Letters
Knit to This: Desert Island Discs
Dear Ann,
This Saturday I’m spending a few hours learning a new knitting technique: brioche stitch. I have no idea how it works. My brain is hurting a little, in a pleasant way.
Keeping me company this weekend is Desert Island Discs, the long-running (since 1942!) BBC Radio 4 program in which a celebrity “castaway” tells the eight records he or she would want to take to a desert island. Excerpts of the music are played, and much is revealed about the castaway’s life in the process. There are a lot of episodes (3090!), and many look enticing. (Judi Dench! Three times!)
I picked Tom Hanks, because he’s such an interesting, genial talker. (He’s also given more thought to being cast away than most people.) Mr. Hanks did not disappoint. Good company, and even a few tears. Big thanks to our friend Jen Arnall-Culliford for the suggestion.
Have a wonderful Saturday. May you know some solitude, perhaps, but not loneliness.
Love,
Kay
I *adore* Desert Island Discs. There are some really great ones available on the site. Recent highlights are Jilly Cooper, Joyce di Donato, the amazing Nicole Farhi, David Nott, Colm Toibin and Chris Hadfield.
I confess that I really didn’t like the Tom Hanks one.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve been a Chris Hadfield fan ever since listening to his book and a Desert Island Discs fan for years and years but have gotten out of the habit of downloading it.
“Genial” is such a prefect adjective for Tom Hanks. One of my favorite funny moments on the “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” radio show was when Hanks told Peter Sagal to “go to Hell!” and Sagal was completely derailed.
Stephan West has a good YouTube tutorial for brioche stitch! Whoever came up with it was a genius, even after using it in West’s “exploration station” I’m still not 100% sure how it works haha
You will have a great time with brioche! I fell in love with Stephan West’s Askews Me Poncho which necessitated learning Brioche. Craftsy has a great brioche class taught by Nancy Marchant which is very good at showing the stitch! I did find brioche a little challenging to “see” and figure out mistakes in – got pretty good at “undoing”! You will love it – and do take a look at the Askews Me Poncho – it’s magnificent!
Brioche! I learned that pretty recently too! I like it but it drives me crazy because it feels like it takes forever to make any progress.
So I met you guys at Rhinebeck (squee!) and Ann asked me what I thought about the website, and I didn’t have much to say, partially because I was completely star-struck and kind of babbling, and partially because I usually see it on my phone because I get the email and follow it to the Daily Letter while I’m on my way to work. Today I finally went to the actual site on a real computer. OMG! Awesome. Love it. I love that there’s separate How To and Project parts so I don’t have to remember which Letter had the link to that thing I didn’t need at the time but really need now, and the way the Contributor pictures are in black-and-white until you mouse over them. (It’s the little things, ya know?)
I learned Brioche stitch this summer for some socks. Even though I’ve been knitting for awhile (ahem), it was tough. Good to stretch our minds now and then.
Here’s the brioche section I just finished on the Westknits MKAL I’m working on using Hazel Knits from the Squad Mitts knit. The colors are Cornflower and Coverall’s. It’s fun to see which colors come next in this fun Mystery Knit.
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Francieos/westknits-mystery-shawl-kal-2016—building-blocks/photos
I discovered ‘Desert Island Discs’ ages ago living abroad with a shortwave radio tuned to BBC World Service (yes, there were shortwave radios and not podcasts). I still listen occasionally, it’s such a treat. I do miss ‘Mastermind’ – which was a nerdy tv quiz show, hosted in those days by Magnus Magnusson, on which one would be tested on their special subject.
So, we could be tested on knitting techniques, perhaps? Enjoy expanding your knitting knowledge! Maybe now in the NE we can put away our summer blankets and clothes?
So, what would be your three albums?
(it’s hard!)
I wonder why I often go the “easy” route? I did the brioche-look:
https://www.purlsoho.com/create/2016/07/18/two-color-cotton-cowl/
Thank you so much for this link. I’d love to learn brioche but right now I don’t have the time. This will work until then. Again, thank you!
I, too, have been learning brioche. I got the basic stitch down just fine, and now am trying to wend my way through some of the beautiful patterns written by Nancy Marchant. It’s REALLY slow going (one project I have restarted at least 5 times) particularly since I have changed over to Portuguese style knitting. It’s a process…
Thank you the new obsession! Desert Island discs is wonderful! I just listened to Mary Berry. A truly delightful woman! Now I have a new thing to enjoy whilst I knit.
Ooh, enjoy! I love DID and have taken to listening to it while running instead of a playlist. I find it the perfect length for my favourite route. They are the most marvellous interviews – somehow talking about music that is meaningful to them opens up emotions in guests that more deliberate questioning might not. Wonderful stuff.
I was a guest on Desert Island discs! But not the BBC version. It was the central Pennsylvania version, which originated on WITF, the Harrisburg NPR station. My husband and I used to listen to it while making dinner on Sunday evenings, and I would often say “They should have me on that program! I’d make a great castaway! I have a lot to say about the music that inspired me throughout my lifetime.” So he suggested me to the host, Ellen Hughes, who thought it was a good idea. (We weren’t exactly celebrities, but we were “of interest,” because we were the ministers of a brand-new, liberal church in a very conservative area.) After the show aired, a woman who heard it got in touch with me wondering if we had gone to the same summer camp, a girls’ camp in Maine that had live classical music twice a week (we had) whcht was a HUGE formative influence in my life. It was really interesting to plan which music I would talk about — thanks for the reminder!
Knitting brings me peace–piece by piece. I loved your “wish” solitude but not loneliness – my husband of fifty years is fighting dementia so your words went straight to the heart–thank you for reaching out to others with such beautiful, heartfelt sentiments-it will be a beautiful fall day to enjoy as I “knit on” . Nancy
Brioche is fun once you get it. Nancy Marchand has a great Craftsy class that tells all well worth the price.
Marchant. I hate spellcheck
I love Desert Island Discs. Have you found Miranda Hart’s episode yet? Dare I say it … SUCH FUN!
This will be my next one to listen too. I love Miranda!
That is what I call awesome news!
Whoa. Just don’t think you can listen or watch any program while you brioche! I took Nancy’s wonderful Craftsy class to learn this stitch, but I still can’t be distracted by anything while doing it. Maybe someday I’ll be able to read my knitting but I have to save it for quiet times.
What a great link. I’ve never heard of this. Judi Dench will be my first stop!
Oooooo. Can’t wait to check this out!
Brioche is on my list of things to learn. I even bought a book! But I may have to take a class, just to force myself to sit down and git ‘er done.
sorry to hijack the comments but i sent an email via the contact us several days ago and there has been no answer.
trying to order the field guide. its very odd. your website acts like i have an account but nothing happens when i login and then try to purchase and i asked to reset the password and dont receive an email.
please email sogalitno @ gmail.com (thats not the account… but i will reply with real info) thanks
have you checked your junk email folder?
bbc radio… ah. its the ONLY radio to which i listen. really. between Radio 3 (music mainly classical), Radio 4 (news, talk and satricial shows) and Radio 4x (radio drama, comedy and mystery) there is such a wealth of talent, as well as great news and satirical shows that you could listen every day all day and never hear it all
THE NEWS QUIZ (and a repeat with the ‘funny bits’ left in)
Just a Minute game show (speak on one topic for a minute with repeating words).
and
comdies and mysteries
as well as The Archers (dont judge me.!)
bbc radio iplayer app in the App Store (iOS and Android) and via website bbcradio.co.uk
great shows to listen while cooking, doing chores and of course knitting.
Your new website, newsletter, contributors, and so on , and so on
Is so fresh and inspired. Love it !
What a great bunch of stuff to listen to. Don’t miss Gloria Steinem!
And Keith Richards—don’t miss him. His musical choices are wonderful, of course.
Glad you found someone nice to listen to. 🙂
Wonderful link! I ordered a kit for a two- color brioche scarf, even though I was clueless about brioche – nothing like jumping in feet first. Thank heavens for YouTube!
Thanks for info on the Desert Island Discs. I listened to the episode with Nadiya Hassian, the winner of the Great British Baking Show. So fun to learn about her. I found I can access these podcasts on Stitcher and add them to my favorites station.
Wow, what a lot of love for DID! I helped to make the website, so I’m feeling a pleasant glow right now 🙂