[music] Staci - we're here at the YouTube LA Space,
in Los Angeles California. And when I was planning this trip, I wanted
to get the real knitting scene in LA. And I asked Facebook where I should go and
who I should talk to, and Judy Graham's name came up several times. You might know Judy from her YouTube channel
and her website, which is Knitting Tips by Judy, she has videos out. But the thing I'm really excited to talk with
Judy about, and what really makes her a Los Angeles icon, is that she is who the movies
and tv talk to when they want something hand knit, custom designed, or custom designed and knit
for tv and movies. So she has some good stories to tell, hi Judy.
Thank you for being here. Judy - hi Staci, thank you for asking me. Staci - yes, she drove all the way out here
to the Space so we could sit outside here. Being from Texas, this is a real treat for
me, to be outside and not sweating in the summertime! Judy- right! [lauging] S - so you have the YouTube, your YouTube
channel, and your website, but you've been in knitting business much longer than those
two things, right? J - Oh, absolutely. Before all the technology. Want to hear my story? S - Yes! Well, the name of your company is Topaz Knitwear. J- Topaz Knitwear. But basically I started knitting when I was
thirteen years old, many many years ago. And I just always knitted. Got married, knitted, you know. Had babies, knitted. S - Lifelong knitter. J - lifelong knitter. At at one point, I was living in New York,
and we moved to New England, where I opened a little craft store. Where we sold supplies for weavers, glass
beads, pottery, you know, all that. And I started experimenting with weaving yarns
that were very thin and fine. To see what I could come up with. And I have one to show you here. S - okay. J - of one of the very early knits. S - this is knit, not woven, though. J - this is knit. S - wow! this is gorgeous! J - and it's made with rayon bucle yarn, on
the finest needles. S - how many years ago did you make this? J- this is about, uh, 38 years old. S - I'll tell you, this looks like something
I'd see in Interweave Knits. It is high fashion right now. J- right, I know. Things come around, and
go around, yeah. S - the stitches are so tiny. J - the stitches are tiny, it's two pieces,
increase for the little cap sleeve. S - right. J - and sewn together at the shoulder, and
the two side seams, and that was it. So, then I moved to LA and I met someone who
was an actress, and she knew my knits, and she said you should bring them down and show
them to the costume people. So i had a little basket of maybe six or seven
knits, i don't call them sweaters, i call them knits. S - right. J - and i went to the costume designer, it
was for a show called Rhoda, i don't know if you remember it. S - I know Rhoda! Parker's smiling, too, offset.
He knows Rhoda. J - it's a spinoff from Mary Tyler Moore,
and Rhoda just wore outlandish hippie clothes. S - Yes! Like things on her head. J - things on her head, and scarves, and everything. So, anyway, the costumer designer said, great,
I'll take them. S - wait, did you bring them in there to bring
them to them? J- no. S - you expected to leave with your knits? J - no, i brought them in to sell. S - oh, you did, okay. J - and she took them. And said, oh, this
is great, I'll buy as many as you can make, as fast as you can make them. so do-do-do-do-do. S - hahah! J - there i go. S - you were hand knitting. J - I was hand knitting. S - okay. J - and hand dyeing, you know, doing the whole
spiel. S - wow. J - so, eventually that costume designer introduced
me to other costume designers, and more and more. and i was just, i was considered the sweater
lady. S - the sweater lady. J - and i was, you can't do this anymore,
but i would go to the studio, take out a big black garbage bag, and just go from one stage
to another and say do you want this, you know. and then people would say, well, i like this,
but i need it two inches longer, two inches shorter. S - you were talking with the costume people. J - i was talking with the costume people. and, you know, can you make it in yellow,
instead of blue, you know, just little changes, so it was just getting beyond what I could
do by hand. S- right. J - so, i put an ad in the paper. this was before craigslist or facebook or
anything. S - in the newspaper. [laughs] J - newspapers! remember newspapers? so, looking for knitters. and everyone that
answered my ad was a machine knitter, and i had never heard of a machine knit. S - right. J - knitting to me was this! S- right. J - so, i started interviewing people, and
eventually hired people that could transpose my handknits over. S - they can actually take the handknits that
you write and put them into machine knits? J - no, they would take the actual sweater,
you know, and copy it. S - okay. J - without my writing, because patterns are
totally different on paper and machine. S - right, they would be. J - i never learned how to use the knitting
machine. S- you havent? i don't know how to use it
either. J - no, it's beyond me. it's like you do this. S - so this is really interesting. you, you
to this day use machine knitters, but you don't do the machine knitting yourself. J - correct. S - you hand knit the sample. J - sometimes. sometimes i knit a sample,
sometimes i just get a photo a picture, a drawing, the drawing can be on the back of
a post it. or it can be really big. i'll show you... S - well, let's talk about, yeah, let's show
some other knits. will you show this one? because this, When people here at the YouTube Space have
been asking me about this interview i have today, i say her name is Judy, and give a
little thing. and then all i say is Freddy Krueger sweater. and everyone is "ohhhhhh!", that's who you're
talking with! [laughs] J - well this is all I have left of the original. S - this is enough! yes, this is enough! We
recognize this, and we're all scared! [laughing} J - it's really funny, because i had no idea
who Freddy Krueger was or the whole cult thing. S - well you had to make a sweater before
his first movie, right? J - well, no, actually there was a first movie.
i thought i made the sweater for the first movie. S - okay. J - but i found out from all these fanatics
that are out there, that i did not. S- oh, yeah. yeah. J - the first movie did not have stripes on
the sleeves. S - that's a sleeve! J - this is a sleeve! [laughing] J - so, from the second one on. and this was
made out of acrylic which is, the company has been out of business for ever, but after
this first one they switched to wool. because it had to burn and tear, and you know. S - right. oh, we all know what happens to
Freddy Krueger in the movies! J - so the last movie, they actually changed
the colors. S - oh! J - and i'm going to show you something. this is what i got. i'm going to take it out
of the plastic, i think you can see it better. S - okay! J - can you see that? good, so they wanted it darker, and deeper,
and... S - [laughs] creepier! J - creepier! and so they came up with these
colors. which are just totally, totally different. S - well, when was this last movie? J - about four years ago. S - okay, because as a teenager, i remember
these being the creepy colors. J - uh, huh. S - okay, yes. J - so this was the first time it had changed
in all these years. even when this acrylic was not being used,
it was always bright red and olive green. S - right. J - so that's my Freddy... S - do you know, somebody, when i asked on
Facebook and people were suggesting that i talk to you, and there was a little Freddy
Krueger discussion. someone said that they made a happy little
christmas stocking. and when they finished knitting it, they were
like, OH NO! J - [laughs] S - it looks just like Freddy! so. J - I do get emails often saying, can you
make me a Freddy Krueger sweater. i always say no, i can't, because i don't
own the franchise. S - right. J - but i can make you a red and green sweater.
or you can make yourself a red and green sweater. S - that's what i tell people. I'll teach
you to make it, but i won't make it for you. J - yeah. S - so, you had to make a lot of these. J - oh, my gosh. the last one, this one, i
think there were 68. S - 68! [lauging] S - okay, i've read your whole website, and
i have not heard that number! [laughing] S - because, well even in the pictures where
you see Freddy Krueger, its shredded. J - burned and shredded. S- so you hand over these beautiful sweaters. J - beautiful. S- and then all 68 of them are torn to bits
and a mess. J - yeah. well, that is exciting! what a thing to have
on your resume! because everyone knows this. S - wow! J - barbara streisand. this was probably one
of the biggest thrills of my life. she was working on a movie, and i was making
some knits for the movie, and the costume designer said, you know she has this idea. she wants to do a little concert in her home. very casual, just wants a skirt and like a
turtleneck top. no big deal. so would you like to do it? and yes, of course. i met with barbara. now i usually do not meet
with the actors or the actresses because i don't want to get involved the, what i call,
minutia. S - right. J- of it all. but i did meet with barbara. and she said yes, i just want like a turtleneck
top, and a long skirt with a slit up the side. and i would like for it to be silk. okay,
fine. so, i found this beautiful silk and wool yarn,
and i made this outfit. S - oh! nice! which camera should we show this to so we
can get this clearly? look at that! i know this album cover. J - yeah, and you know it was on billboards,
and it was on the CD, and, you know, the magazines. S - let's hold this up, you can see this. i recognize this. that is great and beautiful,
and such a lovely drape on that silk. J - yeah, beautiful, beautiful. S - and this picture that you've been holding
up is actually an autographed "dear judy" picture. and you went - there is more of this story. J - yeah, so my husband and i went, were invited
to the dress rehearsal. and we had to go to a secret place and get
on a bus, and be taken on winding roads so that we wouldn't know where we were going. and when we got on the bus, the costume designer
said, by the way, two other people have made outfits for her, so we don't really know what
she's going to wear. S- oh. J - so i said, okay. so we get to her house
[laughs] S- yeah! J - and it's like an amphitheater in the back
yard. S - right. J - and it was very casual, but it was rather
large! and anyway, it's going to start, and the smoke
machine starts, and the curtain opens. S - that's kind of a fancy house. i don't
have a smoke machine in my house. J - no, i don't, you know, i used to have
one but i got rid of it! S- hahah! J - anyway. the curtain opened, and i saw
one leg came out, and then i saw white, and it was in fact the outfit. S - the outfit! wow, and that slit on that leg, that is great. J - and after that, she became by best friend. and she wanted this outfit in every color,
we switched to cotton. because she wanted every color, and she wanted
one for her new york house, and one for her LA house and it was like many many many. but then she found a new best friend. and her name was Dia...Donna Karan? S - oh, have you ever heard of Donna Karan? [lauging] J - she made sweaters, also! [lauging] J - so it was bye bye judy! S - so here we are in los angeles, dropping
names! look at this! okay. J - so that's my barbara streisand story. S - wow! that is great! that's something! J - that's what i was given for Forrest Gump. S - Forrest Gump's striped socks. J - yes, it was on the cover, you know, the
billboards, everything with his little socks. of course, i got a little more information.
they wanted stripes, fair isle, red, blue, you know, whatever colors. S- wait - so it was several pairs of socks? J - it was several pairs of socks. but only
one made it to the screen. S - but it's also in the movie poster. J- it's on the poster. S - were those hand knit? J - those were not hand knit, no, they weren't. because they couldn't be. because, again,
they needed multiples and fast and quick. i think somewhere i have a picture of the
socks, i'd have to... S - well, anybody can right now google Forrest
Gump, and look at the movie poster. and he's sitting there in a cream colored
suit, i think. J - i think so, yeah. plaid shirt. i also made some other things for that film.
i made sally field's bed jacket that she wore when she was dying. S- right. J - that was beautiful pink angora. and a couple of sweaters, and that was a fun
movie. S - yeah! that is great! well, if you ever get bored, you can always
list this on ebay and see how much this little piece of cardboard is worth! [laughing] J - you're probably right! this is another autographed picture that i
have of chevy chase. S - [laughing] Ohhh! and what movie is this? J - this was for Vacation. S - right, okay. he's such a dad in that movie. and it's a black and white picture, and it's
a hip length cardigan. J - yeah, tweed, shawl collar, basic old man's
bookstore, kind of. and it says, to judy, how about the turkey
in the sweater! [lauging] S - i get it now! turkey in the sweater, because
he's carving a turkey. [lauging] J - so that's one of my fun mementos. S - yes, that's very cool. hopefully you can
see that well. J - a photographer came to my house. S - ooooooh! J - and he was there for three hours, trying
to find the perfect shot. and finally i took the knitting needles and
like stabbed them in my head, like get out of here already! S- because you were so frustrated [laughs] this says "mother of purl", with "purl" being
spelled the knitting way, celebs go nuts over judy graham's knits. let me show this picture here. J- that's before my hair turned white. S- you had bright red hair! J - yeah. S- that is great, and then there's a picture
of, this is really small to see, but it's from the tv show Friends. tell us about that. J- i made a lot of things for friends, every
week they would buy something new. it was for all the different characters, it
was great. S - were they telling you what they wanted?
or were you making things. J - i was at that point i was making things,
my own designs, and schlepping them to the studio. S - okay. J - and then, like i said before, they would
say, well, it's nice but i'd like it in red, you know. courtney cox only wears red, and phoebe only
wears earth tones. S - wow! J - it was like that. and then a couple more pictures. S- we have whoopi goldberg here. in... J - burglar. burglar i think was the name
of the movie. S - okay. J - and of course Freddy. S - and waterworld? J - waterworld. S - okay, do you have things from waterworld?
it's actually going to be hard to see these pictures on camera. J - yeah. S - ooohhh. and the husband and the dog. J - and the husband and the dog. this is not from waterworld, but it's from
the same designer that did waterworld. S- wow. this makes you think waterworld, because
of the colors. J - i know, and this is the drawing that i
got. with a little note on the bottom, can you
do this? [lauging] S - can you do this! well they gave you a nice drawing! J - they did! it was really, really nice. and they wanted it very thin, and very sexy,
and so, i used... S - do you know what movie this was for? J - this was for the postman. S - the postman? J - you probably don't even remember it. it
came and went. S - i remember an italian movie called Il
Postino. J - no, no. this was with kevin costner. S - i want to see if Parker nods about the
postman. J - but it's a little dress. i don't have
many things left over, but i made it. S- this is such tiny stitches! J - and this is actually the same yarn that
my scarf is made out of. S- okay. J - which is... S - a thread! J - [laughs] yeah! but this is knit very tight, on the tightest
tension that the machine can get. this is of course, knit very loose. S - very loosely, yeah. S - that's great. so, did you have to make more than one of
these? J - yes, many more. and then i thought, oh,
these are gorgeous, they should sell in stores, they're beautiful. but, you know, it didn't. [laughs] S - and then you were probably on to the next
thing, anyway. J - on to the next thing, yeah. i did have a line that i sold in stores for
a couple of years. but it was before the gap, and all that, when
people were willing to spend a lot more for hand knits, for hand made sweaters. S - well, people are still willing. J - still, but it's a lot of work. you really,
you need the name. and i didn't have the name at that time. this
was a long time ago and just thought, well, i've got enough going on. S - well, this trunk of exciting stuff tells
me that you had a lot going on! J - yeah, let's see. S - i can see in the trunk to see what's coming
up! [lauging} J - i brought this for no other reason than
to say it was touched by george clooney. S- oh! can i touch it, too? J - [laughing} yeah! [laughing] S - can i take this home? put it under my
pillow? [laughing] S- touched by george clooney, and staci perry. [laughing] S - wow! that was funny that you brought that,
judy. J - oh, i just thought well, you know. S - were you making a sweater for him? J - it was actually a scarf. S - okay, now i've had my brush with greatness. J - right, right, there you go! J - this was for how the grinch stole christmas. S- okay. J - lots and lots of hats, which i made all
by hand. because they could be as crazy as they wanted,
they didn't want any duplicates, they just wanted them all to be, you know, christmasy,
but different. S - right. J - so, can we see that? yes, okay. S- okay. yes, i recognize. well, i can picture in my
head that movie and the hand knits. because it's chrstmastime, and it's cold. J - yes, christmas. um, this is kind of funny. this was for a commercial. i was asked to
make a sweater for a beer can. [laughing] S- okay, what was the story that there was
a sweater on a beer can? J - i have no idea. S- did you see the commercial? J - no. S- really? wouldn't you - i would have gone
to great lengths to see that. J - yeah, like okay. whatever you want. S - yes! did you have to make like 800 of
them? J - no, just one. S - one sweater for one beer can. J - one sweater for one beer can. [lauging] S - tell us about this one. J - that was for a british airline commercial. and the idea behind it was that they're always
on time, but no other airline is. and there was a woman on board that had a
bag of yarn, and she taught everybody how to knit. and they had to wait so long before they took
off, that everyone made something. a hat, a scarf, mittens, whatever. S- so in the beginning everyone had nothing. J - nothing. S - they had to wait so long, all using the
same yarn, that there is a ton of all these things in the same colors. J - right. S- but at least they traded yarn, so they
had stripes, at least. J - right, yeah. [laughing] J - right, right, so. S - that's funny! J - so, it was really, you can't see here,
but, lots of different things. S- that's great. okay. J - so, let's see. this is for the movie mousehunt. and the premise was that he gets his suit
tangled in a machine, and it all comes apart. so it was a suit, a vest, and a tie, that
were all knitted. and as you know, when you knit you start at
the bottom up, and it unravels from the top. but no, no, no. S - you had to knit top down. J - top down. S - let me show this picture. J - it really looked like a suit that was
off a rack in a store. i was so proud of it. S - yeah, in knit. it does! J - yeah. S - and so it all came apart? J - all came apart! and that was really fun
to watch. S- that's great! Christmas sweaters. J - this was for Hot in Cleveland. and they were doing a campaign, and they called
me and said we need some ho, ho, ho sweaters. S- and all the ho ho hos completely perfectly
line up, with the three differently - J - that was the problem! [laughs] they're all different heights. S - yes! J - but the ho ho ho had to all be lined up. this was for an ad campaign, it was on a billboard,
it wasn't in the show. the only one i did not make was betty's, the
blue one. S - yeah. i can see that. but this is all custom, the snowflakes are
in different spots. J - this was kind of where i started. S- [laughing} J - i had some old yarn that i just wanted
to use to see how it would work. S - oh, that's great. J - and just made lots of different variations. S- i can see that you have the ho. [laughing] J - the ho, and the ho. [laughing] S- and the ho, and the ho. and then you have the different snowflake
patterns that you used in the sweaters here in this piece. J - so some of them had it across the top,
some across the bottom, you know they all had to be different. S - gosh, this is so beautiful. J - isn't it beautiful? S - it really is. J - it's amazing what can be done on knitting
machines, i have to say. S- right. J - so, there was a lot of anxiety over this. with the sizes and everything. S - how much time did you have to make these? J - i actually had a month, which was amazing. S - [exaggerated sigh] thats amazing?? J - but, of course, they changed their mind
every two days. oh, i don't want anything on the sleeve! oh,
yes i do want something on the sleeve, you know, like that. S - yes, there are things on the sleeves in
this picture. J - yeah. J - this little sweater, that looks like it's
made for a child, S- how pretty! J - is made for an actress. i'm not supposed to talk about the shows that
i'm doing until they've been done. but i can only say that it's on the highest
rated show on CBS, and the character's name is Burnadette. S - i know exactly what she's talking about! [laughing] J - and the story behind this - S- she's a tiny actress! J - she is tiny! look at this, how tiny. and it doesn't even, it's not tight on her
or anything. S - wow. J - so the story behind this was, they came
to me last year, and they said, we have an actress who has a sweater, we got it at bloomingdale's. it was a special bloomingdale's only. and we haven't been able to find anymore. she loves this sweater, do you think that
you could copy it? we've tried other people, we've gotten many
other things, nothing has worked. i said, well, i'll give it a try. but i've never used this kind of stretchy
yarn. S - yeah. J - so, made one. after searching everywhere for the perfect
yarn. made one, and they said, well don't get too
excited, it probably won't work. but, anyway. S- because it hadn't worked so many times. J - it hadn't worked so many times. but they called me and they said, she likes
it! and we want to get some more, can you give
me the color card so we can make a few more choices? so i did, and they chose several colors, and
if you watch that show, you'll see that she's wearing one every week! S- i won't miss it now! J - and now, this is a new season, and they've
chosen more colors, and we're on - S- is this one of the sweaters that you're
sending on to her? J - yes, this is for her, and she will get
this next week. J - this is the little picture that I got. S - somebody gave this to you. J - yes. and they wanted me to make this hat. and it's for a costume, custom costume company
that makes things for parades and cartoons, like minnie mouse, mickey mouse, kind of thing. where all the characters have large heads
and small bodies. S- okay. J - so, i thought oh, cute little hat! S - cute little hat? wait, part of it's missing. J - part of it's missing. but they gave me this form. S- [lauging] J - i haven't delivered it yet. so it hasn't
been totally put together. if i pull this it will go in. so this is the cute little hat! [laughing] S - tiny cute little cartoon hat! J - i've made a lot of things for this company,
they've done parades for despicable me, and they wear a lot of knits in that movie. J - do you have any questions? S- questions? i'm too flabbergasted to ask
questions. No, really what i want to talk about is - you
and i have been talking multiple times over the past few weeks. and judy has not only her knitting tips by
judy YouTube channel, you also have a video blog. J - video blog. S - this morning i saw your video blog post
about the scarf - J - the sweater that didn't work out? S- yeah, you had a piece of it, it was because
of the industry that you're in, working with the knits and the costumers and everything,
somethings on, somethings off. something has stripes, something doesn't.
something has a snowflake, it doesn't. or we're making it, we're not doing it. the actress gained weight, you know, whatever. J - yeah, you know, you want my job? you know
how it works! [laughing] S - i'm busy. [laughing] from reading your website and listening your
video blog is so good that way because, we're both in the same umbrella industry. you are doing something very different with
all this, and hearing about what it's like for you is great. J - it's really interesting. and i just fell into it. you just never know. S- this was the one, you had the friend that
knew the person working on the costumes who made the introduction. J - right, right. and it just mushroomed. S- wow. J - yeah. and i tried to retire, thought i
was retiring ten years ago. [laughing] J - but that didn't work. S - the phone kept ringing. J - the phone kept ringing. and now i'm in the position where i can say
yes or no. if i want to go on vacation, i say no. S - right. J - but it's just fun and exciting and different,
and keeping me going. S- and you're clearly very good at what you
do, so that makes you feel good about doing it too, i'm sure. J - yeah, i thank you. S - yes, you can nod, you're good at this! [laughing] S - obviously! J - i mean, basically, i just instinctively
know when i'm talking to them, what yarn should be used, what tension should be used. S - right. J - should it be thick, should it be thin. S- did you say that you've been knitting how
many years? J - uh, sixty? [laughing] S - i hardly ever meet anyone who's been knitting
longer than i have. J - well, i'm older than you! S - yes, i'll be, i'll catch up to you. [laughing] J - i mean, you don't stop knitting, do you? S - no, you don't stop knitting. J - no. i mean it's just sort of what you do, all
the time. S - right. J - you know, always working on something,
or other. S - right. J - and learning all the time. i mean, when i started my website, i thought
i knew a lot. but then, when people would write to me and
ask me questions about a certain stitch, and what is that? S - is that when you started the instruction
videos? J - that's when i started, yeah, yeah. well when i heard about YouTube. S - right. S - well, Judy. I've had a lot of fun talking
with you today. thank you for coming out here. I'm going to give everybody links to you're
website and your YouTube channel in the video description field, just below the video. so you can find judy and keep up on what projects
she's doing for hollywood! because you always have something going, right? J - always seem to have something going. S - very good. well thank you so much for
coming out. J - thank you for asking me, it was fun! S - good, good! S - look at all of this! i'm the only one
who gets to see this! J - there's tom. S - ahh, there's tom hanks and his socks!
[laughs] oh, and the bed jacket. J - and the jacket, right. and then this was
a poncho for his girlfriend. S - jenny. J - yeah. oh, this was early on. this was just the sleeves. S - just the sleeves of this dress. J - yeah, and then this was just the apron. S - wow. J - we're going back in time! S - we are! [laughing] S - we're back to 1993 right now. J - i can't even remember these things. S - oh, why is this sweater so big? J - why is this sweater so big? in one of the movies, in the 80s, Freddy blew
up! it was like ten feet wide, this way, and six
feet this way. and these were my wonderful, my first crew
that i ever had. S - it's like, it's as big as seaming together
afghans. J - yeah! S - okay, let's look at the rest of these.
because i want you to tell me about what, this is like the thing for blowing it up or
something? J - well, this was it on the form. and it was me, standing there, to show the
size, and the person that's working on it at the costume house. S - golden girls? what do you have from there? J - i just made tons of stuff for them. S - oh, okay. J - this was the first movie that i ever made
anything for. S - i just watched this recently. J - really? S - uh, huh. like i think i saw it as a very
young adult, and then i just watched it again recently. it kind of made more sense to me. J - this was the sweater that i made, for
marybeth. S - okay, the blue one. wow. J - it was a rayon bucle, drapey. S- yeah. wow, okay. S - [laughing] did you make these? J - yeah. this one, this. S - okay, now we're jumping even further back
in time. J - dynasty. S - dynasty! [laughing] J - we are going back! S - yes! you've been doing this for a while! J - this was valerie. valerie harper in chapter
two. this was me modeling it, in my much younger
days. [laughs] i don't know why we're going back this far! S - well, because i wanted to see it! J - this is george clooney's sizes. i have
this thing about george clooney! [laughing] S - i do, too. that means that you are an
american woman with a pulse. J - 5'11". S - is he only 5'11"? J - yeah. J - this is your life! this is what i feel
like! [laughs] [laughing] J - going through all this old stuff! S - this is so great. [music] [whooshing sounds] [music]
