Crafting a Statement | Episode 85 - 2000s knit revival ethos vs commodification of everything today.

[@debbie.mckenzie]

Michelle...are you kidding...?! That's WHY I watch you. I do watch some channels where they sell a product, but I just speed through those parts. Your channel is ( dare I say?) certainly in the top 3 for me. Your editing really is catchy, but honestly, I'll keep watching no matter what!

[@kalenreichert]

Thank you for being true to yourself! You are one of my favorite podcasters because you are thoughtful, intelligent, witty, and super talented. ❤

[@maikengundsoe]

I'll keep watching for the awesome inspiration I get from here. Here I found some reminders of the community that was present in the early 00s. I once found myself calling a woman from a knitting chat forum so she could teach me how to twist a stitch over the phone. I did not know what it was. The ladies in that chat forum and their generosity with their knowledge have all but disappeared now it feels like. They were always willing to help a new mom (me). I have not found a group like that since. Unfortunately, it eventually died down - people were less active and disappeared. The Duran Duran sweater gave a Swedish flag kind of vibe 😂 (or a soccer team. It's the blue and yellow that gives me associations)

[@gleannemarie]

First, thank you for the Duran Duran content. Always appreciated and never enough. Since I know that I can come here with my honest self, here's what... the minute someone I'm watching start selling to me, I quit watching them. I may be in the minority, but I am looking for good company, not another product to buy. There are only so many ways to construct garments to fit the human body, not everything even warrants monetization. And just so you know, I am here for your unedited weirdness and real life mess. I have to believe in my heart that you want us to show up the same authenic way. ❤

[@theseamstressatthecottage]

Knitting was something I did, I was the only one in my community. Then I was exposed to a community project that taught women in disadvantages communities how to spin. I was asked to come and teach the spinners how to knit. And that was the only community I had. Until 2016 when I found knitting on KZbin and there were people talking about knitting!I felt like I found my tribe. But the whole activism thing that took over in the knitting community. It was overwhelming, and anxiety provoking. Life is hard on its own, and I knit to escape and because of the peace it creates in me. So I distanced myself from the knitting. The only one I would still watch, was you. I do agree that there is so much commercialism now on so many of the podcast. I love what you do, and do not cear much for all the other things like having the right key words and such. Thank you for the time you put in. Butter in coffee is amazing and doesn't interfere with a fast.

[@carolinefarmer7123]

You doing you is why I watch this channel. I realise that sponsorship and numbers of viewers are what allow vloggers to earn an income from their channels and that’s great for them. But I’m primarily interested in knitting channels that don’t follow the trends and I’m interested in content by people who I can relate to culturally and creatively which is always going to be people following their own paths.

[@virginiasattler-reimer9554]

I like the way you do you! I'm here for all of it!

[@Gamermom628]

I stopped most of my video podcast watching because I couldn't keep up with all the STUFF! I gave up feeling inferior in middle school. I learned then that people's priorities are so different than mine. I don't like things. I love people! I love you're honesty! I love you! I have pared down my list of watched podcasts to 3...maybe 4. Maybe! Don't change a thing!

[@anitawiksten1242]

I will definitely keep watching! So many interesting topics, knits and questions. Keep it up❤❤❤

[@vivNron]

I'm with you. I love that you're not selling something and that you don't stick to the standard content or framework. I'm looking for honesty and individuality in the time I spend online -- content that will make me think rather than turn to mush -- and you definitely bring that as well as a saucy bit of humour.

[@aknitlife]

Hi Michelle: I definitely will watch your podcast! I joined the knitting community in 2017. I was new to Instagram and Facebook. I don’t watch podcasts that only zero in the newest trends and a few popular designers. It is like associating with the in-crowd. In fact, when I select a podcast, I click the more tab to see a summary of projects the podcaster will discussed. If it is the same ones discussed the 500 times, I will not watch and select another podcast to watch while knitting. It is too bad I didn’t join the online community before monetization is all there is. I select podcasts to watch for real conversations, not purely for selling. I really wonder if the knitting community is really that wealthy to be spending $28 plus a skein wool and buy a sweater’s quantity of in this economy where food and rent already cost a fortune. Yes, we need to factor in some vacation so that we don’t get cabin fever. I love your sweater and mosaic blanket! You are an amazing knitter. It is ok to differ from the norm. Don’t both to edit, save that time for some relaxing knit time! I hope you keep up the wonderful work! ❤

[@ktad2792]

I love how honest and real you are…..I’ll watch whatever you do

[@mysocalledhandmadelife]

Thank you!!

[@selfishknitter]

I’ve only recently discovered your channel, and you are a gem! I’m here for the genuine content and making what you want regardless of trends. People who have stopped watching your videos clearly have poor taste. 😉

[@selfishknitter]

Community… I didn’t initially comment on this because I didn’t feel like I was part of a knitting community in the early 2000’s. Knitting was more of a solitary activity after the kids went to bed, sometimes. However, I did just remember that I stumbled around the knitting internet when my daughter’s Girl Scout Troop was learning yarn crafts. There were nowhere near as many KZbin tutorials at that time - most of my resources were blogs. I also briefly had a Stitch ‘n Bitch group (2011-2012?) and there was no yarn snobbery. I think we were all using acrylic yarn from Hobby Lobby and Walmart, and I don’t think anyone in the group was making garments. There was a lot of “winging it” without a pattern to make accessories. 10 years later, I would say Instagram is my primary knitting community. I love meeting people in person, but the internet offers so much more flexibility and information. I think you are right, though - I don’t see as many people figuring out how to make things on their own. I myself am much more pattern-reliant than ever, and I am totally fine with that. I have learned so many new skills from patterns and KZbinrs.

[@ChristieArcher]

For your DD logo sweater I would duplicate stitch the logo after you make the sweater. That’s going to be easier and cleaner with the way the logo overlaps and thin lines etc.

[@edinacole6382]

Hmmm, I didn’t have a computer back then. Only heard of Ravelry 5 years ago. Prior I didn’t even know knitters had a community. Knitting community is extremely important to me now however I don’t like following the crowd but I do see that often I’m influenced. I like using wool yarn. I primarily knit with wool. I believe that’s because I learned on wool (at 8 years old) and worked at a yarn shop from age 14-22 years old. I love knitting because I make 99% of my clothing and knitting adds to the variety of clothing I can make for myself (I also sew and a tiny bit of crochet)

[@jennenns654]

Oh Michelle. haha. I will always watch your podcast because I watch for your friendship. Nothing else really matters. I think the yarn for your duran duran sweater will work out fine with intarsia.

[@mysocalledhandmadelife]

That's nice to know, Jenn! Also your thoughts on the brigh yarn and intarsia. I am still not totally comfortable with intarsia, but I am enjoying the challenge.

[@jennenns654]

You can totally do the intarsia. It gets easier as you go. the key is to use shorter lengths of the coloured yarn.@@mysocalledhandmadelife

[@aida_tz.]

Love your wednesday vest Michelle, it looks so cozy and beautiful. i've never tried intarsia, kind of intmidates me having all those little balls of yarn, i do though want to knit a moasaic project, i love the technique and the optical effect, is the chart similar to colorwork? The blanket is such an epic project and it looks already very nice. Love watching your podcast and will continue watching, you do you. I have not been making in a time that there was no social media and indie businesses so can\t compare it. For me social media was one of the factors that made the making more apealing, what i mean is that i would have never started kniting if i had not been inspired by instagramers posting their knitting projects as we don't really have a knitting tradition here, like in other countries, people mostly crochet and that mostly table runners and stuff like that with very fine thread. About monetization i think we have talked abain in the past, maybe it's about what sort of accounts one follows, i don't follow any big brands or big indie businesses that have strong sales aproach so when i go on insta or here i don't get the feeling that somone is always trying to sell me something , on the other hand, maybe the fact that i'm trying to build a small business makes me see things differently so maybe my opinion dosen't matter, i don't know. I'm not sure i understand that about trends, you mean reels and shorts ? those i also don't really like, i'm glad that now youtube shows reels gathered separately and not mixed with the usual videos, hope there was a feature on insta as well to avoid watching reels.

[@mysocalledhandmadelife]

Oh no, Aida! I’m not complaining about people selling things in online community. I just don’t want to lose personal connections with other crafters bc we tend to use social media for buying and selling more. Yes, by trends I mean reading that I need to make shorts to get views on longer videos. And make more long videos to keep engagement. And make thumbnails with certain phrases and templates, etc. These tips work but they take a lot of time. I learned a lot of these methods working for someone else’s site and was trying to implement some of it, but it takes my knitting time, lol! I wondered if my level of effort reflected my love for our little community. Plus a sense of perfectionism would kick in ( hard to imagine, but it’s there in a small way.) Then I’d get burned out. I realized if I do all of those things, views are still down, bc eveyone is busy and there are many more podcasts now. It’s natural that attention would be split. So I relaxed about lower views- it’s not necessarily bc my videos aren’t relevant and viewers won’t see it as lack of effort. Basically, I still love social media for sharing the knits. I just don’t want to practice the “constant engagement”thing. I do find that when I’m relaxed I make a lot more. As far as selling. I think it’s great for people to sell things online. I think I’m troubled by the agenda of media companies to have us view our selves as a product. The straightforward selling of our wares is good. I just get sad when we quit really connecting with each other bc we are so busy selling our lives like a brand. (I don’t think this is something you do and I don’t really think I’ve done it much, but it does seem to be the way to engage.) I just can’t be online that much.Does that make sense? It’s so great that you don’t even feel the pressure, Aida. You have a very original crafting channel and I love your voice and your making. I’m glad to know you thru online community!

[@aida_tz.]

​@@mysocalledhandmadelife Actually, i didn't feel like you were complaining about that, just making a point and expressing your opinion which i appreciate and that is part of why I am a vewer :). i feel the same about the importance of beeing connected , although from my experiance i feel like the apps are not build anymore with getting people together in their mind, so that makes it harder to have a sence of community. I was also watching the latest video of kurzgesagt were they were suggesting going back to blogs might be the solution for a more healthy and community centered internet, the video is for more than that but that was one of the points made. For the consuming part probably i'm biased and i can't see it but that dosent'mean that it is not an issue. I get now what you mean about trends, i don't mind them at some level but in general i prefer watching more natural and real podcast, that's what i like about your videos, i like the real talk, your sence of humor and smart comments. I'm also glad to have connected with you Michelle and i'm here to follow you along on your videos the way that you feel comfortable making them.

[@mysocalledhandmadelife]

@@aida_tz. Thank you for your thoughts and support, Aida! At first, I thought you might think I was complaining about other KZbinrs following trends, but when I read your response and by the time I made episode 86, I realized you knew what I was talking about. However, I really hated the way I phrased things in this video and wanted to be crystal clear bc there is enough judgment going around without me seeming to add to it, you know? I don't think I would've reviewed that part of my video had I not looked back to better answer you. I'm glad I did. My husband said, "It seems like this year you've started talking about making knitting videos as much as just knitting." And he was right. So I wanted to wrap all of that up, concisely. Thanks for your thoughts. I know lots of viewers do like reading the comments and appreciate your take on things. :)

[@shebear9251]

Absolutely seconding what @debbie.mckenzie said - this is the reason why I am watching you! I love your deep thoughts about all of those things and really enjoy the time I get to spent watching this. My only problem is that I can't remember your questions at the end of an episode 😄 which is why I forget to answer them sometimes. Btw. your obsession with Duran Duran is cute and reminds me of my obsession for another group. Care to tell us about it?