Wool Needles Hands

A quick heads-up about ads on my videos!

A viewer recently brought something to my attention that I had absolutely no idea was happening.

For years, I’ve intentionally kept mid-roll ads turned OFF on my videos. My thinking was pretty simple: if you’ve chosen to sit down and watch one of my videos, I’d rather not have an ad suddenly interrupt me halfway through telling you about the surprisingly complicated history of a hat.

Well. Apparently YouTube has found another way.

I learned that YouTube has an ad format called a “Watch While” ad, which can appear on longer videos (anything over 8 minutes) when mid-roll ads are turned off. Instead of stopping the video for an advertisement, YouTube shrinks the video while it is still playing and puts an ad beside it. And creators do not have a setting that allows us to specifically turn those ads off.

That is particularly frustrating to me because these videos are visual. I’m often showing you photographs, objects, knitting, documents, archival material, etc., and I would MUCH rather have an occasional ad interrupt the video at a sensible point of my choosing than have the thing I’m actually trying to show you suddenly reduced to half the screen while I continue talking.

So, I’m turning mid-roll ads on moving forward.

Where possible, I’m going to be thoughtful about their placement and put them at natural breaks in the video rather than letting them barge into the middle of a sentence or an important visual.

I know some of you understandably dislike mid-roll ads, so I wanted you to know why you may start seeing them here when you generally haven’t before. This isn’t me suddenly deciding these videos need MORE advertising. Ironically, it’s an attempt to have a little more control over how the advertising YouTube is already serving affects the actual video.

Apparently the choices are commercials or having my video shoved into the corner of the screen like it owes YouTube money. I choose commercials. And I'm resisting the urger to quote Johnny Castle from Dirty Dancing...something about a corner? 🤭😏

Tayler

4 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 467

Wool Needles Hands

☕ WNH Maker Meetup morning!

We're having our second-ever WNH Maker Meetup TODAY at 10:00 AM PDT to 12 PM PDT over on the Patreon!

These are monthly live Google Meets where we grab our coffee, bring whatever we're making, and hang out together for a couple of hours. Knitting is obviously welcome, but these are Maker Meetups for a reason; bring whatever you're working on. Or bring nothing and just come gab.

I realize this is approximately no notice whatsoever, but if you've been thinking about joining the WNH Patreon and would love to be part of our monthly meetups (along with all of the additional videos, After Shows, chats, and general behind-the-scenes goings-on over there), today's a great day to jump in.

I'll be posting the Google Meet link for Patrons at 10:00 AM PDT, and you can pop into the meetup whenever you'd like. No need to be there right at the beginning or stay for the whole thing.

Coffee is ready. Projects are ready. See some of you very shortly! ☕🧶

www.patreon.com/cw/wool_needles_hands

1 week ago | [YT] | 16

Wool Needles Hands

queerasinhandknit.substack.com/p/is-anyone-else-si…
A really thoughtful counterpoint to today’s video👆: this article was written before my video, and the author later came into my comments to say that hearing my perspective made them rethink parts of their own argument. I’ve now read theirs, and they've given me things to think about too. We don’t land in exactly the same place, but there’s a lot of interesting overlap here and this is exactly the kind of good-faith conversation I hoped this video would create. Definitely worth a read.

2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 16

Wool Needles Hands

Helloooo!!!

Just dropping in to let everyone know that I’ll be back with new videos this week. We spent the last whole week in Santa Fe, NM visiting my brother and family and after the live Maker Meetup over on the Patreon last Friday, I just unplugged for a bit (we even went camping). But I’m back and SO ready to share some knitty goodness with y’all! See you soon!

❤️
Tayler

PS Jessica made us flower crowns while we were camping. 🏕️ ❤️

1 month ago | [YT] | 193

Wool Needles Hands

This Friday I'm hosting the very first Wool Needles Hands Maker Meetup over on Patreon!

It's a live Google Meet where we'll bring whatever we're making (or just a cozy drink), chat, and spend a couple of hours together as a community. This first one is especially fun because I'll be in Santa Fe visiting my brother, sister-in-law Jessica, and my nieces, so Jessica will be joining me to help kick things off.

We're even putting together a special cocktail/mocktail recipe for everyone who wants to join in. 🤭

These monthly Maker Meetups are one of the things I've been most excited to add to Patreon because they're a chance to actually spend time together beyond the videos.

If you've been thinking about joining us over there, this would be a wonderful first meetup to be part of.

❤️
Tayler

Patreon: www.patreon.com/cw/wool_needles_hands

1 month ago | [YT] | 60

Wool Needles Hands

Something fun is happening over on the Patreon right now!

www.patreon.com/wool_needles_hands/posts/over-dyei…

In this little journey, I'm responding to a Patron's question over on the chat thread about options for achieving a particular color for our hand-knitwear.

I love this because it asks a really interesting question that I think a lot of us don't really consider when it comes to planning out projects: why not just knit with a blank canvas and then dye it the desired color after the fact? Well, watch on my friends, because I have some opinions based on my own experience overdyeing my SABAI top. It's a fun one!

❤️

Tayler

1 month ago | [YT] | 37

Wool Needles Hands

Breaking down 6 triple-folded brim beanies today to help you find one that’s sure to please.
https://youtu.be/t1znOx2rJL8?is=NDsky...

1 month ago | [YT] | 0

Wool Needles Hands

The After Show to today's episode is live on the Patreon now! I'm tier ranking the six patterns I mentioned in the video and talking through those preferences:
www.patreon.com/wool_needles_hands/posts/tier-rank…

1 month ago | [YT] | 49

Wool Needles Hands

We're home from Alaska!

Thank you all for your patience while we took a little break to spend time with family. It was an incredible trip, and I came home with a camera full of photos, a notebook full of ideas, and more inspiration than I know what to do with.

We're back to our (somewhat) regular schedule this week, and the next video will be a good old-fashioned knitting update...classic knitting podcast style. 🤭 I've got projects to show you, a little catching up to do, and then we'll be diving back into our usual deep dives and creative rabbit holes.

If you'd like to follow along with even more of the behind-the-scenes side of things, I'll also be sharing photos from the trip, additional knitting/making updates, studio happenings, and getting our very first WNH Maker Meetup Live organized over on Patreon this month. It's become such a wonderful community of makers, and I'd love to have you join us if that sounds like your kind of place.

It's good to be back. Now...let's get down to it.

❤️
Tayler

2 months ago | [YT] | 272

Wool Needles Hands

Hello hello! Just a quick note to let you know there won't be any new videos on the channel this week.

Our family is in Alaska for a reunion, so I'm taking a short break from filming and editing while we soak up the time together.

I'll be back next week with new videos, and I'm already looking forward to getting back into the dye studio for a gorgeous round of FFTP sock sets.

In the meantime, I'll still be sharing little glimpses from the trip over on Patreon...photos, short updates, and a few blog-style posts if you'd like to follow along behind the scenes.

Hope you're all having a wonderful week, and I'll see you back here very soon!

❤️
Tayler

2 months ago | [YT] | 103