The long days of summer are behind us, replaced by mists and mellow fruitfulness, and autumn’s golden light. It’s been sweater weather for months in the UK, but I’m not bitter. Eat apples. Knit. It’s my favorite time of year.
Thanks to writer Beth Trevor, and reader Sage, of Qn. Miss Hergapiten was written and performed by Zabet Stewart of the AntiCraft, with music by Lee Maddeford. Tim Ralphs of The Room Behind the Bookcase was the Lakeland catalog.
Beginning knitters, Clapotis will help you learn things, is a great pattern. Over 6000 Ravelry knitters have knit this pattern, and 6000 knitters cannot be wrong.
Looking for the perfect yarn? Try Yarndex.
Find the yarn, then knit my favorite socks from Hand Knit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah and Winter Solstice
The Orphan Foundation of America needs your red scarves to help college students in or coming out of foster care to know that their community supports them.
’tis the season for Spider Caps. Knit one for a boy. Or a girl. (You need a Ravelry account to view this image.)
Knit en Francais, with French language podcast, Pastagalaine.
Don’t forget! Click the Cast On Mobile Unit (that would be the floating sheep, located to your right) and have your say about corporate advertising in the podcast. (The sheep image was created by the talented Amy Weber, and there will be lots more of them on the new website!)
-
KniTuneswere provided by and used with the permission of:
- Cerys Matthews – A Bird In Hand
- Madame Pamita – Love Is Good
- Zap Mama – Affection
Additional music, Russian Roulette, by Lee Maddeford, and Coffee Beans and Tea, by Marti Buttwinick.
Fry with the sinners or knit with the saints in Brother Amos' Hellfire Lace Socks. Now available for purchase on 
"Bring the car around, Jeeves." Driving Miss Daisy finglerless glove pattern, in teal, black or white, available exclusively through 
{ 131 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Next Comments →
Brenda~
I’m usually not one to leave comments but I just wanted you to know that I really enjoy listening to your podcasts. I wish I had discovered it before my trip to Wales last year. I loved being there and hearing you talk about it makes me want to return even more. (And maybe I could have gotten a tip on where to find yarn.)
I had been eyeing Clapotis for quite awhile but the pattern looks so…involved. I didn’t think I was up to the task but with your encouragement I’m going to give it a try. On the upside, I already have some yarn that I think will be very pretty for it. On the downside, it is currently knit up in a front and back for a tank top. I ran out of yarn for the straps so its been sitting for, oh, maybe a year or so. I’ll have to research the best technique to salvage it (and then my fiancé will frog it for me so I won’t cry over all that work…).
Thank you for taking the time and effort to create something that gives such pleasure to so many.
I didn’t get the podcasts with the Saturn commercials. But I am all for you being able to make some advertising money for all the hard work you do. I say GOOD FOR YOU!
Another great podcast, as usual! It must be Clapotis season… I just cast one on a few days ago and am making smashing progress (I have a deadline of less than 2 weeks). It is indeed a good learning piece and thus far has been a pleasure to knit. As usual, it’s always great to hear Zabet and Sage on the podcast. It’s like having a party with friends that you never see all together.
Keep up the great work! Thanks for making my cubicle dwelling life a bit more bearable.
Hi Brenda, i just discover your podcast and i love it. Already hear all the podcast. Sorry for my english but i´m from Mexico.
Brenda,
I save your episodes for the times I need some help to get through the day. Your good humor, warmth, moments of ritual humiliation, and spiders make it all better!!! Thank you for another wonderful episode!
I clicked the floating sheep and voted
I do not mind the ads (when appropriately located and timed) and if they keep you on the air and give you some income for your work then have at it. You are brilliant and should be paid! And, as someone above said there is too much crazy going on right now; to loose Cast On would push me over the edge!
I do hope you enjoy your break time! I am looking forward to your Halloween Pod-aversary episode!
Hugs to all!
ps – Oh, thanks for Zap Mama – I love them!!!!!
I’m caught up again. Thanks for another great podcast!
OK, OK, I’ll de-lurk if it will make you happy. I just didn’t think I had anything unique to add, but here goes. Many thanks for so many great podcasts. I listened to most of them all in a row, as I’m a recent fan, and now I wish I’d taken my time. I eagerly await your next installment, and will have a dull October without you!
I am also a Firefox user and don’t see a floating sheep. But I am skilled at ignoring advertising, and so if it brings you income, and it can be inserted unobtrusively, go for it.
HI Brenda – Enjoy your month off with your friend. Happy knitting and look forward to a new series in November. Keep podcasting – we love you!
I can’t be the only one excited about this–thank you, thank you, and merci for including the promo for the new knitting podcast in French, Pastagalaine. I didn’t see a link on your blog, but googled it, found it, and signed right up.
You were my first knitting podcast way back with your first episode, and you set the bar really high for all the others I’ve listened to over the years. I’ve been known to tell chilly people to “put on a sweater; that’s what they’re for.” Long live Cast On.
Well, we certainly can’t have the comments police after us now can we;) Love the podcast as always. I do have to say i don’t mind commercials… that is as long as there not cutting up the content. For a second I was thinking you were getting hijacked by rogue saturn hackers!!
Addless in Canada. Dear Brenda, It’s not that I don’t want to comment every time and pretend you’re my new best friend, but I feel you are such an icon that my two cents (Canadian pennies ain’t worth so much) are meagre. I dram of joining you in Sea Socks, but first I’ll have to knit some pretty impressive clothes to fit in. I haven’t missed a show since I started listening in the early days. Please know that as a knit sib, I think of you often, share your stories and laugh outloud while I’m listening and walking the dog. Non-knitters are bewildered.
If you have ads then you will feel more oblidged to podcast therefore more podcasts ngah ngah ngah! No seriously, podcasting is lots and lots of work and you are the best podcaster of any genre, your voice is perfect just as the Age of Innocence could be sold as a $100+ audio books, a cd of your one season of your podcasts could be sold for $30+. I hope you have a great break, looking forward to hearing for you soon.
I am shamed into commenting, too
And maybe a leedle, teensy-weensy bit s..c…a..r…e…d…….
You deserve forest-fulls of comments, dear Brenda!
I love the little sound effects you use – I know enough about broadcasting to know it takes time (and dedication) to source and place the exact right ‘FX’, but honestly, it’s worth it. They’re part of what puts your podcast in the premier league. Other podcasts are fine, and I like a lot of them, but Cast On is the only one I really lurve.
Enough boot licking.
Carry on with the good work
Heather
will miss you this month! have a great break.
Hi Brenda,
I LOVE YOUR PODCAST!! I enjoy it everytime and listen while I paint cartoons for Nickelodeon. We in Los Angeles just had Summer come upon us in late September and it is currently over 100 degrees on Oct. 2nd here in Pasadena. Yeah…I know, you are in the middle of wet, cold weather not having a Summer but wanted to let you know that some places aren’t having Fall knitting weather yet! Still knitting tiny objects that don’t roast my lap..But…I’m still listening and keep do what you are doing. IT”S AWESOME.
I am here to offer you cookie. Cookies! I love your podcast, too. Really!
Hi!
Long time since I commented. Still love your podcast.
I don’t mind ad’s, but the ad I got was in French (I think), and I have no idea what the ad was all about. … *lol*
Yet another great episode, Brenda!
Can’t wait to hear your three-year anniversary special….
I wanted to leave a bit more of a coment about the ads.
I am pro you being viable and continuing. If corporate ads are what it takes, I can live with that. I don’t see why YOU should take the costs of somethign we all get so much pleasure out of. It’s not right, it’s not fair, and it isn’t sustainable. Perhaps at the start and the end might be less disruptive?
However, I’m nervous.
As I listened to the episode with ads in (which I didn’t hear – sometimes being tardy/geographically ignored is useful!) I several times thought happy thoughts to myself. At no other time do I feel as connected to and accepted by the worldwide community of knitters as I do when listening to cast on. It gives me such a feeling of place – my place here, your place there, all the other places where people knit and listen, knit and listen. All of us sharing this… joy. These twin joys. Knitting and CastOn.
I am worried, not just that ads will ruin our comfortable afternoon tea on the lawn (my turn to bring the lemonade). I am worried that it will split us up, into lots of seperate experiences. Not necessarily of those who hear the ads and those who don’t. But those to whom the ads are relevant and those to whom they are no more than gabble. I am very pro the geographic targetting, because the second I hear an ad for something that I can’t have, or that is irrelevant in my antipodean world, I start to feel less a part of the family.
I feel like CastOn is a world apart. And I like it there. I am worried that these new, hard, cold ads (not like the soft, warm, fibrey, vetted and hand picked ads) will burst the bubble.
However. I’m pretty sure I’ll get over it. See above comments re viability. I totaly support you doing what you have to do to make this work for you. I would rather have ten ads than no cast on.
Thanks so much for doing what you do!
Brenda, this is Maria (knittbythe thames in ravelry) from London just dropping by to say that I love your podcasts and that I have no problems with ads. I think it’s great that you get to earn something while you do something that you enjoy and have a passion about. Sorry that you are taking the month of October off but hope you have a great time with your friend!
I loved this weeks theme. Both my grandmothers were great knitters and crocheters and learnt a lot from them. That’s something that I’ll take with me forever and I hope to pass it to somebody one day.
Hi Brenda,
just droping a word – I’ve been a very very lazy listener! Buuuuuu! So now that my guilty feeling is somewhat a little calmed down, a word on ads:
I didn’t hear no ads during the podcast. Of course, if they’re geotagged, I’ll probably won’t have ads – unless some big companie is interested in selling cars or whatver in Portugal. I don’t know if you have many portuguese listeners… But as you were talking about the ads I remember the podcast when you said you wouldn’t take any sponsors you wouldn’t believe in. I mean, I really think that you having sponsors is a good thing and I really think you take a close look the their work and way of being.
The ads, as you described it, seemed a different thing. It doesn’t seem a very personal thing.
On the other end, if you ask me whether or not I would continue to listen to the podcast with ads, the answer is, undoubtly, YES.
So I guess it is a personal choice you must take by yourself.
Thank you for podcasting!
Look, my clapotis is growing! I listened to the podcast this time around to hear how everything turned out (didn’t expect to get featured!), and I think this is all coming full circle quite nicely, not to mention it gives me a good excuse to knit for a long period of time. I am eternally indebted to you, not just for helping me escape my little Spartan jail cell every few weeks, but also for giving me this lovely Merino to work with : ). You’re going to do even more great things!
Love the show as always. I just taught a coworker to knit this week too, but I started her with a “learn to knit piece”, not a project, so she wouldn’t feel obligated to make it square or to make it without intentional holes….
I wanted to show her the music video (I think it’s by a French artist) where the blue sweater she is wearing unravels during the song. I’m pretty sure you mentioned it a while ago, but looking back on the blog I couldn’t find any direct mention of it. The only thing I thought it could be was the youtube link for episode 37 (Millwright) but the link doesn’t work. Any ideas?
Thanks.
Here, here take these cookies! No, don’t harm me. Eat, eat. I adore you. You lovely, lovely, fuzzy, warm podcast. You make me happy. Here eat. Be happy, too.
Great episode as always Brenda ! Thank you.
Thanks also for playing the promo for my podcast (not an ad in French ! lol)
The French artist is Camille and the song is “Ta douleur” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIuyVAXvf1k).
Long live Cast On !
Brenda — I am dutifully leaving a comment! I love listening to your podcast. Its a great companion to my power walk, sure makes the whole exercise thing go so much faster. The good news — I’ve lost some significant weight. But you should talk to us more often!
Waiting to hear from you again in a month or so…..
Hi Brenda! Clever “floating sheep” link! On my download of this episode, there were no ads. What about ad(s) relating to the fiber arts instead?
Enjoyed the podcast — thanks again! =^.^=
Well I am a college student who is perhaps unhealthily fleeing into the world of knitting podcasts (although admittedly this is less unhealthy than the majority of my classmates, who have fled into the world of blackouts & vomit), and I discovered yours. I must admit, I am not so much of a podcast commenter, but you have shamed me into commenting.
Um, I find your podcast hilarious, and am downloading back episodes more or less at random. I probably will not comment on those, but I’m sure I will comment at the end of October when you come back.
P.S. Is that really how you pronounce Clapotis? I never knew . . .
While I know you need to be supported for your work, the whole reason I listen to podcasts is to avoid anoying advertisements. However, if you do decide to made ads a permanent addition to your show I will still be a devoted listener.
On a lighter note, I just returned from the Wool Festival in Taos, NM. I spent the day educating my 5 year old son about where yarn comes from. He got to poke rabbits, sheep, goats, alpacas and llamas. (I’m sure he enjoyed it more than they did.) And I got to sink my hands into buckets of wonderful hand-made fiber and hang out with other fiber addicts. What a great day. Taos is a two and a half hour drive from my house so I downloaded old episodes of Cast On and listened to it the whole way.
Love you Brenda!
Fairly new listener here, delurking to say that I enjoy your podcast. While I’m not excited about the idea of ads in the middle of a podcast, it wouldn’t make me stop listening. If there must be ads, I’d rather have them at the beginning than in the middle.
Hi Brenda – I love your podcast – been listening for a couple of years now – I have had difficulties managing to fit in listening to podcasts generally since I returned to work in 07, but have now created a new synergy by going for an early morning walk and listening to a podcast (yours, of course) for company. I was visiting with my sister when I finally had the chance to listen to the episode about your dear friend. My sincere condolences for your loss. On a lighter note, your “friend” from the SCSP, or whatever it was called, made me laugh out loud as I was walking. Thank goodness there was nobody else around. If you check my blog, you will see that I have not posted regularly for some time, and find it a challenge to find time to knit also. There will be time later on when the kids are bigger – I particularly enjoy thecare with which you construct your podcasts – it does shine through. take care … nat
Hi Brenda
I swear I was going to comment (even before I got the slap on the wrist) to say how great it was to hear Cerys Matthews in the podcast. I love her voice and it took me back to university when I was a huge Catatonia fan.
I promise to make the effort comment more regularly in future – I really do love the podcast and it does give me a lift when I see that a new one is available. It’s only fair when you put so much hard work into each episode to give you the feedback you deserve. I think that I had assumed that you’d be getting so many comments that one more or less wouldn’t be missed but of course if everyone thinks like that then you get no comments at all!
Best wishes
Liz x
Delurking to say how much I love your podcast. I listen to it while writing papers, during car rides, or (shock!) while knitting. It makes my day. Thank you thank you thank you for the tremendous amount of time, energy, and money you put into this podcast. You rock.
As to the ads- I didn’t hear the Saturn ad, but I don’t think I would mind it too much. Of course I would prefer not having ads to having them, and having knitting-related ads to car ads, but I understand that they’re necessary for money. I’ll still listen no matter what.
Please don’t use the Saturn ads. Corporate ads on podcasts just don’t make sense. We don’t need corporate ads on our personal podcasts…I kind of think of them like pbs and it rubs the wrong way. Esp. when it is so many of the corporations that are getting away with ruining our planet. BTW, I didn’t have a floating sheep, so I had to write in to vote in.
Also, Love your podcasts, it totally has inspired me to knit and knit more. I love the music you chose as well!!!! You have the greatest voice for podcasts, I love listening to you. I am excited about the fall weather and sitting home more often to just knit and enjoy the cold weather (and rain) here in Amsterdam.
I didn’t realize I’d missed an ep until I got to the end of this one and things clicked in my head. Spider and vacuum? Ads? And then there was no #68. (I also can’t get that close to a spider. Killing is my last resort, I usually a) leave the room and hope that it goes away, b) get someone else to deal with it, or c) if possible, throw something in it’s direction with the hope that it will flee. C doesn’t usually work, since spiders are pretty unflappable.)
I can live with the ads, I voted. Great podcast as usual.
Cast On is a great podcast. That’s a given.
Economics is all about supply and demand, no?
So I ask myself – if I had to pay per download of Cast On, would I still listen?
And regretfully, the answer is probably not. There are too many competing forms of entertainment. And I am cheap. And my budget is squeaky.
Then I ask – what if there were advertisements? Would I still listen?
And the answer is yes, I wouldn’t be annoyed enough to stop listening. But I would be annoyed.
But what would annoy me more? If I had donated money to supporting a podcast that then went commercial.
That would really rankle. But then lots of people pay for cable television, filled to the brim with commercials.
Should people who make really excellent podcasts be financially supported for their (not insignificant) time and effort? And to what degree? And what about people who do so without compensation? Does setting a price on something give it more inherent value? How is success measured – by the amount of satisfaction given to the listeners or to the podcaster? By the advertising revenue generated? What if the podcaster can’t devote enough time to putting together a high-quality podcast without compensation? Does having donors set up expectations for future podcasts or is it to be considered thanks for previous podcasts?
Unfortunately, I have more questions than answers.
I love love LOVE the podcast. I also would like to say one fo the reasons I would not comment when you’re not uploading new podcasts is my experience with online writers who upload their written chapters one at a time, and it seems one of their pet hates is dozens of comments saying “please please update, we love you, give us our chapter and our stuff”. I’m much more likely to sit and wait and see if you updated, and desperately control myself from sending you comments and emails every day begging for more podcasty goodness. So I guess some people don’t want to feel as though they’re harrassing you for something which is, essentially, something they’re getting for free.
I was first given your podcast as a gift. A friend burned all of season one onto a cd and gave it to me, and I’ve been following you and loving it ever since. I have listened to many other knitting podcasts and none of them even come close in terms of quality, interest, thought-provokingness (haha cant think of a real word there), awesome music, and professionalism. I think if you used ads as a way of supporting yourself in this, it could only mean a good thing – ie the continuation of the podcast. I agree that it’d be nice if they were at the beginning, at the end, or perhaps pre-announced. After all, my mp3 player does have a very easy-to-use fast forward button, which is more than I can say for the radio.
Good luck, and I for one would be quite heartbroken if you stopped podcasting. Every new podcast I see as another gift. Thank you!
Brenda…I’ve been a devoted (yet lurky) listener…sorry for not having posted before but here I am to be represented as an Avid Listener….Keep it going!!!
Minimuppet
Dear Brenda,
I made a comment earlier this week that seems to have disappeared. Over the last several months you have said repeatedly that you have considered discontinuing the podcast. When episodes appeared infrequently and inconsistently over the summer, I and probably many others assumed this was podfade. It’s really not fair to your listeners to ask that we leave comments telling you how much we love the podcast while you’re losing interest. As my grandmother would say, it’s time to sh1t or get off the pot.
Hi, Brenda
I’m a new-ish listener, and I absolutely love your podcast! Were you the one asking how to pronounce Etsy? If so, think of the name Betsy, but without the B. If not, well, it’s still pronounced that way, but just know that I’m a absent-minded knitter, and just had a brain-fade whilst re-counting stitches.
I’ve been relistening to episodes 60 (“The one with Annie Modesitt”) to help get my thoughts straight about Cast-On and advertising. I wish I remembered where more of the relevant discussions were.
From what I do remember, these things seem to all be true (correct me if I’m wrong). You want–
– to earn a reliable, sustainable living from Cast-on
– not to have corporate sponsors whose business is antithetical to your values
– to feel free to challenge such business practices
– complete control over the content and quality of what’s broadcast
– your primary accountability to be to your listeners
– not to have a donation button on the website because it’s unseemly
– (but there was something about encouraging people to send $1 per podcast, wasn’t there?)
And every time you try to stuff these all in the same suitcase, one of them comes poinging out the other side. They simply don’t all fit. Never will.
Corporate sponsorship DOES imply some tacit approval of the sponsor’s business. It DOES mean that you’ll look over your shoulder and wonder whether they’ll disapprove of next month’s essay. I think that we, and you, would be much happier if you entered into that kind of interdependence with your listeners rather than with Big Knitting, Saturn, or some bulk ad consolidator.
Please, allow your listeners to provide fiscal support for Cast On. Many won’t, some will, and for every dollar that comes in that way, it’s one less bit of influence you have to sell to an advertiser.
Brenda~
I have been enjoying listening to your podcast after a friend recommended it to me this summer. I started from the very beginning, and also listen to the new episodes as then are released. It has been interesting to see the evolution of your podcast, it’s variations and changes over the months and years. I know that you put a lot of time, thought, and energy into producing this wonderful podcast, and I appreciate it very much.
And yet I do have some feedback for you. It feels invasive and disruptive to hear ads for cars or pleas for attention when listening to a podcast I subscribe to in order to relax and go inward. I like to listen while I knit, or when I am busy and unable to knit. This is my personal time, a time I spend reflecting on my knitting, the knitting you describe, and whatever else is going on in my life that day. Corporate ads (especially from the auto industry) feel out of line with your podcast’s style and what you stand for.
Because I know you prefer constructive feedback, here’s what I feel would be more comfortable: ads for products, services, or events relevant to the fiber community. If the ad provides information, substance, or entertainment that pertains to my life as a knitter, I see no problem putting it in the podcast. As far as comments and cookies go, I know it feels great to get feedback. This is not the only way to know people are listening to your podcast, or that they are enjoying it. Trust that your subscribers are listening and enjoying your podcast, and when they are moved to leave a comment, they will do so naturally and without prodding.
Thank you,
Sonia
Dear Knitsibs,
In producing the podcast the biggest challenge I face is one of balance. It is a balance of time – that spent on the podcast, recording, interviewing, editing audio, and answering email, with time away from the job, pursuing other activities, equally important to me. It is also a balance of information – that which you need to know about my life, with that which you probably don’t. Deciding what to share and what to keep private is an ongoing process, and it’s a constant struggle to hit that mark just right.
Most importantly the podcast requires a delicate balance between the limits of my own physical and mental state at a given time, and the kind of emotional honesty that is absolutely essential to the job, and impossible to fake. What makes audio such a powerful medium is this sense of authenticity. I can’t fake it, because you would know. To sound upbeat and inspired, I have to be upbeat and inspired.
This past summer was very challenging for me as I faced the loss of a much beloved friend just a few short weeks after visiting her. Add to that my associations of Jean with my knitting life and you can see how it might take me some weeks to be comfortable back at the microphone. The downside of being a one-woman show is that there is no one to pick up the slack when health issues, or personal crisis make work impossible. I hope you will show me the same consideration that you’d expect in such a situation.
As for my commitment to Cast-On, never doubt it. Cast-On has been, and continues to be, an important part of my knitting life. As you are not privy to what’s going on behind the scenes it may seem at times like I am not working on the podcast. But know that I am. I used the time over the summer to work on web development that will make the next evolution of Cast-On even better and more rich, as well as allow me to earn a living from this work.
With regard to the latter, your feedback is invaluable, and I am grateful to those of you who chose to comment on this issue. I must complete my agreement with Saturn, but the ads have been moved to the very beginning and end of the podcasts, where they are less intrusive. I will continue to evaluate the variety of options available to me and you can rest assured I will find an appropriate solution. It’s a question of finding the right balance.
Finally, thank you so much, knitsibs, for your feedback on this latest episode. It is not, of course, a requirement that you post a comment here, but it helps enormously to know you’re out there listening, enjoying the music, and thinking about the things I’ve said.
Happy knitting!
If you’re experiencing Brenda-withdrawal in the next couple weeks, go over to CraftSanity.com and listen to Episode 22. It’s a wonderful interview that even includes Tonya briefly. While you’re there, check out the huge archive of interviews with crafty folk. They’re a lot of fun.
Brenda, In the last podcast you were looking for “theme music” for your drop—How about Life By the Drop by Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Hey Brenda – here are my thoughts: If having advertisements from companies from which you can ethically receive support will help you to earn a real living doing this podcast, then for heaven’s sake, do it! I love your podcast – I relate to a lot of things about you and your life (in ways I cannot even mention here for a number of reasons). Your podcast provides a great deal of thought, comfort and solace (yes, comfort) and helps me to see my favorite craft activity with new eyes. You have a beautiful speaking voice and your thoughts are worth the listen. You also are willing to learn, admitting (in those moments of ritual humiliation?) that you might have been wrong about something. How NOT like so many in the public eye – and how absolutely refreshing!
I love hearing about your knitting projects, I love your guest lecturers (for want of a better word), I love hearing about your personal life and your quest for meaning within it and the angst and philisophical questions you raise. Your blog is about the examined life – one worth living. And I truly love it.
If you need a break, take a break. I’m not going anywhere:) You are not IBM, you’re a human being and you’ve lost a dear friend, and you are dealing with the pain and conflict of having a family you love scattered all over the place. Of course you need to regroup!
Just so you know, I’d post a comment every week, but I am particularly sensitive to maintaining appropriate boundaries after working a number of years representing victims/survivors. Perhaps others feel similarly – that they should pass the virtual “mike” over to others?
Anyway, before I end this long-winded comment, I want to thank you for doing a shout out for the Orphan Foundation’s Red Scarf Project and just for being yourself. I think I speak for many when I say that’s good enough for me.
Much love and peace,
Joan G
But I will welcome you upon your return.
Hi,
New listener here…certainly enjoy the podcast…disconcerted by on-again/off-again nature of broadcasts…also think it is mighty cheeky to complain about lack of comments then to announce you’ll be gone for a month. les sighes.
Hi Brenda! Long time, no chat… I’ve definitely fallen off the comment/email/Skype/podcasting bandwagon, but whenever my next episode comes out, it will explain all!
1 – I’ve been loving my return to LISTENING to podcasts, and yours continues to make me happy. Please accept my apologies for not telling you more often.
2 – I know darn well just how long it takes to make MY lower-production-level podcast, and can only imagine how long it takes to make yours… and I’m not going to suggest that you tack on any other work (like writing a book, or spending your time seeking out fibre sponsors) to support the kajillion hours you are already putting in.
3 – People grow, and change, and experience more things the longer they live… and it is totally understandable that your views on accepting advertising have changed and grown over time. If We The Listeners haven’t jumped quickly enough on the opportunity to support you with regular donations (whether or not a podcast is always forthcoming… life happens, y’know?), then We The Listeners should certainly be able to close our eyes and think of roving through a short audio commercial or two or three (or however many it takes to pay you well). It is just advertising, no one is making us actually pay attention., though I often appreciate the creative forces behind good, entertaining ads!
4 – The people who are ragging on you for lack of production (or for DARING to ask for more comment-cookies) should be locked in a room and forced to produce some episodes in the middle of their busy lives, with little to no feedback via comments to see just what it is like. Pffft.
5 – Yarndex is great: got a pattern that calls for a specific yarn, and doesn’t tell you anything other than its name? Yarndex will give you gauge, needles, a general fibre description… we use it in the yarn shop all the time when folks bring in old or international patterns. Ravelry gets used in a similar way: want to know what a certain pattern looks like, done in different yarn? Ravelry to the rescue!
6 – Be well! Love you, look forward to your next episode whenever it arrives, no rush
Brenda, you asked for comments, so here I am. Only, I was moved by something else as well. You talked about strange spiders in the night, and the BBC responded. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7573530.stm Yes, the UK is reporting that spiders are touristing in just to come visit you, or perhaps to get revenge on their buddy in the vacuum.
No rush to get the next episode going, but remember, you’re going to want your sibs with sticks to be backing you in the spider invasion.
Since you asked, I’d rather the ads be “sponsored by” in the beginning and/or placed modestly at the end. That way, it doesn’t interfere with the content in the middle. Plus, you work so hard to achieve even rhythm and pacing – it would be a shame if the technology misbehaved like it does in tv. All comfy and watching something relaxing… then BLARES “COOL NEW CAR”, so you settle and try to pay attention to the cozy and relaxing, and BLARE “NEW CLEANING PRODUCT”. It’s so bad that I can’t stand to watch tv without DVR anymore. I’ve even reached to rewind the radio when I’ve misheard something out of habit. I know that advertisers get concerned over that issue, but I know who sponsored what I’m watching, and I have been known to be too lazy (or knitting busily) and watch a bunch of ads, especially at the end of a show. I’ve even watched ads on You Tube, just because they were interesting (European versions or the Corn Syrup controversy ads).
So, however it works to make you happy. You’ve inspired me to get back onto blogging and perhaps doing a few podcasts. I also live in one of those areas where the tourists flock like swallows, so maybe someone would like pictures of the autumnal colors of Minnesota or tales about the rivers. I know my NY relatives love to hear about “I was driving along and a juvenile bald eagle tried to side swipe me. I’m NOT kidding!” or baby bears in trees.
← Previous Comments
Next Comments →