GOOD READ
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I
t’ssafetosaythatwatchingTVis the
multitaskingcrocheter’saccompaniment
ofchoice.Whilethisis a superbwayto
relax,coincidingyourhooktimewitha
craft-specificpodcastorvlogcanbea great
waytoimproveyourskillsasyouwork.
CrochetdesignerClaudiaCarpenterhasa
YouTubechannelthatprovidesavidcrafters
withexactlythis.Herchannel,CrochetLuna
Vlogcast,wasbornoutofa desiretosharethe
craftwithothers.“Theideatocreatea
YouTubechannelwhereI wouldtalkabout
crochetcameaboutduringa particularlybad
rheumatoidarthritisflare-up,”Claudia
explains.“I wasprettymiserableandhad
probablywatchedasmuchNetflixasI could
take.I wassurfingtheinternetwhenI saw
recommendationsforcrochetvideos.I kept
addingtothelistofonestowatchuntilseveral
weekslater,I thought– I candothataswell!”
Claudianowrecordsepisodesthatcrafters
canenjoyastheywork.“I sharetheusual
works-in-progressandfinishedobjects,as
wellasthepopularPatternPalooza– sharing
patternsthathavecaughtmyinterest.”
Claudiaexplainsthat,forher,thebestthing
aboutenjoyinga crochetpodcastorvlog
whilecrochetingis thefeelingoffriendship.
“It’s like a little crochet meet-up. You celebrate
thevloggers’accomplishments,seetheirnew
patterns,andlearnfromtheirmistakes.”
FayDashper-Hughes(knitit-hookit-craf tit.
com)alsohasa monthly podcast, The Crochet
CirclePodcast,
offeringupnewskills,
reviewsandwhat’s
hotintheworldof
crochet(Claudiaand
Fayareactuallybig
fansofeachother’s
YouTubechannels!).
“I alwayswantedto
createa podcastthat
allowedmetoshare
theskillsthatI was
learningwiththecrochetcommunitythatwas
watchingandlisteningtoit,”saysFay.“I had
beenwatchingsomeknittingpodcastsand
likedtheideaofskill-sharingandcreatinga
crochetcommunity.A podcastfeltlikea great
wayofdoingthosethingsand sharing my
personalcrochetjourney.
“I listentosomanypodcastsmyself,”Fay
continues.“AswellasClaudia’s,I also
recommendcheckingouttheQuirkyMonday
Craftcast,KeepCalmandCarryYarn,and
ZeensandRoger...Youcanbesureyouwill
have learned something by the end of them.”CONNECTINGWITH OTHERS
Althougha solohobby,crocheterswho
attendmeet-upsdiscovertheyarea great
way to socialise andmakenewfriends,based
arounda bonding
commoninterest.
Therearean
abundanceofgroups
acrossthecountry,in
localcoffeeshops,
restaurants,andeven
pubsandbars.“I find
thatcraftingis a great
wayofstrikingup
conversationswith
people,”Fayagrees.
“Oneofmylife’smissionsis toencourage
morepeopletocrochetand see it for the
beautiful craft that it is.”PRACTISESELF CARE
Therhythmicnatureofcrochethasa
meditativequalityidealforpractising
mindfulness.Inanagesensitivetomental
healthandawakenedtothebenefitsof
self-care,usingcrochetasa mindfulness
techniquecanbea fantastic,simplewayto
reconnectwiththepresentmoment as you
disconnect from your concerns.“A p o d c a s t f e l t
like a great way
of sharing my
journey”
Topleft:Claudia
crochetingather
son’sbaseballgame;
above:thecraft
spacewhereshe
recordstheCrochet
LunaVlogcast;left:a
cowlClaudiaworked
oninscrapsofspare
time;farleft:Claudia
is a bigfanofFay’s
regular podcast!