Ravelry had a forum topic regarding favorite knitting podcasts. I investigated podcasts this week as a result. When one is knitting or cleaning the house or any kind of mindless task, it is fun to listen to things. I have always enjoyed listening to the many talk shows on NPR. One thing I miss about living in Georgia is the Jacksonville public radio station which broadcast talk most of the time. Here in the PNW, the public radio station I have found broadcasts jazz for much of the day. Sometimes I use my phone to pick up the beloved NPR shows. They are mostly available as Podcasts!
Ahhh, podcasts. I've long enjoyed them from the days when I relied on my iPod. I mostly listened to those related to my old profession of being a teacher. I think it is great that so much that one would like to learn is just a podcast away. I also attempted (and sometimes still do) to stay current on the music scene by tuning in to podcasts. I got involved with a murder case by listening to the Serial podcast. I'm hoping the boy will finally be found innocent as he seems innocent to me. Now I'm getting into knitting podcasts.
I sampled one called The Knitmore Girls last week. It has mother/daughter knitters as the hosts. It was quite fun to listen to and kind of motivating. Both women are terrific knitters and very personable. With this kind of podcast, you can put on your headphones and get a number of chores accomplished while listening. Also you can sit and knit while they talk about their world of knitting.
Somehow I got on Youtube and discovered a mob of podcasters! The first I watched (and I binged the entire series) was Knitting in the City. The narrator of this little program is a young woman who lives near Rotterdam in The Netherlands (Europe). It's done in English which is not her first language so there are some little glitches with pronunciation and choice of words, but wow, I don't speak any other language nearly as well as she speaks English. She is an avid yarn collector. She also enjoys dying yarn. Most of her projects are on the small side though: shawls and socks. In 2016, she will be getting married and house hunting. I imagine that there will be a baby before too long, so I anticipate baby clothes on the needles.
Next I watched all of The No Name Knitting Podcast where a nice young Danish woman is the host. She speaks English a little better as she was once a nanny in the USA. She tackles sweaters with confidence. She is just getting into sock knitting, but the ones she made were very nice. She likes shawls too. She mostly uses yarns from her LYS and the brands are Danish, but that is not a negative. Similar yarns are available here too.
Because these two podcasters love Stephen West shawls, I saw episodes of podcasts he did. He can be very humorous. He is an American from Oklahoma (with a noticeable and lovely southern twang). Also he is very gay. He lives in Amsterdam. I know he is very popular among knitters and now I'm more knowledgeable of his patterns. He mostly designs shawls that are hyper-colorful and in nontraditional shapes. I think I may attempt to knit something he designed one of these days as it would not only be fun to knit but would create a very destinctive FO!
Today, I watched a married British couple's podcast, The Bakery Bears. From what I understand, the wife loves to create "softies" or knitted stuffed animals. Her ravelry page has possibly 100 examples of her softies. She also makes hats and shawls. Her husband knits too. He makes hats too. I didn't take time to look at his Ravelry page so I don't know what else he does. Their podcast was okay, but maybe too long, if that is a criticism! I think 30-45 minutes is really quite sufficient. They are charming though and knit while podcasting.
I saw an episode of Come Knit with Me too. I liked this one because the host gets out of her house and the program is not as static as some of the others. She was at a yarn and sheep festival. She participated in a knitting fair and won 2nd place with a shawl made from yarn she spun from buffalo hair and silk. It was lovely. She shot footage of various events like sheep judging and a dog playing with frisbees. Also she interacted with other patrons of the festival including other podcasters and bloggers. Very entertaining, so I will look for more of her work.
I'm sure I'll watch many more as time goes by. I have learned how to put my YouTube from my phone onto my television, so I am sure to watch more! Knitting with these little programs is great as they are not so absorbing that you lose focus on your knitting. It is enjoyable to hear and learn about knitting while knitting!
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