Pages

20090323

Knitting Podcast Update

Whoops. It's been a while, no? I thought I'd catch us all up on where my podcast listens now stand and what I've recently given a try.

First, I've given a try to a classic knitting podcast. It has over 90 episodes and it is a surprisingly mellow listen. It's almost always the same length, it comes out with astonishing regularity, and the podcaster's voice is a dream. It's Sticks and Strings! The man who does this podcast is an Australian high school teacher who also likes D&D! (You can never be too much of a geek for me, people.) I really do recommend this podcast. It's like the Snickers bar of knitting podcasts for me. I find it is satisfying to listen to, but it is also short, and it holds me over until my favorite podcasts release their latest episodes. Though, it's rapidly becoming one of my favorites. I haven't gone back to listen to all his old episodes, and I don't plan to, but I have listened to the last twenty or so. Be warned, the podcaster has an essay each week as well as music interspersed with his talking. I like both, but your mileage may vary.

I also gave a try to Destiknit. My experience with this podcast wasn't as great. I am probably not able to clearly indicate why that is, but let me try. I think the problem with Destiknits for me was that I was so hopeful about it. She started her first podcast with information about Custom Knits (my favorite knitting book to date, and one that I will review AFTER I knit something from it). However, after a while, I noticed that I didn't seem to love her content. There was just something about it that rang of advertising to me. The weird part is that she wasn't even advertising anything. I kept going with it until she announced that her husband's job with the military led them to the choice of either living in Italy or Japan and she pressured for Italy. Any person who chose Italy over Japan is probably not someone I should be listening to.

My third new podcast is Gives Good Knit. I know. It's not a great podcast title. Worse, she hasn't had a new podcast in a month. However, our tastes almost perfectly overlap. It is fairly rare this happens in podcasts, so when it does, I cling unless things go horribly wrong. Now, if you are reading my recommendations looking for something to try, I really have to warn you that this podcast is about fifty percent (or even sixty percent) content about literature. I love this, and her discussions of novels have even led me to add a few books to my reading list, but you might prefer pure knitting content, in which case you should give this podcast a skip. But... if you're a geek, you like video games, geek tv, literature, and knitting, it's a pretty good listen. She introduced me to the knit Spiderman blanket again (ravel it!), which I certainly plan to knit sometime in the future for the darling men in my life. I knew I was especially happy with her in the last podcast in which she discussed one of my favorite books ever (Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was), and she discussed one of my favorite current trashy television shows (Gossip Girl - The Complete First Season)!

For those who are new to these podcast reviews, other crafty I like include:

Knit Picks' Podcast
-- Informative and calming podcast from the owner(?) of Knit Picks.
The Manic Purl Podcast -- Friendly, casual podcast from a casual knitter/spinner. Very good, possibly my favorite.
Never Not Knitting -- Casual podcast with good sound effects/segments/intro song. The podcaster is a professional knitter, doing work for others and herself.
Sew Forth Now -- Only fashion sewing podcast I'm aware of that doesn't blow. The non-podcast blog of the podcaster is almost more interesting than the podcast, but the podcast has grown on me recently.
Stash and Burn -- Discussion podcast between two friends. Super popular, super on target, and super great. Love it.

Anyone have any recommendations for new podcasts for me to try? I'm going to give Knitmore Girls a whirl. If you're new to my blog, please do not recommend Lime and Violet or Cast On. I dislike both for various reasons even though they are probably two of the most popular knitting podcasts around.

No comments: