I am easily confused; a fact that becomes evident about 7 seconds into the podcast with the quickest MoRH ™ on record. Lots of cool stuff, including Cheap and Cheerful Gadget o’ the Week. (Hint: don’t ask what they’re really used for.) – Chart that cable – New podcasts! The Peaceful Knitter. Pointysticks. And WeaveCast. – France gets the Beeton Love with Beeton 1 and Beeton 2 and Olympic Beeton – Quirky Nomads, my current favorite knit and listen (listen to how they met.)
KniTunes:
- Deirdre Flint – Presidential Succession
- Greg Tannen – It’s You
Special thanks to Jemma Morris and Pete Stacey, Of Coleg Sir Gar (Carmarthen College) for their wonderful version of Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, the Welsh national anthem. Thanks also to Zachary Dunlap for his beautiful guitar instrumental, Accoustic Daydreams.
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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Hi Brenda. I have enjoyed your podcast a great deal throughout your run so far. I would like to balance things up here a little, I think, if I can. I have to say I agree with both sides of the content debate that seems to have begun – you should make your podcasts whatever you wish them to be. If people don’t wish to hear about it, they can go elsewhere. That said, I do feel some empathy with Theresa about the amount of time given to the subject of podcasting itself every week. To begin with, I found it interesting and do admire your support and open encouragement of other podcasters. (Listing new podcasts is really effective there and I thank you for that!) Sharing your personal experiences on it is good too. But I am finding now that when you move onto it as a regular topic, my mind is starting to wander onto other things instead of listening. Please understand that I really want to be constructive here. I am aware that this is my experience and certainly wouldn’t lay claim to it being anybody else’s. I have posted before and stated there that I work on the audio and visual side of the entertainment industry. People are always interested in what I do and how I do it, but ultimately I have always found the main interest lies in the creation before them – the final show, the piece itself. I do know from experience that delving into technical matters regularly to one’s audience can put some people off (because I’ve done it myself at work on more than one occasion!) (blushes!)
I hope you’re successful in your advertising venture. It takes a great deal of courage to venture into unknown territory like this and I find your approach, and the way you make your approach so public to be something of value to knitters and all podcasters alike.
Also love the Olympic spots. I’ve been watching us fail miserably at women’s curling and your spots are keeping my spirits up!!
Many thanks for your work.
Karen
Brenda: I miss you already–I love your podcast and the music you play. Thank you for giving us something intelligent, kind, and inspiring to listen to–especially on crowded but lonely airplanes!
Hi Brenda! Every week I tell myself, I need to leave a comment at Cast On to tell her how much I love her podcast. I’m finally getting around to it. Really, it’s a highlight of my week. As if Cast On itself hasn’t done enough to improve my quality of life, you’ve also introduced me to Deirdre Flint, Sage Tyrtle, and that great song by slackstring! Speaking of that song, doesn’t the melody remind you a little of Waltzing Mathilda? In a good way! Anyhoo, thanks!
I have to say I’m baffled by those who’ve told you to ignore the criticism in favor of “positive, constructive comments” – sometimes, the best constructive comments are negative. If all constructive criticism were positive, well, it wouldn’t be constructive.
To clarify, I wasn’t saying that all mention of podcasting should be gone. Just that spending ten minutes talking about podcasting and/or technical difficulties is too much. At that point, it’s not a knitting podcast, but a podcast about knitting and the mechanics of podcasting (and there are already many of those).
Please, please stick to the knitting-related content!
Hi Brenda,
I’m just returning from a week in London and had an interesting, though baffling experience at Gatwick Airport. Although it was permitted for me to bring my knitting needles on the plane from the U.S. to London, I was not permitted to take my knitting needles home from Gatwick to Cincinnati and spent a long time (with angry travelers waiting behind me at security! My own MORH!) pulling the size 5 (US) 24-inch circular needles out of the thank-god-its-only-garter stitch vest I was making before being allowed to proceed to my departure gate. Of course, the flight was horribly boring, since all I now had was an in-lifht magazine and really bad movies to entertain myself with for 14 hours, but I thought my little embarassment might help other US traveling knitters.
Thanks!
Deb
I have been playing catchup on your podcasts since discovering them last week, and I haven’t listened to this episode yet.. I’m saving it for tomorrow morning, so I have something to listen to while I finish working on my costume for my first gig as a professional hooper! Yes, you may have known about the people who paint while listening to your melodious rambles, but did you picture someone painstakingly winding electrical tape, gaffer tape, and sparkly prism tape around a 12-foot adult-sized hula hoop, humming about Boob Fairies, big penises, the road song on the last episode (and I agree, it would be a good one!) while also dreaming of future knitting projects?
I was actually able to sit down and finish a cabled hat pattern I started last month.. and set down two hours later because I was tired of the small needles and many cables.. BUT, five episodes of CastOn later, it is finished! (of course, I’ve now realized that it is UGLY as-is, and will probably reknit it in a nicer fibre, with more space between the cables to make them stand out more and for the nifty decreasing hidden in the cables to.. stay hidden? LOL
My non-knitting roomie has enjoyed listening to you, too… the episodes lead to chats about knitting-related stuff like the first sweater I made (was able to haul it out and show her, as I had been doing room-cleaning while listening to the ‘cast and could actually FIND it!), how the Silk Garden yarn you mentioned was what I used in the touque lying on the chair beside her, and she and her girlfriend were tickled to hear about the ceremony you and your partner recently had – we all say Congrats and wish you both all the best!
Chipping in my opinions:
My stash is not scary.. more comforting, that I can always reach in and find SOMETHING that will suit my need. Today, it was red, slightly-fluffy yarn that would be couched around the tea-strainers being sewn to a felted earflap hat to become part of my spider headdress.. found in a small box on top of my worktable, not in the giant plastic bin under my bed where I first started to look…
Podcasting as CastOn topic: Go for it! I find it interesting, and having started branching out to other podcasts, am getting a feeling for the quality that you provide VS say, the Barenaked Ladies, who are Canadian and I love them for it, but there’s just so much listening-to-men-being-silly-about-in-jokes that I can handle. Haven’t checked out Chub Creek yet, but I will soon!
Advertising: well, I haven’t actually heard this episode yet, so I’m not sure what all the comments are about… but if you’re going to have in-cast ads, I’d rather they be of the “___ brand yarn has sponsored this segment today, please feel free to send them your thanks or give them your business to show your support” type, than be hidden in a “I really LOVE using this xxx brand yarn, which I started using two days ago but I am SURE will turn out to be amazing..” I understand the need for income, having become self-employed in the last three weeks, and support you doing whatever you need to make your life work in its beautiful, creative way, and…
…last comment, on you taking a break: I’ll miss you, but I would rather know that you were happily recharging and taking care of other aspects of your life and leaving the intense juggle for a while… as long as it leaves you able to return to us
My rambling comments feel like the same sort of conversation you have with us in each ‘cast. Hope it shows my appreciation for your work, and I’ll hear you tomorrow
X.
Hi Brenda, congratulations on yet another splendid show! I am dreading your impending hiatus… how about opening up the show to contributors while you take a break? People who would like to podcast, but don’t want or can’t put together a whole show could just record a small segment, and you could put together a show made up of a series of small segments. That way you are not having to work (as hard) and you can still have creative control by letting possible contributors know what the topic will be for a particular week.
I LOVED Zak’s song, by the way! He should release it on iTunes or something… I would buy it! (so let me know if he does)
Ooh, just listened to this episode, and I’m all over your ideals for advertising! Go Green!
And Zach’s song was indeed lovely
Thanks for sharing yet again!
X.
Hi, Brenda,
First of all, you have a beautiful voice! I’ve just started tuning in to knitting podcasts and am catching up on all past episodes/installments.
Re: hiatus: I would love to hear your podiobook while you are ‘resting’. I will miss you gravely but will be eagerly awaiting your return.
And, personally, I love the info on podcasting mechanics. The medium is new to me, and I find everything about it very interesting. I love that it sounds like you are in my living room, hanging out and talking about knitting.
On stash: I love stash. I have a very small ping of guilt, and my stash is not that big. However, I totally do not understand the mainstream idea that one must pick a pattern and then use the yarn indicated — yuck! I am much more of the school that goes out, finds fabulous materials, buys them, and who knows what they might become? The only problem with this is that it is hard to know how much of a given yarn to buy…
Loved Zach’s music on this podcast; please play more.
Elizabeth
I’ve been trying to come up with some incredibly profound way to tell you just how much I enjoy listening to your podcast. Since immitation is one of the sincerest forms of flattery…I’ll quote you: “I really enjoyed the glaze on these carrots”. patrice
Your son’s playing is beautiful! A lot of times I fast forward through the music, but I really enjoyed Zach’s song.
I’ve really enjoyed catching up on all the episodes of Cast On. I love the knitting content and everything else too. Podcasting is new to me and learning about it in small doses is just right. The knowledge wrapped up in tasty bits of knitting makes it a treat and not too technical. As you said before, if someone doesn’t like how you are doing yours they are free to go out and do it how they think it should be done. I hope you will continue to do it your way, breaks and all.
Your son’s song was wonderful on it’s own but with the sound of that instrument…Man! Bravo
Dear Brenda,
I love your podcast. I listen to it in 2 parts, half on the way to work and the half on the way home. Never fails to lift my spirits and make me laugh out loud on the Metro like a crazy person.
Two suggestions for the advertising:
1) Advertising on the Cast On website and a brief mention in your podcast (thank you to Sundara Yarns for their support, you can see their ad on the website);
2) Editorial content in which you tell us why this company qualified to be an advertiser, what you like about them, what they’re doing right, short interview, etc.
Loved your son’s song, hope there will be more in the future. Really hope you will consider starting a listeners/readers gallery for Mrs. Beaton a la Grumperina.
Have tried to track down Kathryn Alexander’s fingerless gloves…just wanted to see a pic of the wonderful colors. But Interweave Knits doesn’t seem to find a Fall of 2001 with her name in it? Can anyone help?? THXXXX!
I just have to jump on the bandwagon. I signed up for your podcasts on Sunday (3/5) and have made it a point to listen to everyday. Your voice, the ramblings ( which are completely human ) are refreshing. After just listening to your sons music, I too am waiting for the CD.
But that also made me think about putting your podcasts on CD and selling them. I mean, what yarn store, would not want them. I sure would. Your wit, knowledge, humor an humanity shine through.
I look forward to hearing from you often. And when you go on hiatus, please put up the book or a best of…like chocolate or coffee, I dont want to go through withdrawal…it would not be pretty.
Bests,
DC diva
I keep telling myself that I’ll comment when I catch up with the podcasts! But I know how much I love it when people comment at my site, so I figured I’d just jump in. I downloaded your podcasts onto ITunes a couple of weeks ago, and finally got to listen to a few while cleaning and going through my closet. Then I put on the headphones and listened while I knit. Love your voice, love the music you’vve picked out, love your stories!
I can see the pros and cons of pictures. But I personally would love to see some!
And about taking a break…I would say no, no, no! But you’ve now turned me on to so many other podcasts that it would be OK, and a treat when you came back. I’m looking forward to hearing The Age of Innocence – thanks for telling me about Librivox, cool site. Well, I’m off to listen to the next episode….I’ll be back!
I love the show, but shamefully admit that I’m about a month behind! I hope you still read comments on the older shows.
Here are some thoughts:
1) Love the non-knitting content! I don’t need 100% knitting all the time. Your conversational approach is refreshing. I feel like I’m sitting in your living room.
2) Great music, period.
3) If you need a break, take one. I think we’d all rather you take a much needed breather than suffer a total burn-out and quit altogether. The “best of” idea is a good one.
4) I don’t need pictures, half the fun is just imagining it in my head…like reading a good book! How often have you read a book and then seen the movie, only to comment that the book is so much better (not to say that photos of your sweaters wouldn’t be stunningly GORGEOUS, but, well, did I just put my foot in my mouth?)
Anyway…
4) Keep up the good work, listening to you is a joy.
Thanks!
I love your podcast–you have a terrific voice, you talk about important things, you have great music taste. You know this already, but your son is an amazing musician. I just got an iPod and am knitting under deadline, so I’m catching up on back “issues” in a row, and there’s something about them that is gelling and threatening/promising a major sea change in my life–I don’t know yet what it will look like when it’s different, but the question is worth asking.
Brenda… Loved the show! I am so curious about the guitar your son plays at the end. I play acoustic guitar, not professionally, but I was entranced by the sound, richness and resonance of it. I am really wondering how large the body is… I can’t imagine something like that coming from just one, unassisted instrument. Oh, of course I loved the piece as well… so very beautiful. I hope to hear more of your son on your podcast.
hi brenda!
(i’m going through an argh moment…i wrote a comment and then my wireless decided to cut out and i lost it all…sigh…so here goes it…again…)
a co-worker recently shared your most recent podcast with me and got me hooked! i’ve downloaded all of the episodes and am slowly working through them all…usually i skip through the music to get back to listening to you, but at the end of this episode, i listened to all of zach’s song…it was beautiful! thanks for sharing his music!
z
Your son’s music is fantastic! This was truly the best episode yet. The bradbury quote made me cry on my way into work this morning. And I appreciate your environmental ethic. It’s becomming so common for people to declare themselves environmentalists, but it is still rare to see people who are doing it because they really believe in it.
Thank-you. Again. Hope you’re not sick of hearing from me! At this rate I’ll be caught up in a few weeks. Ohno.
Acquired a MP3 player for Christmas 2007 from DD she downloaded a bunch of your podcasts for me. They have been so interesting and entertaining, and have totally spoiled me for quilting podcasts, quilting is my other passion. I have just listened to Episode 12, which was the best yet! Your essay on the ethics of advertising were an inspiration, and you sounded really emotional about the whole subject. Then there was that stunning piece of guitar by Zach.
Am now listening to no 13 and having a quick giggle. And love Mrs Beeton!!!
I found a Flikr picture of what might be the gloves? Maybe?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lesizmo/3206113643/
Yes! Terri, that is just what they looked like.
I have just found your podcast. I am enjoying listening to you! I am just now in the middle of episode 12 as I have started from the beginning of your series. I really just felt the need to come over here and say, “Thank you.”
Thanks,
Kim
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