Vickie Howell is one busy woman. Not only does she have a new book out, Knit Aid, she's also set to launch the second season of her podcast, Craft, Rock, Listen beginning Thursday, May 22.

The podcast is a lot of fun and often includes interviews with celebrities you might not have known were crafty as well as many other wildly creative and talented people.

The book is a quick reference guide to knitting basics and provides help with things like how to do the Kitchener stitch or make a buttonhole in a reference small enough to fit in any knitting bag. It's also got a very cool built-in gauge ruler and needle gauge, knitter's graph paper you can copy, a low price tag and a promise that part of the proceeds will benefit the Red Cross. How cool is that?

Some people are really handy and can actually read a book while they knit (sometimes I can do that, too, it depends on the book). But a much better plan if you want to read and knit at the same time is to listen to audiobooks while you're knitting.

A great confluence of knitting and reading happens with Knitting Out Loud, a knitting audiobook publishing company based in Maine.

The company has about a half dozen audiobooks, ranging from Stitch'N Bitch to No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting. While the audio versions of these books don't contain any patterns and all are abridged, they're still a lot of fun to listen to while knitting or doing anything else, for that matter.

You just might even pick up a new technique or a new respect for the craft and an understanding of the amazing history and knitters who came before us.

I don't think it's just me who is nearly always multitasking when knitting. Much as I love knitting, sometimes I feel a little strange when I'm only knitting, and much prefer knitting while watching television, reading or talking with friends.

This week I'd like to know what you do while you're knitting. Are you one of those people who knits at traffic lights? Or do you find knitting quite enough to pay attention to at one time? Let us know, and feel free to share any multitasking stories (good or bad) in the comments.

This is one of those checkmark polls, so you can mark all the answers that apply to you, or just the ones you do most often, if you like.

Classic Elite Alpaca Sox, 60 percent alpaca, 20 percent merino wool, 20 percent nylon. 100 grams/450 yards, sock yarn. (c) Sarah E. White.

Share your stash

Minnesota Public Radio has a fun interview/story about Stephanie Pearl-McPhee a.k.a. "The Yarn Harlot," who recently visited the twin cities on her book tour. The story explains how she got her name (you'll just have to read it; she tells it better than I ever could), why knitters need to get out in public and the epiphany of learning to knit.

The folks at Columbia News Service have picked up on the trend of male knitters, and report that men now make up 5 percent of the knitting population. Some come to knitting to make custom scarves and hats to wear snowboarding, others do it to meet women (really). But like women, all stick with the craft for the sense of calm it can bring to your day. That, and you get to make stuff out of string.

Finally, I know there are a lot of knitters who are also science fiction fans, but even if you're not this is sure to peeve you. British knitter Mazzmatazz has been ordered by the BBC to take down patterns showing knitters how to make knit versions of "Dr. Who" creatures such as the Ood, the Dalecks and the Andipose (they're little blobs of fat, for those who don't watch the show, and they're completely adorable). The BBC says the knit designs are a violation of copyright, Mazz says the BBC should be fair and either go after all knitters who have posted Who-related designs or leave them all alone, and many others say the BBC is overreacting, especially since part of its charter says it is supposed to "stimulate creativity." You can put me in that last camp.

Though I'm not really a religious person, I have always been fascinated by the idea of prayer shawls. Just the thought of making something for someone else, being mindful of sending them love and good wishes, even if you don't think of that as prayer, is a really powerful thing.

This week I thought I'd bring to your attention the Prayer Shawl Ministry, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The ministry was formed by Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo, two graduates of the 1997 Women's Leadership Institute at the Hartford Seminary. The group encourages churches and other groups to join together to help people in their own communities and to use the shawls to provide comfort to people going through a loss, medical treatment or other hardship. They can even be used to celebrate a life passage or just to let someone know you're thinking of them.

The website includes links to groups, simple shawl patterns, information about the symbolism of prayer shawls (also sometimes called peace shawls or comfort shawls) and suggested prayers to say while working on the shawls, if you are so inclined.

I've been meaning to start a prayer shawl for ages; maybe thinking about it again will give me the push I need.

Another cool idea related to prayer shawls coming up this week: Suzanne at Trinity Shawls is declaring this Sunday, May 18, Craft World Peace Day. People who sign up to take part in the day will be e-mailed prayers through the day to remind them to think about bringing peace to the world. It's a fine thought to hold when knitting a prayer shawl, too.

This week's stitch of the week is Moss Stitch Zigzag, a fun little panel of, what else, moss stitch in a zigzag shape on a background of Stockinette Stitch.

The stitch pattern only involves seven stitches, but you can put the panels together endlessly to form an allover fabric. I think this pattern would be great on a sweater or a vest, or you could use it to border a different pattern on an sweater or afghan panel with other stitch patterns or cables.

Last week I wrote about working on a Quaker Rib Afghan and actually messing up and knitting the right side on the wrong side for a couple of inches.

I wanted to let you know that the story has a happy ending. The afghan is done, it's super warm (which is good, since it got cool again this week where I live) and I can't wait for it to stop raining long enough for me to spread it under a tree in my backyard and do some knitting outside.

I guess this is another great lesson you get from knitting: almost everything turns out well in the end, no matter how many times you had to rip it out. (And if it just isn't working at all, the worst that happens is you unravel the work and try something else.) That's a good lesson to keep learning over and over again!

I love making stash-busting afghans, or really any kind of project that uses up those small bits of yarn that are left over from other projects. For the past couple of days I've been working on a kid-sized stashaghan, made mostly of leftover bits from my book, which has been a lot of fun to work on.

It's really important to be able to clear out those extra bits from time to time -- it makes room for more new yarn!

Do you enjoy stash-busting projects? I'd love to hear what you do with all the extra odds and ends you have in your yarn stashes.

This week's poll is short and sweet. It seems like a lot of books on spinning have been crossing my desk lately. I really want to spin, but I'm a little intimidated by the process and the tools involved (yes, I know you can make a drop spindle out of a CD, and that I felt the same way before I knit my first sock, my first lace project, etc., but still).

So I want to know how many of you out there already spin your own, how many would like to learn and how many would prefer to just keep buying your yarn from the store, thank you very much.

Your answers will likely influence how quickly I give spinning a try, as I'm sure to share my experiences with you if a lot of people want to learn.

Poll: Are you interested in spinning?

• I'd like to try but I've never done it.
• I do it.
• I'm not interested in it.

View Results