A Philosophy of Knitting

Several years ago I discovered a button on someone's blog that led me to Cast-On, a podcast about knitting. This opened my eyes to the world that is podcasting. In case you don't already know, a podcast is just someone with a microphone who produces a show and then puts it on the internet for other people. It is often kind of like a radio show. Podcasts are especially accessible through the apple software iTunes, but most podcasts are also accessible through other means. There are podcasts out there about every imaginable topic, and of course the ones that interest me the most are the ones about knitting. I thought I would write podcast reviews here in my blog on occasion to help spread the word and start conversation.

When I discovered Brenda Dayne's podcast Cast-On I started at the beginning and listened all the way through. Every episode. I liked this podcast from the first listen. It is a structured podcast with different segments such as Today's Sweater and usually an Essay which is sectioned off with music that Brenda picks from the podsafe music network (music that artists put out there that podcasters can freely use with due credit).

The reason, though, that I think I like this podcast so much is because Brenda explores the philosophical side of knitting, the why and the wonderings of the stitches. Indeed, she has said a couple of times that the podcast is actually in the iTunes category of philosophy and not in the arts and crafts category because that is where she feels Cast-On belongs. I enjoy the creativity of the podcast, of how she structures the different elements and of how she fits each podcast into her current theme. And she gives me something to listen to as I knit.

If you are interested in listening to Cast-On I wouldn't start at the beginning, simply because there she is finding her voice, and in the meantime does some complaining. I would urge you to start instead with her series on the muses or to work backwards as some people do.

I'm always interested in discovering new, great podcasts, so if you listen to one you think is just darn tootin' awesome drop me a line, k?