Stitching & Listening

I've been a bit obsessed with my latest quilt. It's made  from my hand-dyed cotton, so it includes all my favorite colors. The main panel was printed with a real fern.

I'm hand-quilting it with a Kantha/Boro stitch, a process that is very relaxing. Meditative, even. Which makes it perfect for listening time.

I've mentioned some of my favorite podcasts in the past: The Daily, On the Media, Post Reports, and Trump Inc.

I wanted to share a few of my newer finds:

• Throughline: Great history podcast from NPR. They cover a variety of subjects from conspiracy theories in American history to a look at the Kurds. As entertaining as it is informative.
• Slow Burn: I loved loved loved the season on Watergate. The season on Bill Clinton was good, and the new season on David Duke is excellent!
• Unfinished: Deep South: A truly fascinating investigation into the 1954 murder of Isadore Banks, a successful African-American, in Arkansas.
• Thunder Bay: This rundown city north of Minnesota is the site of an uncanny number of First Peoples teen deaths. Turns out that Canada hasn't really made peace with their history of oppressing native peoples.
• An Oral History of The Office. I am addicted to The Office. Its theme song is my ringtone. No romance will ever be more moving than the one between Jim and Pam. So far, there is only one episode out, but it is really good. If you like The Office, this is a smart history of the most-streamed show ever.

I'm always looking for good podcasts. What do you like?

Listening While Crafting

Few things have enhanced my knitting mojo as much as podcasts and audiobooks. I can't be the only one! Only a few of my friends knit, so I appreciate the digital company. I'm going to share some of my favorites, and please share yours in your comments.

My Free Your Fade is coming along. Those bright cranberry stripes will be balanced eventually by bright blue stripes.

Over the weekend, I listened to the entire 10 episodes of Slow Burn, a Slate podcast. The first season focuses on the Watergate scandal, and it gave me hope. The GOP was reluctant to give up on Nixon, but eventually it did. If you can't get enough of politics, I also recommend Trumpcast and Trump Inc.

The Knit Circus yarn is so much fun to work with.

Another one-season podcast that is very good is the New York Times' Caliphate, which follows a Canadian man who joined ISIS. I will warn you that this one has some serious violence. And I love everything that has been done on Embedded, an NPR spinoff that has looked into Trump's businesses and explored the situation in America's coal country.

I have to also mention S-Town from This American Life. This one starts out a bit slow, but it develops into quite a story. Missing Richard Simmons is entertaining, too.

This is a scrappy hat. It was supposed to be a stash-buster, but it didn't use up much yarn. I think I need to find a scrappy sweater!

I listen to a few podcasts on a regular basis:

• On Point, from WBUR
• On the Media, with Brooke Gladstone
• This American Life
• The Daily, from the New York Times

Nagi likes a good nap on a hot afternoon.

Some excellent audiobooks I've listened to in the past few months:

• An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones. This is a stunning debut about a young, affluent African-American couple and what happens when the husband is imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.
• Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann. This book details the mysterious murders of wealthy Osage tribe members in the 1920s, as well as the roots of the FBI.
• Prairie Fires, by Caroline Fraser. I know I mentioned this before, but I have to sing its praises one more time. This is a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder that also tells the story of the settling of the Great Plains. It is as riveting as any novel.

You can find any of the podcasts by googling them or in the Apple Store. 

Do share your favorite listens!