Brutal Honesty!

I am a honest person. If I don't like someone, I usually just ignore them.  If I screw up, I admit it. I may be sometimes flowery with my words but it is honestly how I think and write. I enjoy writing this blog because I am writing it for you and for me. I'm not trying to make a big company happy because I don't work for one. Goodness knows, no big corporation would put up with the assortment of things I write about. The Farmer and I work for ourselves, our family, our farm, our land, our art and craft, our animals and for the future of this patch of earth that we are caring for. Most people would think us nuts. Sometimes I agree with "most people" but I just keep going.

Many of my friends work on the fringe of the real world. Some own their own businesses, however big or small they are. They plod along, doing their good work, keeping at whatever it is they are trying to do for the world. Some of my friends are farmers - their dedication is to the future of the earth and to feeding their neighbors good and healthy food. Some of my friends are artists - their dedication is to the beauty of their art. Some of my friends are teachers - their dedication is to their love of learning and showing their students their way.

And then there is my very good friend Candi Jensen. Candi is a knitting and crochet designer and author. Candi and I met over 25 years when we were both working for yarn companies. Candi is passionate about her craft and about sharing her craft with others. That is why she began her PBS television show Knit and Crochet Now. Candi is the reason I am on the show and I thank her for the opportunity.

I doubt most of you know how these PBS shows work so I am going to let you in on it. A producer comes up with an idea and finds corporate sponsors to fund the production of the show. The producer has to pay a PBS station to tape, film, edit, pay for the "experts" to fly in, feed them, and then pay for all the post-production. If there is any money left over, the producer may be able to pay the host, the experts and take a profit. Let's just say that no one involved in K&CN is making anything off of it. The bare minimum to produce a series of 13 shows is $125,000. And this is bare minimum - everything done on the cheap.

Money is really tight for everyone now as if you didn't know. Candi's source of the corporate funding has pretty well disappeared. She is still out looking for corporate underwriters to support the knitting and crochet show and time is running out. She wants to tape a new season so that she can keep spreading the knitting and crochet love. It is an incredibly expensive proposition to say the least.

When the show gets aired on PBS, the individual PBS station does not pay Candi to air it. How crazy is that? The money you give your local PBS station goes to staff the office, pay for the airtime, the satellite feeds, whatever it is that makes t.v. happen. It's all a mystery to me.

Candi produces this show because she wants to keep the knit and crochet world inspired. She has devoted her life to the crafts of knitting and crochet. She wants to spread the stitching love throughout the television world so more people will pick up needles and stitch. It is a huge goal for her. She works alone out of a home office. She calls on friends to devote their time and skills to her cause (that would be me and the other "experts"). Designers donate their projects to be shown on the air. Maybe I get some publicity out of it all but that's not what it is about for me. I do the show to help Candi and so that viewers can better their skills of the crafts I am teaching. I hope that they will pass their skills on to their friends, neighbors, children and grandchildren so that the textile arts will endure for future generations.

So now I would like to ask you to help Candi out! If you have the means and desire, send the show some money so that it can go on. There is a PayPal button below. Click on it and donate what you can. Any amount will help. If you have a blog and would like to add the Paypal code to your site, email me and I can get you set up. Please SPREAD THE WORD!

If you prefer to send a check, send it to:

Candice Jensen Productions

708 Gravenstein Highway, #231

Sebastopol, CA 95472

And if there are any corporate people out there who are wanting to sponsor the show, please e-mail me privately and I will tell you how to get a hold of Candi.

Thank you all for whatever you can give.