Podcasts In Review

The list of knitting and craft related podcasts are growing. As I go through my day caring for my little guys and doing stuff around the house, I often have one on. I've noticed, though, that not all podcasts are created equal. You would think that if someone took the time to launch a show, they must have something worthwhile to say. This is not always so. Here, I review the craft related podcasts I have found so far.

KnitCast, by Marie Irshad. The original knitting podcast. Marie's voice is bright and soothing with a fantastic British accent (I'm a sucker for accents). She travels all over Europe interviewing interesting people about their part in the fiber arts community. I'm not a huge Bliss fan, but her interview with Debbie was well thought out, and it's always interesting to hear about the design process that each designer goes thorough. All in all, I would have to say that this is a great show, and probably my favorite.

CastOn, by Brenda Dayne. I said that KnitCast is probably my favorite only because this one is also vying for that top spot. At first I wasn't sure if I liked Brenda, but halfway through the first show, I felt like we were old friends. It's like having your best knitty friend over for a cup of hot chocolate anytime you want. She gets to pick the tunes, entertained you with her knit related ventures, and has the occasional essay. A good time is had by all. This podcast is designed to be an audio magazine. Very cool idea, and well executed.

Stacia's Place by Stacia. So far, she only has one episode. It's about mushrooms. Didn't really hold my interest, although if I was bored enough, I'd go back and try to listen through it again. Hopefully she'll come up with a fiber related show sometime in the future. I've subscribed so that I'll be the first to know.

ZibCast by Wendy (I think). I can't seem to access the feed, so I can't tell you anything about this one except that it supposedly exists.

unraveled, by Shannon Chower (I think that's her last name). It took me a few minutes to get used to her speech style and accent, but then I started really enjoying it. The show is essentially an audio blog. This is cool, because often I don't get to spend as much time as I would like reading everything in my Bloglines, but I can listen to this while doing something else. Multi-tasking! I love her irreverence. She's funny, although she may not mean to be. She tells of a Christmas knitting project in which she bought all the yarn needed to make afghans for her family, mass produced on a knitting machine. Also, she bought some "crap fun fur" and banged this out on her knitting machine for everyone she knew. She has no shame and tells it like it is. I like this show and will continue to subscribe to her feed.

Secret Knitting, by Daniela. I think that she's Norwegian. Her English is a little halting, which adds to the charm of the show. In each episode she guides you through a pattern verbally. You knit to the sound of her voice, and when you are done, your discover what exactly it was that you were knitting (thus the name "Secret Knitting"). Very fun idea. Unfortunately, with all of my Christmas knitting (which is still not done!) I haven't been able to do this yet, but I plan on making the Secret Lace Socks as soon as possible.

FiberCast by Caroline. Her most recent episode is about raising silk worms. She interviews a silk worm farmer Michael Cook, and it sounds labor intensive but fascinating. I would never want to do it myself (so gross to have worms in the house!) but it made me appreciate silk so much more. Check out Michaels site, WormSpit.com.

CraftyChica by Kathy Cano Murillo. Maybe it's a personal problem. Brenda Dayne likes her. I really didn't "get" this podcast. But then, no one's forcing me to listen. I'll leave this one alone. Listen in if you want to hear all about glitter from someone who sounds like they really like glitter.

Knitting Newscast by Rhonda Bell. The website looks a little dry, but the show notes promise a pretty cool show. I applaud her efforts and motivation to actually start up this podcast, but I think she leaves room for improvement.

There are some other craft related podcasts that I haven't listened to yet, but they don't seem to be very fiber related, so I'm not too interested in them at the moment.

In case anyone has noticed, I'm becoming kind of fascinated with the whole podcasting thing. And I begin to wonder...Would I like to start one too? What would I need for this? Can my computer (an iBook) support it? What kind of mic do I use? Is there even an "in" on my computer for it? How much RSS source code do I really need to know? Do I have the time for any of this? Hmm. I do already have an idea for a show that hasn't been used yet. If anyone has any links that would help me in my quest for more info on this, please share!