one of my favorite "me-time" things to do

I love me a good podcast. Do you listen to them? Do you know what they are? Ok, so obviously chances are high that if I know about them, everyone knows about them too...but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

If you do, I would LOVE to hear from you on who, what, when, & where you listen.

If you don't, then check this out - I am about to hook you up to some of my favorites! Cause' I am just that sweet. *wink*wink*

First & foremost ~
There's Marly of The YarnThing. I found her online last fall when I was stuck in a grey cubby in a stuffy office where I couldn't crochet and I couldn't stand to listen to the 3 other radio stations blaring out of 3 other cubbies nearby. One of the cooler things about my ex-job is that I could plug my headphones into my speakers & tune out while tuning in - so I was often on the hunt for things to listen to that would keep me from plunging into a coma.

Marly is one of the best that I came up with! A few months ago she switched her platform to BlogTalkRadio, which is a live forum that you can listen to & even have your own podcast of you're the chatty type and are so inclinded. It's like a regular, follow along & call-in type radio show. Also, you can ask questions online in a little chat box that she can see & read & ask the person she's interviewing on the air.

She's had some pretty awesome knit & crochet rockstars on already, and even the author, Kate Jacobs, of The Friday Night Knitting Club! It's free to listen. You can download to your iPod or other such MP3 thingy, or just listen on your computer. I do both. When I have one of my teens at my disposal, I beg & plead & bribe them with cupcakes to charge & load up my iPod (because I don't know how and I like it that way) with various podcasts. That way I can run around the house cleaning, go grocery shopping, or take a walk on the beach & listen.

And now...drumroll please...without further ado here is the link to Marly!

Please check it out & let me know how you enjoy it! She has a live show tonight and I'm gonna try to catch it, if you do the same, it'll be like we're talking too...lol! (Am I the only nerd who thinks thats fun?!) You can also click over there on the new little widget thingy I added - - ->

I cross my heart swear this is not an infomercial, lol! I just love crafty people & I enjoy getting to listen & learn so I wanted to share, that's all. ;)

The 2nd ~
Podcaster I enjoy is Getting Loopy! with Mary Beth Temple - which also on BlogTalkRadio and I think she has been there for quite some time because she has a ton of older broadcasts that you can go back & listen to. Good stuff!

The 3rd ~
Podcast is YarnCraft from Lion Brand Studio's in NYC. They don't do the live thing, but they do post a new one every other Tuesday. The hosts are a little less lively, one girl always sounds like she has a cold the poor thing! But they are super informative and you know, fun. To me. LOL.

OK, and this last podcast is a little iffy. She is a lady who knits & designs (purses mostly), teaches knitting, and has SEVEN kids! She mixes her podcasts with what she's working on and whats going on in her life. I was little hesitant to list her because she hasn't posted a new podcast that I'm aware of since March, but she has a ton archived if you want to listen. I would recommend checking out her website before going to her podcast so you can get a feel for whether or not you want to listen. Sometimes she sounds snooty even though I don't think she means to, and other times she sounds like she is whining, but then, she is a mom of all those kids so I cut her some slack. Her website is She-Knits - and there is a little sidebar link to her podcast from there.

That's pretty much it. I hope you have fun and at least check out The Yarn Thing, her laughter is contagious & she has a fun spirit. She's totally inspirational too because she's managed to get a few of her patterns published in crochet magazines like Interweave! How's that for cool factor! ;)

There's an online crochet community (whose name I will not use in print) that used to have a podcast, but not on a regular basis, and honestly? VERY painful to listen to. You could tell by the ladies voice that she was reading a script, it was awful. I mean that in the nicest way possible. It's not my intention to criticize, just bringing a lil' balance to the blog post is all. You'll know it if you hear it, I promise, but thankfully I think the gal realized the agony. I'm just saying...it was no smash hit.

Well...if you know of any others...whether AWESOME or NOT AWESOME/PLEASE AVOID... please do share!!

Oh and FYI - all of these gals have groups on RAVELRY too!

Can I get a big HOOYAH for Ravelry? The BEST place online ever. Muah. Love it. Mean it.