-step photographs, as well as a companion website where readers can pose questions directly to the designers.

Okey has been featured on several television shows [6], including Uncommon Threads, Crafters Coast to Coast and Knitty Gritty. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.[7] She has also curated and appeared in national fiber arts shows at galleries including Assemble Gallery [8] and NY-based artist Cynthia von Buhler's CVBSpace. Photos of both shows, including Okey's own work, were published in the summer 2006 issue of knit.1 magazine [9]).

During a 2006 podcast interview [10] with Marie Irshad of KnitCast, Okey discussed her interest in fashion, not just knitting, and the designs she created for a "computational couture" show called Seamless [11] in Boston. Okey is also a frequent contributor to knitting-related magazines such as Yarn Market News [12], and a columnist for knit.1 magazine.