Knitting podcasts

Podcasts. The rebel child of a torrid affair between the internet and radio. If pressed I would describe them as 'On Demand' radio and that would be partially correct. Even thought the name 'podcast' has a fruity sound you don't need an iPod to listen to podcasts. Anything that will play an MP3 file or video file, like your computer or MP3 player, will work. I found installing an podcast aggregator, like iTunes or iPodderX, helped me keep all my subscriptions organized. The aggregators go out looking for, and downloading, the new episodes so I don't have to. When I turn on my computer in the morning they scurry about looking for what has been updated since the last time I was on the computer listening and viola' I am good to go. Best of all they are all free! At least for now. Currently my podcast list has everything from the typical BBC/NPR news updates, daily astronomical info-mercials, weekly hour long programs on music (Scottish bands) technology, science, astronomy, a monthly video skit on mixing drinks (gotta love La-La) and now programs on knitting. If you look through the categories of podcasts on one of the podcast aggregators or indexes like: iPodderX not to be confused with.... iPodder PodCast Alley BritCast a podcast aggregator for British podcasts iTunes Podcasting News You can find podcast on just about everything. Some of them are very basic recordings done in the garage all the way to the professional multi-million dollar broadcasting extravaganza, but the variety is most of the fun. But back to the knitting podcasts. So far I have found three each with a different mission and each appealing in their own way. First off lets start with KnitCast! KnitCast is a British knitting podcast hosted by Marie Irshad. Marie meets the designers, bloggers and other members of the knitting community. She recently developed a series of podcast live from a UK knitting show that have been fascinating! Cast-On Hosted by Brenda Dayne an American now living in Wales and making us all tremendously jealous! Brenda includes music, a description of her sweater of the week, interviews, rants (sorry about the Clapotis Brenda) and other bits of wit. Very hip. Secret Knitting A podcast from Germany hosted by Daniela Johannsenova has you casting on and knitting along on a mystery project. There is no telling what you might end up with! There are two other fiber related podcasts that seem to be ready to launch any day now so I will let you know when they appear. If you knit I strongly recommend that you try out these three podcasts, at least once, so you can get a feel for where the knitting community is headed. Podcasts are the aural cousin to blogs which knitters kick out more frequently than swatches! I have started using a aggregator to list all the knitting blogs I like to visit so I don't have to wonder who has updated recently. I use Bloglines so I can access my lists from anywhere. "Well that's the news from Lake Woebegone, where all the women are strong, the men good looking and the children are all above average." or something like that!