I've been listening to this lovely podcast for the past few years, CraftLit. For those of you who might be interested, check it out! It's produced by a wonderful mom and teacher, Heather Ordover. I've been listening to the podcast over the past couple of years, and it's become a fast favorite.
CraftLit is a wonderful podcast that combines two of my favorite topics, crafts and classic literature. The first half of the podcast discusses crafts, news, history, and other general topics of conversation of interest. On the craft end, there has been everything from knitting (which there's a lot of) to quilting, sewing, and pottery. Art and writing have been discussed. There's been talk about kids, school, education, and health concerns. General topics have ranged from current events to Ghandi to September 11th to television shows to history. There's been discussions on gluten free diets, as Heather recently found out she has an allergy to gluten. Much of it has given me a good deal to think about.
Obviously, by the name, there's a component of literature in the whole thing. It all started out with the reading of Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice. Since then she's covered other books such as Frankenstein and Tale of Two Cities. I have to admit, some of these books I never would have been inspired to read myself, but through discussion, I've not only opened myself up to giving these books a chance, but I've also had a lot to think about because of it. Before Heather dives into each chapter there's a wonderful discussion of what happened in last weeks chapters, as well as what to expect and look for in the coming chapters. You can tell Heather's an experienced teacher by the way she opens the topic to each new chapter and her discussions in previous chapters. It definitely helps keep interest up, but it also gives me a lot of fuel towards forming my own opinions on each book and topic. There have been several times where Heather suggests her opinions on a topic and I find myself thinking something entirely different, or feel that I've got something to add or support to the topic.
This leads up to my own point of pride. On episode 166 of CraftLit (Admirable Admiral), Heather read a message that I sent her on Ravelry. (If anyone's interested, it starts at 14:49 on the audio.) Actually, what I said there kind of ties in to the whole reason why I feel the CraftLit podcast is so incredibly valuable in a society such as our own. With every passing generation it seems that fewer and fewer people actually read for fun. I've found even less who enjoy learning for the sake of keeping their minds active. I had mentioned in that message how I felt the current trend towards illiteracy related directly for a lust for knowledge. In older times, families would sit down and discuss everything under the sun in front of their children. These days it's all about television, sports, and school. Learning in older times was essential for being successful, and while that still holds true today, there's less of a reason for it. Learn your career field and that's all you'll ever need to know. CraftLit supports a different view. Not only is it a fun podcast that includes a bit of everything, but Heather actually encourages discussion on each topic. She wants to know how her readers feel. She uses their messages, e-mails, and audio clips in her podcast to open up new discussions.
This podcast has been completely refreshing. It's like a breath of fresh air, especially with living in the area I do. There are some wonderful, intelligent people in every neck of the woods, I'm sure, but for this area it seems the trend leads towards reading because you have to and only learning as much as necessary to get by. Video games and television have replaced hard work and intelligent conversations at the dinner table. Many families don't even sit down to dinner together (sadly, my own included more often than not), which is a trend that encouraged family discussions. This podcast has done a wonderful job of opening my mind to new methods of thought, and has been quite an inspiration. It's not all about literature either. Without it, I doubt I would have even thought to research symptoms of gluten intolerance in children to find that I might possibly want to switch to gluten-free for my older son, see if that helps him out. CraftLit has done a wonderful job of opening my mind and encouraging free thought and curiosity, things I had felt I was lacking in my life. I didn't even realize how much until I'd started listening.
If you have any curiosity of your own, please, check out CraftLit. I know it's hard to find time in a day to sit down and focus on something, but podcasts are wonderful for road trips, commutes, or even just something to listen to while doing housework. Of course, if you're a crafter, you know how nice it is to work with something to listen to! Each of the episodes are a bit lengthy (most run about an hour), but I find it's easy to find a good point to break if I don't have time to sit down and listen to the whole thing. And just remember, if your hands are too busy to pick up a book, at least you can turn one on.
Thank you, Heather, for providing such a wonderful podcast!
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