Part of the funny thing about sharing your crafts online is the focus on the finished object being created, rather than the process of creating it. On some level, this makes sense - would we create if we weren’t excited about what was coming at the end of our making? But it is fun to get peeks into people’s process, too. This is where the magic is so often found. I thought it would be fun to share a brief round-up of the things I like to watch and listen to when I’m in the zone of creating something new.
A lot of my knitting is done on our sofa, at the end of the workday when B and I unwind. Our go-to shows are The Office, Parks and Rec, old re-runs of Jeopardy on Netflix, Saturday Night Live, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. If B is doing something else or I’m by myself in the evenings, I LOVE The Crown, Law & Order: SVU, the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise (definitely a “guilty” pleasure), Gilmore Girls, or pretty much any food documentary. And, I love knitting podcasts. Recently I was introduced to Fruity Knitting which is so great, and I’ve watched Melody Hoffman, the Woolly Mammoth Fibre podcast, Drunk Knitter, Kammebornia, and the Gentle Knitter podcast for a long time. I have a local group of friends who like together and knit, but during the week and in times such as this, it’s really fun to hear from other crafters about what they’re working on.
When I sew, if I’m winding yarn for a big project, or otherwise working in my office, I really enjoy listening to podcasts to keep me entertained while My iPad is being used to display a digital sewing pattern. I really enjoy the new A Beautiful Mess podcast, Crime Junkie, Fair Folk, and any good personal finance podcasts! I also love listening to old episodes of the Woolful podcast from several years ago, although she’s not making them any more, as well as the old Knit.FM podcast. My two current favorite knitting related podcasts are the Proverbial podcast from A Verb for Keeping Warm, and the Local Wool podcast.
Sometimes, I really just need music to get in the zone, and when that’s the case I bop around between a lot of different things. My recent favorites are the Soft Focus playlist on Spotify, Chance the Rapper, Father John Misty, Sylvan Esso, and a couple of indie playlists on my own Spotify account. I have a record player in my office, and when I’m in the mood it’s really fun to listen to Illinois and Michigan by Sufjan Stevens, and a couple of Copeland albums from when I was in high school.
I always love hearing from others about how they craft and what keeps them company while they make, and I’d love to hear from you as well.