Sewing and Music

Yes, very often. Sometimes I choose a CD, particularly when I am machine quilting, when the CD stops it is time for me to take a break. Other times I just put on BBC Radio 3 (mainly classical) and just enjoy the huge variety that is broadcast.

Lizzy

Most of the time, I listen to the music on the iPOD, I received as a birthday gift one year. Before then, I had a 5-disc CD player which I had recorded the music I most enjoy. And 'back in the day', I had a record player I could stack 5 LPs on, so as not to waste time changing albums while sewing. I need music to "keep my head clear".

I like many types, except for hip-hop or songs with profanity, but my favorites are the old-time Bluegrass, Religious and Country/Western, plus movie musicals. I have some old 78s of artists, such as Enrico Caruso, all recrded on both CDs and the computer, which is recorded on the iPOD.

Emily

Definitely. Plenty of chillout music. At the moment I'm sold on Niladri Kumar, Forever Chillout. It's sitar music but with a western fusion......

Hah, that's funny! I did some sewing to music today. OK, it was cutting fabric bits for some quilt but since I was having an eye on DD at the same time and didn't want her to interfere with the rotary cutter all the time, I asked her if she'd like some music. She picked a 'home-made' Christmas CD with old US stars like Bing Crosby, Mahalia Jackson, Elvis etc. So I started my cutting to these songs and it reminded me of the early days of me studying architecture. Whenever I had stupid work to do (= transferring pencil drawings into ink ones) I'd have some CD going on in the background again and again; one very stressful Summer's night it was that CD. As soon as DD left, I changed and listened into a CD my brother made for me; as kids we'd listen to our parents' old 1950s LPs and our favourites were 'Guns and Cowboys' and 'The Cumberland Three sing songs from the Civil War, Vol. 1 The North, Vol. 2 The South (or vice versa, I forgot; and we didn't take sides). I guess you've got to be foreigner, or a child, or both to approach these songs with an unbiased mind. ;-)

However, I like music when working: My favourite CD for housecleaning is 'Herding Cats' by Gaelic Storm since it has the right drive for getting me through the ground floor in one go, and I once had a model-building frenzy to a Phil Glass CD. For sewing I mostly prefer silence so that I can hear me talking to myself; swearwords come out a lot clearer that way, too. ;-) But if I do listen to music, then something ballady. Classic is an absolute no-go. That goes for driving, too; I noticed that I can't concentrate on the road when I've got the classical station on the car radio. I guess it's got the wrong rhythm; from slower times probably. (Remember Chaplin in 'Modern Times'?) ;-)

U.

Once in a while, but mostly I listen to podcasts or I-Tunes U on my ipod. I especially enjoy the Radiolab podcasts, This American Life, and the Dan Carlin history podcasts. On I-Tunes U, the Yale Open University history courses are very good.

Iris