Hello and welcome to another episode of the KNITSONIK podcast!
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(If you prefer not to use the player, you can download this episode of KNITSONIK directly from here).
This week in the KNITSONIK podcast:
The sounds of fires I have knitted beside, including fires at The Studio in Sussex (you can read about Julia’s work with Wensleydales here); at Rachael’s parents’ house in Cumbria; in the studio in Moks, and in my house here in Reading (also featured on the Sound Diaries website in 2008).
What does your fire sound like? The fire that you knit beside? KNITSONIK wants to know!
I talk also about staying with Brenda, and I share a recording of us playing on Amroth Beach and exploring all the colours and shades and textures to be found there. Here I am recording at Amroth for “A Knitter’s Manifesto“, the album we made together, featuring Brenda’s essays enhanced with my sound recordings and reviewed here.
Then we talk about my maritime socks, made of DK Swaledale, spun at Diamond Fibres, purchased at Prick Your Finger, and inspired by the crunchy-but-soft sound of walking on the sand at Dymchurch beach in Kent.
The blue yarn used with the lovely soft/crunchy Swaledale is Cornish Organic yarn.
Then we move West, to the homeland of my sweetheart; Weymouth and Portland, off the South West Coast. The recordings we hear were created by Joe Stevens and feature crashing waves at Portland and the lovely sound of walking near the sea at Chesil cove.
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These recordings are available to hear on aporee.org, and Joe Stevens has created a beautiful archive about the sounds of the sea, and a wonderful podcast which you can hear here.
Then I talk about how Portland/Weymouth beach walks of joy with Mark reminded me 100% of the Lorna’s Laces variegated yarn colourway, “Seaside”. I made Jaywalkers out of my Lorna’s Laces in “Seaside”.
Then more knitty.com patterns with a maritime theme:
Seatangles
Shipwreck Shawl
Princess Franklin Plaid Collar
I am knitting the last of these (Franklin Habit’s collar) in Renaissance Dyeing yarns, in Mont Canigou; Midi; Maury and Mediterranée. I intend to add accents of Queribus when I get to the ‘weaving’ stage of this pattern but for now it looks like this:
I then discuss an amazing mod which mashes the collar idea up with “Metamorph” by Jeny Staiman. I shall knit a button band + buttons onto the cowl so that I can add twist to it! Jeny is a genius!
Cathy Lane’s beautiful release, “The Hebrides Suite” gets a rave review. I love it. You can find it here.
Finally, we finish by reflecting on the magical experience of walking from Christchurch in Oxford to St. Giles, between 9.45 and 10.30 on a Sunday morning, and hearing bells rung along the route by The Oxford Society of Change Ringers, the Oxford City Branch of Church Bell Ringers, and the automated strikes of bells which mark the passage of time at Tom’s Tower and Carfax. I have been researching the bell-ringing times in Oxford for a realisation of “Of this Parish” by Liminal, which will be presented at the forthcoming Audiograft festival.