Thanks this week to Ardmore, Pennsylvania writer, Marian Birkeland, for her wonderful (perfect for Mother’s Day) essay, and to reader, Heather Ordover, whose dulcet tones can be heard on Craftlit:a podcast for crafters.
It’s time again for Eurovision! Learn more about it, then vote with me (if you’re in Europe) for Serbia to win!* Check out Turkey’s answer to George Michael, and Switzerland’s DJ Bobo, whose single Vampires Are Alive did not, sad to say, make it into the final. I think they were trying too hard to be Lordi.
Not officially “open for business” yet, but do check out Ravelry, the new home for knitters on the web.
Two new knitting podcasts have joined the podcasting family – Knit Picks Knitting Room and Changelings Knits and Stitch. Visit their websites and give them a big howdy.
I am always happy to pass along information on charitable knitting projects, and few have touched my heart like this one. I am Casting on for Kenya, and would love for you to join me in sending knitted love to children living with HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Visit lovely Hay-on-Wye for great used books, knitting and otherwise.
As promised a picture of the 
Sunrise Pullover, in progress. The finished sweater will appear in my new blog next week. When it’s ready, there will be a link in the sidebar.
[Edited: Now Serving! Tasty knitting exploits, on a bed of social commentary, garnished with lime wedges.]
Thank you, my knitsibs, for listening.
KniTunes:
- Tom Waits – You Can Never Hold Back Spring
- Adrina Thorpe – Fly Fly Fly
- Bishop Allen – Thing Are What You Make Of Them
* Serbian singer, Marija Serifovic, won the hotly contended Eurovision Final, with her song, Molitva!
Fry with the sinners or knit with the saints in Brother Amos' Hellfire Lace Socks. Now available for purchase on 
"Bring the car around, Jeeves." Driving Miss Daisy finglerless glove pattern, in teal, black or white, available exclusively through 
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Whenever you thank us for using the donation button I think of Public Television. When they say “this program was made possible by… and…and…and by viewers like you, Thank you for your support.” and I always say to the TV “You’re welcome!” and most of the time I mean it. I often do the same thing with Cast-on. When I realized I wasnt being honest I started donating a dollar per episode like you suggested. Its a small price to pay for an hour of entertainment, not to mention the sense of community. Thank you! Keep up the good work and I wish you lots of patience on your way to better health! (I’m in the same boat and I find I need patience-wishes more than well-wishes)
I have thoroughly enjoyed your podcasts. I am a special education teacher in North Carolina, USA and a craft addict. I was working at a Michael’s last year teaching One-Stroke painting and was asked to demonstrate the Knifty Knitter looms. I have been addicted to yarn ever since. I started teaching some of my students how to knit with these this week trying to fill the last two weeks of school. I’m also planning a knitting club next year at the middle school where I teach. The students were very enthusiastic, especially when I told them we would be joining their squares to send as a baby blanket for the Afghans for Africa program. I just found another link on your site for the Dulaan Project. Is this ongoing? I would like to have several projects like this to use next year for the students. My goal for the summer is to learn to knit with needles so I can offer an option for the club members. Thanks again and sorry to go on so long. The only problem I’ve found with your site is that it is now costing me money. After hearing the Lascivious Biddies, my husband and I have ordered two of their albums and I’m probably going to also buy the Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. We’re huge fans of P.G. Wodehouse and if this is in the same humorous style, I’m sure we’ll love this book as well:)
Continued good luck with your podcast,
Kathryn Jacoby
Hahah, I never thought I’d hear Lordi mentioned on Cast On!!
So Brenda, I have just started listening to your podcast from beginning to end and sad to say I have caught up with you in less then a month (long commutes). You have a great voice! I just finished (well soon to be I’ll finish it on WWKIP day) sweater. Thank you for the entertainment.
Hi, Brenda,
who wrote Cold Comfort Farm? you have referred to this book several times in your podcast, so I decided I needed to read it. However, there are several books by that title on amazon.com. Help!
thanks bunches in advance!
Leigh Anne in GA
I’m not sure how I feel about knitting being political. As others have commented, politics raises my blood pressure, which is something I generally try to avoid. That being said, I love your podcast because it is provides me a break from the everyday worries and concerns that typically run through my head. I pop on the earbuds and listen while sorting the laundry or scrubbing the bathtub. Your well-picked music and very thoughtful essays always make the work go so much more quickly. The Secret Life of Stitches was especially inspirational. I am one of those poor souls toiling away in the “doughnut hole”, with no great view in sight. I’ll hold my head a bit higher now as I carry my knitting bag from cube to lunchroom every day. Thanks Brenda!
I just listened to your essay and I had to stop and comment. The story was so spot-on that it gave me nightmarish flashbacks to my three years in Corporate Hell. I worked on the 39th floor in a “doughnut hole.” We did have some outside light in each corner though. I only wish I had had such an outrageous coat of dreams to accompany me then. (I started knitting after that episode in my life.) Thanks for such a startlingly poignant story.
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