Faery Knitting Podcast

Mother Hildegarde rides again

2009-11-11T12:27:00.001-08:00

Just an FYI for anyone who might be out there and reading - I've had a lot of people tell me that the last episode of the podcast, Mother Hildegarde, wasn't downloading. I finally got off my tush and uploaded it again, and hopefully that'll do it. Please let me know if it doesn't work!

I hope, meanwhile, that you all are having lovely and meaningful lives. Apparently out of nowhere, I have decided to pursue being a large animal vet tech, and am learning to handle horses in order to do this. Crazy, but it's fun, and I think it's working! My 9yo former self, incidentally, surrounded by Marguerite Henry books and Breyer horses, is incandescent with joy. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" asked the teacher. "Jockey," I answered in my writing assignment, against all odds and body types and, um, absolute lack of any physical encounters with horses. So it goes - I'd rather handle them than ride them to victory!

Also appearing in....

2009-04-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

Anyone who's still checking this blog out, don't forget that I've moved all my posting to my other blog, Spinnerin. Now that the podcast is over, following me on Twitter, reading the blog, or chatting with me on Ravelry is the way to find me!

Now on Twitter....

2009-03-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

Okay....Y'all are the best. So many kind and encouraging words that it blows my mind - thank you, thank you.

And - I just got a texting phone. One with a qwerty keyboard, anyway, so thumb-thumbs like me can text easily. So - I will finally be utilizing my Twitter acct, and joining the rest of the civilized world (and, apparently, Stephen Fry). I'm Spinningerin on Twitter, so hey, follow me! I plan frequent goat updates, if that's the fix you'll still be craving. Mwa, mwa (Miss Piggy kisses).

Fare-thee-well and adieu

2009-03-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I've finally decided to end the podcast. I know this may seem sudden - but we've had so much going on this spring that I really don't feel like the podcast is high on the priority list any more. My sister seems to have an auto-immune disease, finances continue tight (but we're afloat, don't worry!), the goat herd and the dairy need more and more of my attention, and to be honest, I'm ready to back off a bit from my technological activities. I do plan to (when things are calmer) use my mike for LibriVox, and might adopt a couple of fairy tale books to record, so my voice will still be out there. I will continue to be on Ravelry and to blog a bit once in a while, and I would welcome any and all communications - the feedback I've had from listeners has made them friends.

MyPodcast.com has surfaced again, apparently, and I hope that folks will be able to continue to listen to the old episodes. I have had so many wonderful people get into contact with me - thank you all so much.

I hope that this ends on a high note, as well - I only wanted to podcast as long as it was fresh, and feel that I can end it now without regretting a loss of, well, Faery-Knitting-ness. I'd rather be a Calvin and Hobbes (if I can be so arrogant as to mention myself in the same sentence with such a work of genius) than a Garfield.

Thanks, y'all, and toodle-loo!

So sorry!

2009-03-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, y'all - as several awesome listeners have told me, MyPodcast.com seems to be up again (waves tiny flag), but I'm not....I'm so sad to say that I'm down with the flu! It's a beast, too. I'm currently feverish and hacking. Plus, I'm not totally happy with that episode, so it needs some work before posting. I hope to be with y'all soon, before MyPodcast.com capsizes again. Must go rest now, then milk goats. Argh!

Stop the presses!

2009-03-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, y'all - my good friend ToadyJoe has just informed me that MyPodcast.com is down for good. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, esp since I'm about to leave for work. I'll get back to y'all!

Some possiblities: find another free service (which doesn't look good, in this economy); pay for service, which I can't afford right now. Soliciting donations? Hm. Not sure if I want to do that.

Please share any thoughts y'all have on this: comment here, or email me at spinningerin(at)hotmail.com, or ravel-mail me (Spinnerin on Ravelry).

Thanks!

Waiting....

2009-03-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

Ironically, I have a new episode recorded for y'all - and the support site is down! Argh! So as soon as MyPodcast.com gets itself up and running again, I plan to upload it, ohboy. (That, y'all, was my homage to John R. Erickson's Hank the Cowdog books - if confused, check out Rip and Snort the coyotes.)

Coming soon

2009-02-27T10:34:00.001-08:00

Huzzah - we got the Mac! Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! I have to learn GarageBand, but Mom surprised me with a new mike, and I hope to have a new episode out as early as next week! Yay! I've really missed sharing with y'all. I shall get to work, and learn the program, and find a tale as well.

Meanwhile, check this book out. I LOVED it - read it cover to cover in a very short time. She verbalizes my feelings for Narnia, plus the drawbacks, plus much, much more, and so much more beautifully and critically than I ever could.

And in case you don't read my other blog, here's a picture of baby Chloe for you! Sesi popped her out on Wednesday, no problems.

Until the Podcast resumes....

2009-02-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

What do y'all think about a slightly different option for the podcast, until I'm up and running again? My friend Becky had a neat idea for the Ravelry group: I pick a fairy tale that's been recorded on LibriVox, we all listen to it, and then discuss! Not all of y'all are on Ravelry, I know, and I hereby invite you to join if you like. If you'd prefer, though, I could just assign a tale, and anyone who likes to can comment here on the blog. I know it's not quite the same, but this crazy spring, with all the weirdness, it's going to be all I can do! The chances of a new computer entering our home by or during summer, BTW, look pretty good.

The first tale is "The White Cat" from Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book. I used to tell this one to my sister when she was tiny and she absolutely adored it. I haven't recorded it as a podcast since it's such a long tale, so this is the perfect opportunity. The audiobook is available here (be sure to download track number 16), the text here, and a Wikipedia entry on the basic tale is here.

Talk amongst yourselves!

picture from cshym74's photostream on Flickr

Talk amongst yourselves....

2009-01-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

I've just posted to my Spinnerin blog, which will be my main blogging home during this hiatus. Again, I'm so sorry that I'm taking this break, though I think it is, in the end, a good thing. I do plan to keep everything open with Blogger and MyPodcast.com, as much as I can, and I do hope to return. The main home PC officially died today, and it remains to be seen how well the laptop will substitute until, God willing, we buy a new computer. At the moment, I'm using a library computer.

Until I return, there are still so many wonderful podcasts out there, including one I just rediscovered, CraftyPod. I say re, since I'd tried it before, and was evidently missing a few screws, since I didn't immediately adore it. I adore it now - Sister Diane is fabulous, and I suddenly have a zillion sites I want to visit, as, um, my ability to do so is reduced. Mr. Murphy is always with us. Anyway, please check her out, and check out LibriVox, which continues to be an international treasure. Sign up for the samplers, if nothing else.

And my time's almost up, so sayonara for now!

Podcast on hold

2009-01-23T06:10:00.001-08:00

Hey, y'all - I'm sorry to say that I'm going to be temporarily suspending the podcast. We're having huge computer issues right now, and might be scaling back our activities to a smaller, less powerful computer. I'm just not sure whether I'll be able to record for some time, and I'm bummed about it! Meanwhile, please keep checking back with me, in case I have more news or am able to get back on, and if you're on Ravelry, be sure to drop me a line (I'm Spinnerin) or make a comment in the Faery Knitting group. Otherwise, you can comment on this blog or email me at spinningerin(at)hotmail.com. Best wishes to you all, and keep reading fairy tales!

Episode 24

2009-01-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

From Howard Pyle's The Wonder Clock: "Mother Hildegarde"

A little bit of psychoanalytical perspective on the concept of the "forbidden room"

Lion Brand's Wool Stainless Steel yarn. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card

Posset and Comfit: William Makepeace Thackeray's "The Rose and The Ring" - ebook here.

Theme: "Bah Hamburg" by Junction Pool, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network

Happy Hogswatch!

2008-12-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

Be sure to leave out a pork pie and a glass of sherry for the Hogfather - and don't forget to stick a robin on all your cards.

Christmas stories

2008-12-20T10:03:00.001-08:00

If you need an audio antidote to going mad this Christmas, or a way to enable some overactive holiday spirit, check this out: last year's LibriVox Christmas Short Works Collection. Enjoy, and breathe!

Quick - to the Podcast-Mobile!

2008-12-17T08:45:00.001-08:00

This will only be good for the day, so quick, podcast/knit/Anglophiles - check out today's BBC Woman's Hour podcast. The interview with Sir Michael Parkinson is fantastic - his mom was a Knitter - a real one! Either click on the link, or input "BBC Woman's Hour" into the search field of your podwrangler of choice.

Jennie the Potter rocks!

2008-12-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

My gorgeoso alpaca mug. This woman is amazing.

Episode 23

2008-12-11T15:41:00.000-08:00

"The Magic Fish-bone" by Charles Dickens; nice picturebook version, and the delicious book in which I found the tale first. It was originally published in his Holiday Romance, complete text here.

Lovely holiday decor/fairy tale/recipe book (see if your library has it): A Fairy Tale Christmas

Free patterns that are ideal for small gifties or holiday ornaments: Owlets, a Christmas Pudding ornament, Candy Canes, Easter Honey Bunny, Calorimetry.

New Winter 08 Knitty! Crochet article for those of y'all who want to but haven't.

Utter fabulousness: Jennie the Potter.

Lydia's project: join up to start the Basics program!

Podcasts:

Knitter with Critters podcast

Stitches in Time podcast

CraftLit: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are on their way.

The Tubridy Show on RTE

Manic Purl Podcast

Posset and Comfit: Beatrix Potter downloadable Advent calendar. I know it's late - but it's so yummy!

Whaddya think: the official Faery Knitting Poems by Heart challenge. Instead of (or in addition to, if you must) silly New Year's resolutions that we break if we want to anyway, how about memorizing a poem? Record yourself at 128 kps and send it to me! I'll work out more details later, but I love the idea of playing recordings of us reciting memorized works. Think about it. It must be public domain and fairly sanitary, but I'm esp. interested in fairy tale things. Go read yourself some W. B. Yeats. My inspiration came via BBC Woman's Hour.

Nod to the season: "Chiron Beta Prime" by Jonathan Coulton, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network

Vote vote vote like a little baby stoat!

2008-12-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

(Full disclosure: I stole that line from Cute Overload!)

So, how do y'all feel about longer tales, broken up into several episodes? I have my eye on a favorite literary tale, based on a zillion fairy tale elements, but I don't want to go too far from the original premise of the podcast. I will still be reading single tales as well, but I want to find out what y'all think. It looks like I can only fit one more episode in before the new year, so the poll is to determine the story I have lined up for January. Please do vote (in the poll in the right hand sidebar) and let me know!

The angoras are neutered and hanging with the dairy does, but they're feeling very very sorry for themselves, and currently think of me as a cheery axe-murderer. Poor guys - hopefully they'll be coming around soon - in fact, since I'm going to (Lord willing) shear them in January, they'd better. Yikes.

I'm making holiday gifts like mad - societal and economic ills have that effect on me, I guess (return to chintz!) - and all is well here at the Casa de Faery Knitting. I'm so thankful for our animals and my dad's (so far) secure job - this is about to be a rough economic time. In that spirit, please take time during your crafting to think about the blessing of making things with your hands - I think that America is about to find out how far our society has gotten from things that are real.

Angora pics!

2008-11-23T14:16:00.001-08:00

Quick, click over to my other blog!

Episode 22

2008-11-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

This is a non-fairy tale episode - if you only listen for the story, this one's not for you. I already have the next tale picked out for the not-the-Christmas-one episode, so au revoir till then.

I've already posted on my Spinnerin blog on the Kid'N'Ewe fiber festival, so here's the link for the vendors and people I visited and hung out with. Just wanted to chat a bit!

The song is the Coventry Carol, a very old song indeed, performed by Rich Palmer, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network.

Angora goat image from the Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Fair website.

Episode 21

2008-11-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

"Aunt Susanna's Thanksgiving Dinner" by L. M. Montgomery

A fantastic source of materials on L. M. Montgomery

Where I bought the pattern for my first sweater!

The fantastic knitting designer, Mistress Sally Pointer

Kai Ranch, with a chapter in Shear Spirit

Simple stitch markers

Posset and Comfit: The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket, who writes the delightful yarnstorm blog.

Closing tune: "Autumn Leaves" as recorded by Jack Jezzro, courtesy of Podsafe Music Network, as is the theme song, "Bah Hamburg" by Junction Pool.

I'm afraid in my hurry I left off my friend Lee's request for people to join her in the TKGA's Basics course. Here is her blog post on the subject. If you're interested in taking this excellent course with other knitters as support and back-up, this is a great opportunity!

Episode 20

2008-10-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

Oops - made mistakes on the first and second uploads. Please re-download and give it another go.

The last part of Andersen's "The Snow Queen" - yay!

Lapland?

What's a haberdine?

Whole milk ricotta - it does a body good. Here's a recipe, here's Ricki Carroll's kit for mozzarella and ricotta, and here are some things that Lynne Rossetto Kasper likes to do with ricotta. And it's great for standing with the fridge door open and eating it out of a container, too. A caveat on cheese-making: don't use UHP milk - ultra-high-temperature-pasteurized. No clabber will result, no matter what you do. Try to use local - raw, if possible. Read labels carefully, and interrogate your vendor. Also, if you want to make queso blanco, I left something out - use 1/4 c apple cider vinegar to 1/2 gallon milk, not a whole gallon like in the ricotta recipe.

Our winner - yay, Squiblet!

Heartsease

The Princess and the Goblin

Flame tamer

Henry V

Kid'N'Ewe

email address for Wendy's finishing party on Yahoo

And the Posset and Comfit: the awesomest Internet radio station ever

Until I fix it - here's the text that's missing:

"You are a fine fellow for tramping about," said she
to little Kay; "I should like to know, faith, if you
deserve that one should run from one
end of the world to the other for your sake?"

But Gerda patted her cheeks, and inquired for the
Prince and Princess.

"They are gone abroad," said the other.

"But the Raven?" asked little Gerda.

"Oh! The Raven is dead," she answered. "His tame
sweetheart is a widow, and wears a bit of black worste
round her leg; she laments most
piteously, but it's all mere talk and stuff!
Now tell me what you've
been doing and how you managed to catch him."

And Gerda and Kay both told their story.

And "Schnipp-schnapp-schnurre-basselurre," said
the robber maiden; and she took the hands of each,
and promised that if she should some day
pass through the town where they lived, she would
come and visit them; and then away she rode. Kay
and Gerda took each other's hand: it was
lovely spring weather, with abundance of flowers
and of verdure. The church-bells rang, and the
children recognised the high towers, and the
large town; it was that in which they dwelt. They
entered and hastened up to their grandmother's room,
where everything was standing as formerly. The clock
said "tick! tack!" and the finger moved round; but
as they entered, they remarked that they were now grown up.

Episode 19

2008-10-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

(this pic really should trade with last week's)

Continuing with "The Snow Queen"....

Ronia the Robber's Daughter

Diana Wynne Jones and the delightful cover of the UK edition of The Game (it's even better IRL - it sparkles!)

Girlsown group

Boarding school book list

"Hi, I'm Dr. Bunsen Honeydew!" (forgot to mention this, but it's delicious)

Patricia Wrede read-along on Ravelry

Lady Audley's Secret on Librivox

Eden's Outcasts

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Win some of this yarn! Incentive: two winners, of either the Noro Kuryeon or the handspun merino/silk (Louet); deadline is 12 October

Links I forgot at first:

Olga da Polga

Lynne Vogel and her amazing fingerless gloves (remember Spirogyra?)

Hallmark's Alice in Wonderland

Public domain, and apologies

2008-10-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hey, y'all! I'm still planning another Snow Queen installment within the week, so stay tuned.

A listener just requested a story for the podcast, but it was for a specific book, and unfortunately, a recent one. I'm so sorry, but I can't read it to y'all, and I wanted to post on the subject of public domain (check the link for a better definition than I could ever give).

I'm so glad y'all are getting into this, too, and there are so many books I'd like to read, whether fairy tale or commentary. BUT. This would be illegal if they are still copyrighted. Excerpts for reviewing purposes are okay, though some publications and sound files are specifically prohibited even from this, "without prior written permission" from the copyright-holder. Would I be sued if I did it anyway? Maybe - maybe not. But it would be breaking the law. I'm not a psycho about many laws - yes, if I'm the only person at a stop sign, I don't always come to a complete stop before continuing through the intersection. But this law protects ideas - someone's words - and even though if, say, I paid a fee to use it, the someone might not even see it when it was absorbed by their publisher or agent, still, it's not my idea, and someone out there is being kept from benefiting from my usage of their idea. This is not a very clear declaration, I know, but this is why I only use public domain stories.

So where does that leave us? The Gutenberg project, for one - I haven't even begun to mine it for fairy stories I haven't read myself! I'm about to start looking for fall and holiday stories - yay! There are a few stories that I have copyrighted copies of, say, in anthologies, that I might read from because the stories themselves are public domain. I just won't officially read the book to you, capiche? And there are the well-known Dover publications and Shoes Ships and Sealing Wax books, that by their very nature are public domain, and I shall read from them with impunity - because it is legal and okay for me to do so.

What does this keep from us? Oh, say, Patricia Wrede's Snow White and Rose Red (which I still haven't read, darn it!). Jane Yolen's Briar Rose. My favorite translation of Hans Christian Andersen. Yes, I'd love to read these to you - but it would be wrong, even if I didn't get caught.

So. Case closed. If anyone submits a copyrighted book to be read, let it be known, I'm not going to read it. However - there is, like, dude, so much freaking literature that was published more than seventy years ago. Dude.

Okay, that's enough priggishness for today. Go play.

Episode 18

2008-09-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

"The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen: part 1 of 3.

Project Gutenberg's EText (the one I read)

SurLaLune: full text (diff translation), with book links and annotation

A Prairie Home Companion's fabulous send-up. If you click play on the on-site player, you can move the little line that determines where in the show you are, and they give you times for when the skits and songs begin - which is fabulous. Dude, Battlefield Band and Boys of the Lough are on this show, too! Insane! And did I say Wisconsin? I meant Minnesota. Doh. Aw, what the heck - here's the script for the skit.

They return! BBC Radio 4's Friday Night Comedy and "In Our Time"

See Jayne Knit - check this out for fabulous hand-dyed yarns and stitch markers!

Texas Fiber Mill - the roving I got is too good not to get again - next time, though, I'll take BFL fleeces and tussah silk to be blended with the alpaca! All together now: ooooooooo.

Discworld books, in order

Christmas crackers

Theme: "Bah Hamburg" by Junction Pool, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network

Episode 17

2008-09-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

"The Tinder Box", by Hans Christian Andersen

Possums and orangutans! Picture is courtesy of seamless, whose story is read on the podcast - seething with possums!

Galaxy Quest

Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie

Posset and Comfit:
The Adventure of English

Ravelympics finished - and so is the shawl!

2008-08-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Yay! I finished the Box-Lace Shawl for Mom last night around midnight - a mere 7 hours before the closing ceremonies started in Beijing! I totally didn't think I could do it. Rock on.

Episode 16

2008-08-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

"The Master Cat; or, Puss in Boots" from Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book, story suggested by listener Matthew

SurLaLune, once again, with story plus goodies

Good cross-references for the Master Cat

The Wind in the Willows (film)

Ah, Antonio Banderas....

Neolithic cheese- and butter-making article courtesy of intrepid listener KnitKicky

The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman

The incomparable Louis L'Amour

"Thousands Are Sailing" by Mike Hanrahan, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network

Little Women continues on CraftLit

Faery Knitting gets a mention in Let's Knit - woo-hoo, and thanks, Suse-the-slow-knitta, for sharing it!

Possets and Comfits:

The Year of the Goat - I totally recommend this book for anyone interested in goats, whether you want your own or not. After reading it, I immediately bought a copy of Steven Jenkins' Cheese Primer and got even more excited about the experimental and rockin' Welsh cheese I've got aging in my little cooler cave - because they, too, got to goats through being foodies, and now they're major Slow Food movement folks - cool!

And winner of the bookcentive for the animal story drawing: Cathy, with her orangutan tale!

Episode 15

2008-07-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

"Maid Maleen", via the Grimms, via SurLaLune (full text and annotations).

Book of a Thousand Days

Zora Neale Hurston

Imagination sock yarn from KnitPicks!

Spinning Straw into Gold

Listener incentive: Selected Tales by the brothers Grimm. Send me a Ravel message or an email with your animal story to be entered in the drawing!

Possets and Comfits:

Wall-E

Theme: "Bah Hamburg" by Junction Pool, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network

Yay, roving for sale!

2008-07-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

Check it out! Here's Monty, NOT being interested in his fiber.

And here's my darling little Fenchurch, while she was still knock-kneed and crumple-eared, trying to nurse armpits (a common activity, when the babies are new...).

And here is a rather unusual tomato that I found, happy to see me, in my tomato bed.

Roving is here!

2008-07-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

Oh boy oh boy oh boy! The alpaca roving is here, hot off the processor! I hope to have some up for sale in the Etsy shop soon.

Two lovely sets of kids!!!

2008-07-06T10:32:00.001-07:00

Yay, Anabel and Curry both kidded this week - both, oddly, in the afternoon, and both without any complications at all. I was there for both, throughout the deliveries, and it was fantastic. Anabel kidded Monday, 30 June, and had two little does. The first one is Mom's, and Em named her Sushi, and the second is mine, and I'm calling her Fenchurch (two different references). Curry kidded, very patriotically, on the 4th of July, and had two little bucks, one of whom is a lovely dark chestnut (you can really tell that Toffee was the big stud this year), and the other is a nice little black buck. I'll have more kidding videos on my Spinnerin blog, but I wanted to share the news with the podcast crew! Both mothers are doing fine and are being milked out every day (just a little - don't worry, baby tummies are FULL) - they thought I was insane at first, but they're getting used to it.

Episode 14

2008-06-28T14:45:00.001-07:00

"The Six Swans" from Andrew Lang's Yellow Fairy Book (requested by a listener and chosen by poll - I feel SO democratic!). The longer, more maudlin version by Andersen is here.

As always, delicious commentary (and full text again) from SurLaLune.

Spirogyra

Lynne Vogel's Etsy store

Possets and Comfits:

American Dreamer

Reception of Episode 13

2008-06-15T09:42:00.001-07:00

First of all, thank y'all so very much for the groundswell (no other way to describe it) of support and kindness in response to the most recent episode. It's been wonderful and I've just been getting all verklempt over it! Good animal husbandry doesn't always feel normal to a person raised on city dogs, and I appreciate all of you that have sent messages of understanding. I think we're getting a great core listener group here, and it's heady stuff indeed to think of all you right-thinking folks out there - it's an honor to speak to you.

I was asked by a listener (one who's becoming a friend - have I mentioned how cool doing this podcast is?) if I had an Etsy shop yet. My answer was no - but after an afternoon of deep consideration and five minutes of sign-on, it's Yes! Right now I think it'll just be a destashing tool and a place to sell dyed roving (my spinning stash is INSANE), but eventually I want to sell small, limited-edition quantities of alpaca/wool spinning batts, alpaca/wool yarns, possibly some felt sheets, and my own hand-knit shawls. Again, this is just a future idea - but I do have two lots of roving that I'm putting up for sale in a few minutes. Thanks, Lee - great idea.

Meanwhile, how about some WIPs? I have my current main project up on my Spinnerin blog, but here are a few other things: two triangular shawls, one for me and one for Mom. Yes, there's another major shawl on the needles for Mom right now, but with all the stress we've been undergoing lately, I've found garter stitch so incredibly comforting. This first one is just a simple triangular shawl cast on from the center top with four yarn-overs every other row, so you just knit till you run out of yarn. I think it's going to use up all of the rest of that Romney fleece I processed myself, and Mom is thrilled. It was a fantastic project, and I'm so thankful for it; I learned so much about spinning and wool-processing. It's a little rough for next to the skin, but not too rough for an outer shawl. Lovely - surprisingly strokable.

This one is what I've finally settled on for my treasured and super-yummy Sea Silk (Mermaid colorway): the Garter Lace Shawl from Martha Waterman's fantastic book on lace shawls. Plenty of garter stitch, knit-till-you-run-out-of-yarn, and already the delicious drape is showing up, small though the WIP is. Wow. Go and get you some of this yarn, but don't ask me what to knit with it - gosh knows it's taken me forever to decide.

I just thought it was time for some chattiness - I was going to be all cool and sneaky and pop in a bonus episode this weekend, but after I damaged my first mike, the replacement I got was all wrong, and now I'm waiting for a new and better choice that might be ideal, if it lives up to its description. We'll see, but hopefully the fortnightly episode thing will still happen.

Toodles!

Episode 13

2008-06-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

This was a very hard episode to record, y'all - after the tale/tail, of course. I don't feel, however, that I can continue to podcast about the goats without laying down the groundwork on kids, and how we're dealing with them. If this turns you away from the podcast, that's OK. It's hard for us, as well, and I understand. This is, however, a closed subject now, and if anyone asks, uh, what happened to part of that litter, well, we'll refer them back to Episode 13 (appropriate, really!). I don't want to talk about this on the podcast again.

Soup From a Sausage Skewer, however, is great fun. Thanks, Mr. Andersen!

Thanks also to Gaidig for corrections on spinning wheels.

Miss Bianca - such a poetess!

The delicious, the ineffable CraftLit!

Farmer Boy

An American Tale

The Shepherd's Rug

Small Scale Goatkeeping

And our milkhouse winner: Lydia, with "Udder Sanctuary!" Yay!

Theme: "Bah Hamburg" by Junction Pool, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network

Latest video of baby goats!

2008-06-07T13:46:00.001-07:00

ARGH!

2008-06-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hoping to upload soon, y'all - I'm struggling again. Sorry!

technologically crippled,
E

Hiccup

2008-05-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

A listener just gave me a heads-up on the episodes not downloading from iTunes, and sure enough, I just tried to re-download them, and one of the last three didn't load. Fear not - this is, hopefully, just one of the inconveniences of a free podcast server, and I've had problems with their site before - and then everything worked again. So hopefully it'll be all fixed in 24 hrs; if not, I'll see if I can get ahold of somebody.

Episode 12

2008-05-09T17:10:00.003-07:00

Baby goats, baby goats! Behold Nougat.

And Blossom.

And both of them together, indulging in the delights of sleeping in a hay rack! Aaaah, sensory overload!

Back to our regularly scheduled programming:

"The Elfin Hill" by Hans Christian Andersen (link courtesy of Archergal - thanks!)

Yum, Cranford!!! Gaskell for everyone. Sure, this is airing after Episode 2, but who's counting....

Isn't this just the most gorgeous poster ever?

Am SO about to knit me some Stackable Cats....

Kind mentions on Cast On and CraftLit - check out the latter if you're craving some Little Women; I certainly have been lately.

Our winners! For the bean seeds: the boogeymanswife and Kendal Lochowski (yes, I bought a second packet because y'all are all so awesome!); for Celtic Fairy Tales: Jessica; for Indian Fairy Tales: CTJen . Congratulations, y'all, and please send me your contact info!

The next incentive: send me a great name for my new milkhouse, and you'll enter a drawing for a nice, clean used copy of this book (though the cover is different). Email me with it, or put it in the comments, or message me on Ravelry (remember, I'm Spinnerin there). Yay, isn't this fun?

And the theme music (so far the listeners' choice) is, again, "Bah Hamburg" by Junction Pool from the Podsafe Music Network.

Sesame's kids are here!

2008-04-27T16:29:00.001-07:00

Check out my Spinnerin blog for video! Yay!

Bookcentive and seedcentive

2008-04-23T14:17:00.000-07:00

The drawings for the two Jacobs book (and I'm loving the way people are incorporating the word in their posts and emails) and for the pole bean seeds for knitting class tips will be closed Friday, 25 April, FYI. Unless I say specifically (and with my memory, hmm, I probably won't), these things go for a week. Which is weird, since I podcast every two, but that's just the way it goes.

Meanwhile, here's poor dear Teddy being shorn - oh, pathetalpaca!

Episode 11

2008-04-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

"Mr Fox", from English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

Bookcentives! For this contest, to win a used copy of either Indian Fairy Tales or Celtic Fairy Tales, both by Joseph Jacobs (and yeah, only if you want used copies; I know there are people icked out by such things), comment on this entry (or else on the podcast site) and use the word "Jacobs". Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

For full text, SurLaLune has come through again for us, as well as providing a stunning CafePress shop at which, yes, I've just made a purchase! If you haven't already, check this fantastic website out - I could spend hours there.

Also, here is the incomparable Terri Windling on the Bluebeard tale. Do read this article if you're interested in the larger ramifications of the story and its variants.

The Way of Duty

Good Wives

Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club - okay, so it's $16 now. Still a deal and a half.

Growing pole beans - you, too, can do so, if you'll please please please give me your teaching-folks-to-knit tips!

Christian apologetics and Episode 4

2008-04-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

Religion warning: if you're not into reading about what I personally believe, don't read this! Cool your heels and wait for the next episode, y'all.

I'm blogging, weirdly enough, about this because a listener had some issues with my statement, in refc to C.S. Lewis, that I'm against Christian apologetics. I don't think I want to address this in the podcast because that's not the main subject, though I hit it, as I do many things, glancingly as I pass through the kaleidoscope that is the fairy/faery tale.

I'm linking to Julie's blog here.

I actually agree with many of Julie's points, but I would say this: there is a difference between "intellectual" Christianity (of which, like it or not, C.S. Lewis was a proponent) and being ready to give a defense for the hope that is within you. If Jesus tells you to tell someone something, you darn well better do so. Unfortunately, most Christians who "witness" or "evangelize," or at least the ones I've met in a lifetime of church people (Dad's been ordained in two denominations) are just very very scared people hitting others on the heads with Bibles.

Romans 1 tells us that we have enough evidence in the skies to believe in Jesus, the only Truth. If this is true, then why worry about explaining Jesus? He saves, we don't. In the example given by Julie, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, the whole point of the story was that Philip was brought to the guy, literally. He was given just what to say to open the guy's heart, and uh, guess who gave it to him? Uh, yeah. The Father, through Jesus. Not Philip, smart as a whip and ready to convert anything that moves. That was the whole point with the disciples; they were screw-ups, not from the upper echelon of any society, and it was incredible that they could speak with such fluency to all comers about Jesus. They didn't come up with it themselves.

Jesus told His disciples never to worry when they were brought before rulers, etc., because they'd be given exactly what to say in the hour that they needed it. Doesn't that sound like He's in charge, not the believer? And since His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts, doesn't that sound like He knows best how to speak to people, not us? This is the God of the universe we're talking about here, not the local chem prof. Isaiah clearly tells us, we don't get Him. If we don't, why pretend we can explain Him?

Conversely, if Jesus tells me to say something about Him to someone, I should and, Lord willing, will. But if I'm not told....I am not anyone's Holy Spirit. I do not get to choose what will open their heart to Jesus. If I choose, it won't. And if I batter them with argument, uh, do you really think that will convince them? They may say it does, to shut me up. Hm, sounds like most "evangelistic" ventures. True evangelism is saying what Jesus says to, when he says it, and shutting up when He doesn't.

So, I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. I don't need apologetics, just as I don't need a God I get, or can explain. My God is bigger than human wisdom, and He doesn't need my help. He desires my obedience. God forbid that, screw-up as I am, I could understand Him. Lord willing, I'll give Him the obedience He asks for, in silence and in speech.

This is now a closed subject. No more discussion, at least from my end.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

Are alpacas REALLY that small?

2008-04-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hey, check out my regular blog for the videos I took on my new Flip of the alpacas being shorn - awwwwwww. Poor little guys - and I do mean little....

Addendum

2008-04-06T16:56:00.000-07:00

Oops, left off several links, one to the Mermaid rose.

Also, here is the colorway of Noro Taiyo that I adore and that Allison at Gauge was knitting.

Episode 10

2008-04-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

"The Twelve Huntsmen" and "Spindle Shuttle and Needle" from The Green Fairy Book (do check the link out - e-book alert!)

The Yarn Shop in Columbus and Pickerington, Ohio

Gauge Knits in Austin, Texas

My new skeins of Sublime Yarn

Sea Wool sock yarn

Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl

The Secret Country by Pamela Dean

Knitalong - want it, desire it, get it!

Our winners: S and Lyndsey-Jane - yay! Message me, y'all!

Theme Music: "Skullcrusher Mountain" by Jonathan Coulton via the Podsafe Music Network

Yarncentive closed

2008-03-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, y'all - I'll be drawing for names now!

BTW, thanks to Lyndsey-Jane/BagPuss, we now have a Ravelry group - yay! It's called Faery Knitting, o' course - feel free to join, you crazy knitters. If you're not on Ravelry, don't sweat it - it's just a useful tool (like a crochet hook), but not vital (God bless extra double pointed needles).

Incentive deadline

2008-03-24T06:23:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I didn't set a deadline for the yarncentive. How about a week from Easter - you have until March 30 to comment on Episode 9's entry to be entered for the drawings.

Already getting some great responses - thanks, y'all!

Dial tone....

2008-03-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, sportsfans - uh, faery-fans - we should have the two (count 'em, two) episodes in the can up on Saturday or Sunday - I'm working through Audacity/MyPodcast.com weirdness with a tech and we'll see if I can figure out what's wrong with my formatting.

Meanwhile, prepare yourself for an incentive. Yes. Au revior!

Episode 9

2008-03-18T16:41:00.001-07:00

The prizes for commenting and telling Erin that yes, you are okay with less analysis (ha!). Seriously, two fairy tales and talk about ME, or one fairy tale plus a commentary plus talk about ME (could there be a common thread here...)? Answer, and you'll be in a drawing for two sets of two skeins of Muench Touch Me, colors 3604 (green) and 3640 (purple) -- unless you win and you hate Touch Me, in which case we'll talk. You comment, I'll draw two names and send those babies to you.

Also, see pics of the yarn I've spun and the yarn I've dyed and spun - Black Magic Woman and merino/BFL/silk dyed with Cushing's Wood Rose and Taupe colors.

An important addendum: I said in today's podcast that Madame Leprince de Beaumont was the prince for whom the story was written: not so. She was the authoress, and wrote for the French court. I'm so sorry about this; though I don't pretend to be a scholar, I don't wish to mislead, either. Please accept my humble apologies.

Episode 8

2008-03-14T06:44:00.001-07:00

In this episode, Erin is a little zoned. Please forgive her - she wanted to get another episode out, and couldn't until, uh, 11 at night. Which, now that she is an adult, is Late.

She did, however, forget to tell you what scurs are. Here you go; it's about halfway down.

The unbelievable music of Jonathan Coulton - golly, he's at SXSW right now! Just 42 miles away! Hmm, I wonder if he'll be shopping at the Austin Whole Foods I'll be visiting this afternoon....Not likely, since it's on the north side of town. Ah well. Anyway, got my fave tune of all time ("Skullcrusher Mountain") at the Podsafe Music Network, o' course.

"Snow White and Rose Red" from Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book.

Stash and Burn

Unfortunately, I haven't yet read this book and I foolishly didn't mention it (I forgot). Any version by Patricia Wrede is on my Must Read list. I want to so badly, but I'm on a bit of a book-buying diet. (later: uh, just ordered it. Oh well.)

Star milkers - two links.

Handmaiden Sea Silk - yum!

The Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf

Ooh, Guinevere from Wrap Style!

Baby tomato plants!

Delay again

2008-03-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry I'm so late again - this last week was utter madness (though not Utter Pradesh). However - everyone (all 10 goats and 3 alpacas) now has had their feet trimmed and the final two alpacas (Teddy and Ume) are now gelded, too, so we're good to go there - and Mom and I removed scurs. And to find out what those are, you'll just have to listen to the next episode.

Plus my sister had her band contest, and my work exploded....Life, however, goes on, and despite my struggles with our septic system and the fact that I must must must trim alpaca teeth tomorrow (with a Dremel! Yes! she laughs hollowly), I hope to record by the end of the week. I'm still wavering between several candidates for our Tale, so all the fun is still before me. Do weigh in on the latest poll - I'm interested in what y'all think.

Episode 7

2008-02-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Online version of "The Goose Girl" from the Brothers Grimm

Wikipedia’s entry

The illustrations: the black and white Walter Crane version is lovely - rather Morrisian. This sepia-toned Rackham sketch is not my favorite of his, but good nonetheless. The Pogany one at the bottom, on the other hand, is crazy. Like, Stupefyin' Jones and Curdkin, you know?

A delicious annotated version of the tale at SurLaLune (which should be bookmarked in your browser, if you ask me)

One of my favorite roses

Today's book selections:

Death Comes As Epiphany, The Alehouse Murders, almost anything by D. E. Stevenson, and Chocolate: The Consuming Passion

Episode 6.5: The King of the Land in His Death-Time

2008-02-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

The full text of The Golden Bough - check it out!

"In this sacred grove there grew a certain tree round which at any time of the day, and probably far into the night, a grim figure might be seen to prowl. In his hand he carried a drawn sword, and he kept peering warily about him as if at every instant he expected to be set upon by an enemy. He was a priest and a murderer; and the man for whom he looked was sooner or later to murder him and hold the priesthood in his stead. Such was the rule of the sanctuary."—Preface (Sir James George Frazer)

Episode 6: Tam Lin

2008-02-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

"Tamlane" from Joseph Jacobs' More English Fairy Tales

Click on this for a link to one of the Tam Lin melodies! And a rather goofy site!

Tam Lin by Pamela Dean

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

Today's main source, since it's public domain. I do totally encourage you to check this out in books on folklore that aren't. And hey, go nuts on the Child Ballads. No, evil hand - do NOT try to buy copies! No! (sorry about that - I lose control around primary sources, or at least yummy second ones)

To sain: To make the sign of the cross, to do so over someone, or to bless, to keep from evil influence. As in, "after Alfred partied with his college's arch-rivals, he had to be sained before his frat buddies would let him hang with them again."

Glaive - spear with a blade on one side, or poetic term for sword. Impress your friends with THIS word....Yes, Fred, I feel that the glaive of Damocles is hanging over your head....

An excellent version of Tam Lin that is, alas, copyrighted!

The definitive online source: tam-lin.org

I, Coriander by Sally Gardner - not Tam Lin-related, but a humdinger nonetheless.

A truly scary Tam Lin link . God save us from such things. What on earth is he staring at?

I loved the latest KnitPicks' podcast episode.

P.S. I didn't mention this in the podcast (because I forgot), but a reader had left me a comment in which she reminded me of the excellent free books available online through such awesome sites as gutenberg.org (re: the E. Nesbit books). I totally endorse this - but I prefer books to screens, however fine the electronic device, so I was indeed looking for hardcopy. If you don't have a place in your budget for such things, at least at this time, feel no shame - copy those babies over! I am, I know, ridiculously addicted to the printed word, bound in a binding that still smells of the bookshops of my childhood and the libraries of my youth - as I am addicted to reading in the bath. Snnnnniffff....mmm, bindings.

Episode 5

2008-02-14T12:39:00.000-08:00

"The False Collar" by Hans Christian Andersen

False collar definition (for those of us who don't wear white tie or dress in Victorian period costume, uh, as a man)

If you're impossibly, impractically crafty, or you just want to understand the architecture of the false collar (to better imagine the cad at work, I guess), check out "To Make a False Collar" from Miss Leslie’s Housebook a Manual of Domestic Economy, pub. 1850 .

To wash clothing in the way that led women to the sterility of modern appliances and Gloria Steinem, or just to get cool stuff that's still relevant - or to prepare for the coming anarchy - check out Lehman's.

Check these places for the history of papermaking and rag-and-bone men (not that they'll be there, but the information will).

BookMooch! Yes, give in to the longing, the passion that is the mooch! I'm there as Erin/Spinnerin. Thanks to Lixie of Lixie Knits It for the first time I'd heard of it.

Two fabulous, multiple-volumes-in-one tomes, at quite reasonable prices: 7-in-1 E. Nesbit books, and 12-in-1 Andrew Lang color fairy books! Yes, sportsfans, it's true!

For Robin McKinley's fascinating discussion of the plot of Deerskin, check this out, courtesy of goddess-like listener Heather.

Why am I desperately trying to spend 22 more hours gardening in the community before 15 May? To become one of these.

Mmm, CotLin - just don't forget to break out the hand-lotion. I'm considering it for my First Sweater - the Elise Cardigan from Vintage Knits.

I adore Stash and Burn, and the "Do you want to try..." thread.

Check out this lot of addictive fiber, the source of the wool for, possibly, these.

And I've been enjoying these podcasts lately: Knitty Nora's Knitting Natter (quick, say it five times fast!) and the British Radio Playhouse.

Delay, delay

2008-02-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late putting another episode up - FYI, this is going to be an insane month. I have 26 volunteer hours to stock up on before mid-May to officially be a Master Gardener and this month is my last not-working-every-Saturday-Sunday-Monday until June. I'm also taking my sister's middle school band for three days this week (looooong story - I may get to it in the next episode). And Monty's going to be gelded at the end of the month (never had this done to an alpaca before, but something tells me he's not going to like it). Whine, whine, yup, sorry. I'm hoping to get at least one episode out this month, maybe two - I don't have a routine down yet, but heck, this isn't a house where routines flourish. To have time for something in our home, you don't take Time by the forelock; generally you have to grab him by the scruff of the neck and slam him against a table. Needs must....

So hopefully I'll get to spend a little time with y'all with a good story, oh, say, on Thursday this week.

TTFN!

Up on iTunes!

2008-02-06T07:26:00.000-08:00

Yay! We're on! The picture with the podcast is some Border Leicester lamb I'd spun and dyed a brilliant blue - and let me tell you, the color's the best thing about that yarn, but that's another story....To avoid any weird Huckabee-esque symbolism, that's one of our clothesline posts, on which I have i-bolts for yarn-hanging. Oh boy oh boy!

Pictures will be weird for a while - my computer's down with spyware, so I'm using my sister's (thanks, Em!).

Episode 4

2008-01-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

“East of the Sun and West of the Moon” from Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book

Joseph Campbell's hero's journey: Separation, Initiation, Returned Enlightenment

East of the Sun and West of the Moon/Beauty & the Beast/Cupid and Psyche/The Black Bull of Norroway: Aarne-Thompson type 425A, the search for the lost husband

Crazycool fiber stuff today – carding comb, spinning wheel, and the ell, which was the standard unit of measurement of woollen cloth in medieval Europe

East by Edith Pattou

Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

2-At-a-Time Socks

Jack of Kinrowan by Charles de Lint

Thanks for the shout-out, Meghan! Check out her podcast Stitch It.

Addendum: I'm so sorry - I forgot to put in the link for The Missing Link, a fabulous history of science podcast, recorded right here in lovely Central Texas.

Responses

2008-01-29T07:21:00.000-08:00

I can't even express my gratitude to Dawn for her citation in the Daily Chum - gosh, what a bud! And I'm terribly grateful to Emma of The Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast - what a shock that was, to check out the blog of a favorite podcast and see Faery Knitting!

In response to several neat comments, I have submitted to iTunes and am waiting to be admitted (I screwed up the first submission, had to resubmit, blah blah), and I will have a button as soon as I can. I continually amaze myself with the depths of my untech-iness, and it is a miracle I've come so far. Thanks for the kind words - I'm thrilled that there are others out there who love some of the same things.

Episode 3

2008-01-26T11:53:00.000-08:00

Episode 3: The Happy Family by Hans Christian Andersen

Fabulous music on the Ayepod podcast, especially that of Karine Polwart - I just bought The Fairest Floo'er and it's stunning.

Check out The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales!

Funny how with Andersen we always end up alone in an alley with our hearts broken or else laughing at the bourgeoisie. His stories shaped how I read fairy tales. I haven't come across Erik Christian Haaugard’s translation since my childhood (it’s out of print), but it’s the one that I hear in my mental ear. (BTW, I didn't read from this translation - I used the public domain one at gutenberg.org).

Tam Lin prep: Patricia McKillip's Winter Rose, Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin, and Diana Wynne Jones’ Fire and Hemlock.

Excellence: Cast-On, CraftLit, and LibriVox. Applause, please. Check out the Irish R.M.

I said I'd put a link to "my regular podcast" about Peter - uh, I meant blog. I have no other podcast (and it sounds almost romantic put that way).

Ian Carmichael reads so well (ooh, linkalicious). For Scene-Stealers, Inc., check this out. There is a reason Rachel Herbert doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry.

Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle - yow. John C. Campbell Folk School - yum.

Wind in the Willows beanbag dolls and Bears Get Dressed - I can't seem to add any photos right now, but will do so ASAP.

Addendum: Here are the guys! Ratty, Moley, Badger, and Toad, in all their glory. Any clues, y'all?

Episode 2

2008-01-18T12:45:00.000-08:00

In this episode I read Andrew Lang's Donkeyskin from The Grey Fairy Book, which is part of the Catskin/Deerskin/Cap O' Rushes cycle, which the brilliant kywoolgirl (on delicious Ravelry, on which I am spinnerin) pointed out is a variant of King Lear. I also decry my American accent (nasal Texan, really), in reference to Lixie Knits It's dislike of U.S. speech (I, too, prefer all my audio books to be read by Nadia May and Ian McKellen), but don't worry - her podcast is fabulous and, dare I say it, so is her accent.

I celebrate my new purchase of One Skein Wonders and recent completion of the Union Square Shawl/Poncho, and I promise, I will talk more about knitting, since it's, uh, in the title. I do knit like mad, really, I'm just not Brenda Dayne, okay?

Here's a picture of the latest chevre batch but one, and I get my culture from New England Cheesemaking Supply.

Interested in papal dispensations? Start here and here, but believe me, this is only the tippiest tip of the iceberg. Just read a history of medieval European kingship, and you've got a whirling head and many questions. Suffice it to say, without 'em, the tap-dances of nations would have been different.

Enjoy!

Phlegmella

2008-01-14T19:12:00.001-08:00

Good grief. On listening to the first episode I was floored by the heavy breathing, wild lip-licking, and loud throat-clearing. Uh, sorry about that. My sister just about bust a gut writhing about in hysterical laughter. I think I'll put the mike on my eyebrows or something. I've got some work to do.

Episode one!

2008-01-13T20:54:00.000-08:00

Hi, there! I just (drum roll, please) got a podcast! Yes! And here is the address. I've heard it's easier to run your show notes from Blogger, so here goes. Lord willing I'll be on iTunes one of these days; meanwhile, go to the link above.

In this episode I read "Kate Crackernuts" from Joseph Jacobs' English Fairy Tales, which is, I must remind you, in the public domain, so keep your torts to yourself. I also mention one of my favorite podcasts, The Alternative Kitchen Garden. Please listen again, since I plan on improving (I'd better!).

Share and enjoy (though it almost but doesn't quite taste anything like tea).