More light.

by Brenda Dayne on February 3, 2012

Goethe’s final words were, reportedly, “More light.” During the coldest week we’ve had all winter the sun has given us just that. More light. Old Sol has been occupying that particular angle in the sky that turns the sea into a gilt mirror at the end of the valley; that illuminates the beauty of west Wales like nothing else. Except possibly the light on the other side of the calendar, between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

The business end of the Cast On business has been, to my great annoyance, annoyingly all-absorbing this week and I haven’t really had much time to admire the light. What with the Grand Tour of North America taking shape, P3 2012 plans being hatched, and an arts grant application to complete, I haven’t had so much as a minute to consider the content of this week’s Cast On. Most annoying of all is the shocking lack of knitting happening around here lately, brilliant light not withstanding. With the the exception of one (ONE!) fingerless mitt, nothing of note has been cast on at all in the last seven days. And I can’t even show you the one thing, much less talk about it, because it’s a gift.

I suppose it’s the lack of knitting that is really the crux of the issue. Cast On is, after all, a podcast about knitting, and there is no knitting, quite literally, to speak of today.

Also, there is this:

Yes, that is actual sun, streaming into my living room through the south-facing sliding doors. And those are the animals I am responsible for, soaking up every last ray of it. The view from that room is spectacular today. No matter that it’s a balmy -2C out there, inside the weather is positively sub-tropical.

The thing is, my office is at the north end of the house. The cold, dark, damp, north end of the house. And today it looks like this.

You cannot imagine how much this grieves me. Not that I’m embarrassed by a crafty mess. Not at all, I assure you. It’s just that I can only tolerate this level of craft-induced chaos when I’m actively involved in it. Today, this is no room to podcast in.

My office/studio/craft room/guest room looks like this because I’ve been sewing. A few weeks ago Tonia scored a really great Ercol chair and matching footstool. Unfortunately the cushions looked like this:

Yes, that mangy fringe stuff was stitched into all the seams, sort of like piping. Who decided that was a good look?

Well. We could not live with THAT. Obviously. So I got out the machines and pulled some natural Irish linen from stash, and now the chair and footstool look like this:

Yes. Much better. And SO COMFY. I never want to leave this chair. Even if it means sharing it with one or another or both of my fur babies.

Given a choice of rooms, the glorious winter light, the new book about watercolour that arrived yesterday, the number of delicious knitting projects that could all be cast on today, the new chair, and these guys…

I’m sure you’d make exactly the same choice I have, and you’d do it without apology. Sometimes you just need more light.

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Episode 110: We all fall down

by Brenda Dayne on January 27, 2012

In this episode: How to lose an episode without losing your mind; how to get over the hype; what happened with Damson; falling down, and getting back up again. These are the weighty topics considered today, briefly.

Again, I talked at length about Damson. Soon there will be pictures of me wearing it in many ways.

This week’s Audible pick is the The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

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Music by Amy Steinberg, “Exactly” from the cd Must Be the Moon.

Download Episode 110

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A post is not a podcast.

by Brenda Dayne on January 20, 2012

Maintaining dignity with difficulty.

But I’m afraid it’s all I can do this week.

I was totally up for the podcast today. I’ve been working on it since early this morning. I was pretty close to being done.Then, in one of those completely dim-witted moves that I can’t believe I actually did, I saved over the file. Or rather, I opened a new file, and then “saved as”, effectively replacing the file I’d spent all morning working on with one that had nothing in it. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I watched myself do it, and knew it was not quite right somehow, but hit “save as” anyway.

That’s it for me today, I’m sorry to say. What with the new update to Welsh for Rainbow, I’ve had a fairly full week already. I just don’t have it in me to recreate what I’ve already done today. It’s too depressing to even contemplate. It was a really good show too, maybe even my best show ever, and now you’ll never get to hear it. I’m so sorry.

While I could spend the rest of the day sulking about it, instead I’m going to take the dog for a walk while the weather holds. Then I’ll come home and roast some bananas, because that is my new favorite way of making banana bread. While dessert bakes, I plan to concoct something that includes the cooked chickpeas already in the fridge, plus chorizo and a whole lot of onions and maybe some roasted red peppers. Then I’m going to make some cole slaw to go with it, because a sloppy chickpea chorizo thing needs some crunch to balance it out. And then I’m going to make the most enormous bowl of popcorn, and eat it all by myself while watching the BBC version of Jane Eyre, because that one is best. And then I’ll wash my hands and rip out the edging of the Damson AGAIN. (And THAT is a story, believe you me.)

Next week I’ll tell you all about the Damson, and the new Ercol chair and footstool we picked up this week for £20, and I’ll ponder the damp patch in my living room, and share all the yarn I scored on sale at Colourway, and the Audible book I’ve been listening to this week, and the plans for P3 2012 next October that are already taking shape, and probably lots of other stuff too. Do come back. It’s going to be the best show ever.

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Episode 109: All Art is Beta

by Brenda Dayne on January 13, 2012

In this episode: I mourn the bad end to a really good pair of socks. Alas, poor Uzu. I hardly knew ye at all. Yes, it’s a tragedy, but it might have a happy ending. If your freakishly tiny delicate feet fit my attractively felted Uzu socks, they can be yours. Leave a comment below.

I also reminisce about Chub Creek, my friendship with the boys, and our podcasting salad days. It would be lovely to see the Dink Dolls again. Can you help bring Dave and Gary home?

There’s juicy knitting goodness in the progress of Damson, still on the needles as I ponder right sides and wrong sides and edgings. Oh my.

I finally get my hands on knit, Swirl! Uniquely Flattering, One Piece, One Seam Swirl Jackets, by Sandra MacIver, and my head explodes from the genius. All the sweaters are on Ravelry, of course, but don’t forget to check the projects and see what other knitters have created. Inspiring? Oh, yes.

My Audible pick this week is Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, by Mary Roach. Also recommended, (though read, not listened to) is Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.

My Selfish Knitting Month continues with Lanesplitter Skirt and Claudia Evilla. Are there other great knitted skirts I should know about? Tell me all about them in the comments.

There are also Apologies, but they come last.

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Music by Dave Nachmanoff, Year of the Cat, from the cd Wordless Rhymes.

Download Episode 109

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Episode 108: Stand and stare

by Brenda Dayne on January 6, 2012

In this episode: I swore I wasn’t knitting anyone anything this year, and then I knit seven gifts. Why do I do this every year? I have my reasons, and it turns out they’re good ones. I had a minor shawl issue this week, and managed to sort it, and I tell you how I did that in an extremely geeky way. Seriously, it’s fascinating. Unless you’ve never in our life knit a top down shawl. But hang in there through the geeky bits anyway. After this podcast you’ll want to re-examine your shawl-less life, and make some changes there. I’m pretty sure about that.

Speaking of shawls, I was stroking this one the whole the time I was podcasting. Wait. That sounds slightly creepy. But if you saw the yarn, you’d totally understand my obsession.

The holiday knitting round up can be seen in its (almost) entirety here. (I feel an obligation to state that you need a Ravelry account to view this page, although who doesn’t know this?) Everything from the Fibonacci hat to the latest pyjama socks have been recently added. The only thing missing is the bear, but Eve has promised me photos this week.

PS: The bear was fun. I wish I had an excuse to knit another one.

Selfish knitting month begins! Tell me all about your selfish projects. Remember, imaginary knitting counts!

The latest edition of Welsh for Rainbow will be available from 7 January. (I had hoped for today, but the podcast ate up more of the afternoon than I’d planned.)

Gerald made a video! About the Artist’s Edition! Go look. He’s adorable.

This week’s audible pick is The Giver, by Lois Lowry. Click that big logo just below to sign up.

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Music by Sarah Bareilles (with Ingrid Michealson), Winter Song, from the cd Winter Songs.

Download Episode 108

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