Plugging Podcasts

Do you love podcasts? I do--I love them. My quality of life would really take a steep downhill curve without my podcasts. I have a list of podcasts over there on the right side of the blog, cleverly listed under...um..."Podcasts."

Right now, I'm especially loving She-Knits, Never Not Knitting, and the good old standby, Stash and Burn the best. That's not to say I don't love all my knitting podcasts; I do--but there are times when I get on a bender of sticking with a certain few. I'm on jag of listening to these three a lot lately.

I spent a lovely late afternoon today listening to Never Not Knitting. This is a semi-newish podcast that I loved from my first listen. I was sitting on my bed this afternoon, workng on Mr. Greenjeans number two, listening to episode 9, totally entertained 100% of the time. I was totally identifying with Alana as she talked about her Shopping Curse, which I also have. I'm not just a carrier; I have a full-blown case of Shopping Curse myself. I regularly put items in my cart, only to over-think every aspect of the proposed purchase until I either
a) freeze with the inability to decide on a color/style/size or b) talk myself out of it entirely. I may even have a more serious case of this than Alana does, because I do this not only in brick and mortar stores of all types, but also in online store shopping carts. Yeah. Hmmm.

During episode 10, Alana gave a lovely tour through the winter issue of Twist Collective, a drool-worthy treasure trove of patterns designed by lots of the celebrities of the knitting world. Never Not Knitting, the blog in and of itself is a feast for the eyes and the mind with just the right balance of knitting-related prose, informative links, Alana's designs, STUNNING photography, and of course, the podcast. The podcast itself is very well done, with professional-grade sound effects, knitting stories sent in by listeners, contests and humor. Please, please make a point to listen to the ENTIRE theme song at the end of the podcast. If you're a knitter, you'll swear to God this song was written about you. This is absolutely the most clever theme song I've heard on any podcast of any genre. If you haven't listened to Never Not Knitting, you must! You MUST! Leave this blog and go there now!

She-Knits is another of my top faves right now when it comes to podcasts. Sharon Dreifuss is a WONDERFUL podcaster who treats the listeners as her own cyber knitting circle, warmly including us in her daily life as a wife and mother of seven children, as well as her burgeoning career as a successful knitting designer. If you've heard of the Dumpling Bag, that's one of Sharon's designs that was just published in Interweave Knits in the fall issue. This is just one of the designs Sharon has had published in major knitting venue's of late. In addition, Sharon also sells knitting kits for all of her lovely felted bag designs as well as the actual bags themselves as custom orders. Her bags are unique and beautiful. It's definitely worth your time to head over to her website and look for yourself.

Sharon's podcast reminds me with every listen just how much we all have in common as women, as knitters, as wives, as mothers, as....human beings! Like Sharon, I work out of my house and am also a designer who has dabbled in not only selling my own designs directly but also submitting to various knitting publications, experiencing both the dashed hopes of rejection and also the wild elation of acceptance. I LOVE She-Knits. I feel like I'm good friends with Sharon and I've never even met her. You'll feel the same as soon as you listen. I love listening to this one while I'm doing chores around the house, going for walks, cooking, etc. You will too. Go listen to Sharon at your first opportunity.

I know you already must know about Stash and Burn, but what can I say? I love Nicole and Jenny!!! Could there be a more entertaining pair of knitters? I wonder if they know what celebrities they've become in our knitting world? Jenny Nicole are singlehandedly (doublehanded....ly?) responsible for a HUGE amount of the enrichment in my knitting life. If you want a heads-up to be right on the cutting edge of anything and everything in the knitting world, both real and cyber, head over to Stash and Burn. You'll never look back!

Okay--that's enough blabbing for now. I'm at a crucial point in my Mr. Greenjeans and it's time for Ghost Whisperer to come on! Have a nice weekend, everybody :))