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21 Mar 2022
MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 5 TRAILER
00:04:30
Hello there! Making Stitches Podcast will be returning to your podcast feed very soon with a new series. I'm looking forward to bringing you some more inspiring maker stories with guests from the worlds of quilting, crochet and embroidery as well as many other crafts as well.
Among my guests for the new 5th series are Olesya Lebedenko, a Ukranian artist who makes the most amazing quilt blocks and appliqued items. Crochet designer Hannah Cross from Hanjan Crochet who speaks about how her crochet developed from making accessories for her wedding to turning into her full-time career and Clare Albans from Happy Hooray Blog and Haberdashery about all things hand embroidery.
Please make sure you subscribe to, or follow, Making Stitches on your podcast app of choice so you don't miss the new episodes when they come out. You can also follow Making Stitches on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where all the latest information about new episodes will be shared.
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
25 Mar 2022
FROM UKRAINIAN EMBROIDERY TO CANADIAN QUILTING with Olesya Lebedenko
01:01:30
Hello and welcome to the first episode in this new series of Making Stitches Podcast!
Kicking off the series is a chat I had with Ukrainian artist Olesya Lebedenko. Olesya first got creative as a young child making up stories for her toys, then at the age of 5 she was taught to cross-stitch by her grandmother. Crafts would stay with her throughout her life - she says she has never been able to sit and do nothing with her hands.
When the global economic crash hit in 2008, Olesya found herself without a job and expecting a baby with her husband, so she turned to craft as a way of making money. First with craft supplies to make rag dolls and also teaching students how to make them too. However, when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, things changed, and Olesya and her family began planning to move to Canada to begin a new life closer to her brother and supported by her quilt-making and appliqué work.
Now based in Toronto, Olesya runs workshops, writes for several craft magazines and has written a number of books, the latest of which is due out in May featuring applique designs of flower animals.
At the beginning of this interview, we spoke at length about Ukrainian folk embroidery, the war in Ukraine and Olesya's fears for her family and friends still living in there. She also spoke about the online abuse she and other Ukrainian artists have experienced since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
To find out more about Olesya, please have a look at these links:
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
08 Apr 2022
CROCHET-TASTIC with Hannah Cross from Hanjan Crochet & Amanda Bloom from Little Box of Crochet
00:31:32
Welcome to a crochet-tastic double bill of Making Stitches featuring not just one, but two inspirational makers; Hannah Cross from Hanjan Crochet and Amanda Bloom from Little Box of Crochet.
My first guest, Hannah Cross has been designing crochet garments, toys and soft furnishings for over a decade and has been featured in Simply Crochet Magazine many times over those years. After leaving a career in Midwifery, Hannah now designs full time and is about to launch her first crochet course this spring. She spoke to me about how she finds comfort in her crochet and how her career has developed over the years.
In part 2 of this episode I share a chat I had last week with Amanda Bloom from Little Box of Crochet about her project 'Blanket of Hugs Ukraine' which has seen her appeal to crocheters around the world to send her crocheted squares to be made into blankets to raise funds for the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) for their work on the ground in Ukraine. The Little Box of Crochet community hasn't let her down, with dozens of squares arriving daily at her home where she's eagerly joining them to make beautiful blankets.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
12 Apr 2022
COLOUR, CREATIVITY & A COMMUNITY KICK-STARTER with Clare Albans from hellohooray.com
00:42:31
Hello and welcome to this episode of Making Stitches Podcast celebrating the joys of colour and creativity as well as community support.
When Clare Albans left a career in music behind, hand embroidery helped fill the gap leaving her job had left her with. After blogging about her life and makes for several years, Clare launched her small embroidery business selling designs and haberdashery and filling her Instagram followers feeds with a riot of colour and inspiration.
Last year, Clare launched a kick-starter campaign to raise the funds needed to open her own bricks and mortar haberdashery shop and studio which she hoped to use to help her local community in the North East of England. Unsure how the fundraising would go, she was overwhelmed with support and is now celebrating her one-year anniversary of Hello Hooray Haberdashery & Studio. Clare has been enjoying spreading her love of making, meeting customers and being able to host craft social events and workshops in her studio too.
You can find out more about Clare on her website, Instagram, Pinterest & Twitter. Clare also has her own YouTube channel, which you can find here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
06 May 2022
CROCHET & KNITTING AT THE WOOLNEST with Lynne Rowe
00:36:37
Crochet & Knitting designer Lynne Rowe is my guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast.
Lynne first learned to knit and crochet as a child, but it was after the birth of her own children that she turned to yarn crafts in earnest. Firstly knitting for pleasure, then to raise money for charity, Lynne then ventured into crochet and knitting design and has written several books as well as working with a number of different craft magazines.
A passionate yarn crafter, Lynne runs workshops for beginners as well as mentoring crochet and knitting designers to help them progress their careers too.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
20 May 2022
PRESERVING THE FABRIC OF OUR HISTORY with The People's History Museum
00:27:40
This time on Making Stitches Podcast, I'm taking you out on the road with me to the People's History Museum in the centre of Manchester. It is the national museum of democracy and home the world's largest collection of trades union banners. Being custodians of the literal fabric of our history requires painstaking conservation work to keep the banners in a stable condition for future generations to enjoy.
I tagged along with a tour of the current banner exhibition and was then incredibly lucky to go behind the scenes at the conservation workshop with Beth Gillions the museum's conservation officer. My thanks to both her, the conservation team at the museum and Michael Powell who lead the banner tour on the day.
To find out more about the Banner Exhibition and the work the People's History Museum does, please visit their website.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
03 Jun 2022
A NEW VENTURE FOR THE CROCHET PROJECT with Joanne Scrace
00:32:11
This time on Making Stitches Podcast, crochet is under the spotlight and Joanne Scrace from The Crochet Project in particular.
The Crochet Project was set up to design and write beautiful crochet patterns using natural yarns and with inclusivity high on the agenda. Crochet Project patterns come in a wide range of sizes to fit all bodies, avoid gender assumptions and even come with directions for left-handed crocheters where necessary. Once a partnership between Joanne Scrace and Kat Goldin, Kat has now stepped away and left Joanne at the helm.
Joanne, who got into crochet out of necessity when her children were small, used her experience in computer programming to help her grasp tech editing patterns. She now shares her expertise through her website and social media tutorials and is on the cusp of a new chapter with the launch of The Crochet Project Hub.
For the special Making Stitches listener offer of 3 months membership to the Hub at just £2 per month, use the code HUBINFO on the Crochet Project website.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
17 Jun 2022
FROM LAW TO CROSS STITCH with Sally Wilson from Caterpillar Cross Stitch
00:31:57
Like so many makers, despite loving all the creative subjects at school, Sally Wilson took a traditional route of study and then a 'conventional' career which for her was as a lawyer. However, whilst on maternity leave, she began to question whether a return to law was really what she wanted at the end of her family time away from her job.
Sally found time to shoe-horn in an e-commerce course and to build a website around caring for her young daughter before breaking the news to her friends and family (and her boss) that instead of pursuing law, she would be selling a range of cross stitch kits she had designed.
Despite a few raised eyebrows, seven years and a lot of hard work later, Caterpillar Cross stitch now supplies kits to thousands of embroiderers around the world operating out of a warehouse and with a staff of colleagues helping Sally with her business. Sally says the secret to her success is persistence and not having a 'Plan B'. Caterpillar Cross Stitch now holds regular stitch-alongs with crafters across the globe and has recently launched its own software allowing users to design their own cross stitch patterns.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
01 Jul 2022
YARN, FOOD, NATURE & THE UNIVERSE with Kitey from the Yarn Whisperer
00:49:13
The last couple of years have seen many of us take a step back and reconsider what it is we want to do with our lives. The pandemic gave us a new perspective and often forced us to change paths. Kitey from the Yarn Whisperer is no different. After a 30 year-long career in teaching in various countries around the world, he found inspiration in a plate of Padron Peppers whilst on holiday in Spain and decided yarn was the way forwards for him.
Kitey's first attempts at dying his own yarns were inspired by the green peppers and white sangria from his holiday. He now has a thriving online indie yarn dying business and lives a life filled with colour. He says his main inspirations are food (as I already mentioned), nature and the universe - so he'll never run out of ideas! He's joined forces with designers and collaborated on a number of projects - his next one being the Dragonfly River make-along with Heather from Keep Calm and Crochet on UK which launches later this month.
A self-professed "stash enabler", Kitey's enthusiasm for creativity and for making the crafting community an open and welcoming space for everyone is at the very heart of his work. I hope you enjoy listening to our chat, as much as I enjoyed chatting with Kitey himself.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
15 Jul 2022
KNITTING, CROCHET & THE ONLINE CRAFT COMMUNITY with Emmaknitty
00:31:18
Hello and welcome to this, the penultimate episode of this current series of Making Stitches Podcast! This time, Emma Munn AKA Emmaknitty is my guest sharing the story of her creative journey into knit & crochet design.
Originally from the South of England, Emma and her family now call Oviedo in Northern Spain home and it's from there she manages her small craft business alongside her job as an adult education teacher. Emma specialises in homeware & accessory designs and has seen her work published in a number of craft magazines including Mollie Makes.
During our chat, Emma spoke about her journey to knit and crochet designer, the trials and tribulations of managing a solo craft business and has useful advice for anyone thinking of following her lead.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
Hello and welcome to Episode 50 of Making Stitches and the last episode in this series. As it's the end of the current series, I thought I'd reconnect with a couple of friends of the podcast and catch up with their latest news. My guests for this episode are Sock Knitting Champion; Christine Perry or Winwick Mum as she's known online and Juey from Juey Jumbo Craft Tools who I met at Yarndale in September last year.
When I first met Juey, I was stopped in my tracks as I walked past her stall at Yarndale 2021 (you can hear our first meeting Episode 32) . She was crocheting with the biggest Tunisian crochet hook I have ever seen. At the time I spoke to her for the podcast about her business and how it all got started. This time, she went into more detail about how her father first made her a pair of giant knitting needles using a broom handle and how things progressed from there.
I first spoke to Christine Perry last year when she featured in Episode 31 speaking about her mission to teach the world to knit socks (Christine can now lay claim to more than 15,000 pairs of socks being knitted around the world using her patterns). Since that first chat, we have been able to meet in person a few times and on our most recent catch up, I took my microphone along to hear all about her latest sock news - her 'Happy Feet' project with West Yorkshire Spinners.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
If you would like to buy a PDF crochet pattern for Sophia the Sunflower, (£5 from the sale of every pattern will be donated to the UNHCR Refugee aid effort supporting Ukrainian refugees) you can find the link here.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
26 Sep 2022
MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 6 TRAILER
00:00:57
Hello there! Making Stitches Podcast will be returning to your podcast feed again very soon with a brand new series. I'm looking forward to bringing you some more inspiring maker stories with guests from the world of yarn crafts, textiles and embroidery, as well as many other crafts too.
Among my guests for the new 6th series will be Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet along with other crafts people I met at the Yarndale festival at Skipton in North Yorkshire earlier in September and a non-profit cooperative which has just celebrated its tenth birthday of inspiring action on sustainable fashion and saving literally tonnes of textiles from ending up in landfill.
Please make sure you subscribe to, or follow, Making Stitches on your podcast app of choice so you don't miss the new episodes when they come out. You can also follow Making Stitches on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where all the latest information about new episodes will be shared.
30 Sep 2022
YARNDALE 2022 : A Festival of Yarn & Friendship
00:34:20
It hardly seems a year ago that I last followed the Yarn Walk to Skipton Auction Mart for Yarndale 2021. Last year saw the yarn festival based in North Yorkshire return after Covid, and this year it's celebrating it's 10th birthday. Seeing as I had such fun on my last visit, I had to return - not just to squish some gorgeous yarn - but to meet more lovely crafty folk.
This episode, the first of the sixth series of Making Stitches Podcast, is a snapshot of the fabulous day I spent at Yarndale 2022 last Saturday. You will hear from stall-holders and a chat I had with Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet who was on the workforce at the festival this year running workshops and giving a couple of talks.
Here are the people and businesses who feature in this episode - my thanks to everyone who spoke to me.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
14 Oct 2022
FROM RUSTY METAL TO WORKS OF ART with Tracy Fox ~ Dyer, Print Maker & Artist
00:43:48
There are many strings to Tracy Fox's bow, she describes herself as a dyer, print maker and artist creating the most beautiful art fabrics in her home studio in Manchester. She also uses her fabric to make stunning art quilts and has exhibited her work and sold her cloth at various craft shows over the years. It was at one of those shows, the Nantwich Quilters Exhibition and Fabric Sale, that she was approached to take over the management and running of the show, which she has done ever since. Five years on, she's now launching another show, this time in Manchester - The Great Northern Textile Show will take place later this month.
The Great Northern Textile Show will showcase crafts people and artists from the worlds of textiles, quilting, yarn crafts, embroidery, felting, spinning and other disciplines. There will also be craft guilds and organisations on hand to help visitors learn new skills if they want to add to their own repertoires.
I went along to Tracy's home studio to hear about her own creative journey, the way she creates her beautiful fabrics and what she uses them for along with her hopes for The Great Northern Textile Show too.
You can find Tracy's website here, as well as her Facebook & Instagram accounts.
More information about the Great Northern Textile Show can be found here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
28 Oct 2022
THE GREAT NORTHERN TEXTILE SHOW 2022
00:43:23
Last Sunday, the first ever Great Northern Textile Show opened its doors to the public, welcoming crafters to mingle with artists and craftspeople from a wide range of disciplines and enjoy a celebration of creativity.
The event was Tracy Fox's idea - my guest for the previous episode of Making Stitches - as an artist, print maker and dyer of fabric herself, she felt there was a gap in the market for a show celebrating local talent in Manchester and the wider area. As a city built on textiles during the industrial revolution, Tracy believed there should be a showcase for talent from the world of textiles, and so, after much thought and meticulous planning, the Great Northern Textile Show was born.
I went along to experience it for myself and took my microphone with me to capture some of the atmosphere. I hope you enjoy listening to the conversations I had with some of the people I met there.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
11 Nov 2022
Amoami: A Symbol of Crochet Resistance with Rafael Alcaide
00:20:14
A chance experience at an airport back in March left its mark on Rafael Alcaide. On returning home to Madrid, Rafael saw a large group of Ukrainian women and children who had just arrived from fleeing the invasion in their homeland.
Wanting to do something to help, Rafael turned to his friend Rita, a crochet designer, and together they came up with a design for a small amigurumi bear which has become a symbol of resistance for the refugees. Within weeks, Amoami, a social enterprise was born and they began training the Ukrainian women in how to create the amigurumi bears - some of which had never crocheted before.
Soon other groups opened up across Spain and later in Switzerland too. To date, 40 women have been helped through Amoami. The organisation is able to help the women with the therapy of making the bears, it helps them settle into their new communities and pays them an income. People are able to support the group by buying the bears and so far bears have been sent far and wide, from the USA to Hong Kong as well as across Europe and the UK.
You can find out more about Amoami here, through their Facebook and Instagram accounts.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
25 Nov 2022
Sewing to Save the Planet with Stitched Up!
00:25:29
Disposable fast fashion is a huge cause of pollution and damage to the environment, but one community benefit society in Manchester has been doing its bit to help for the past decade. Stitched Up! which is now based in Stretford Mall in Greater Manchester has been rescuing unwanted fabric and teaching sewing skills in a bid to help people get more out of their clothes and slow down the damage being done to the planet.
The organisation takes donations of unwanted fabric and sells it on to sewists at a discounted rate as well as offering workshops on everything from basic sewing skills, repurposing garments, make do and mend sessions and dressmaking techniques. Their pop up shop in Stretford also hosts a regular Repair Cafe where experts in other fields come along to help people get more life out of their belongings rather than simply throwing them away.
I went along to Stitched Up! to meet their events co-ordinator Sarah Revington, she told me all about the organisation's roots and its interesting plans for the future.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
09 Dec 2022
THE POWER OF SEWING with Clare Hunter & Michelle Edwards
00:44:58
This time on Making Stitches, I'm sharing a couple of chats I had recently with authors who have written about sewing and the power it gives, from offering respite and hope in the hardest of situations and a voice to those who have had theirs silenced and the simple ability to fix a hole in your clothes.
Clare Hunter has worked with textiles for many years, working as a community artist, exhibition curator and banner maker. After hearing many stories about how important sewing and embroidery had been in peoples' lives throughout history, she decided to write a book about it. Threads of Life; The History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle was published in 2019 and went on to become a Sunday Times Bestseller. Inspired by what she learned about Mary Queen of Scots during her research for Threads of Life, Clare went on to write a book about her too, an alternative biography called Embroidering Her Truth; Mary Queen of Scots and Her Language of Power.
You can find out more about Clare and her work through her website.
Michelle Edwards is a children's author and illustrator working in the USA, her latest book; Me and the Boss; A Story About Mending and Love is based on a true story recounted to her in a yarn store one day. It charts the story of a young boy called Lee who is taken by his older sister (the Boss) to a sewing lesson in a public library. Along with the story, which is illustrated beautifully by April Harrison, is a sewing project for young readers to have a go at too. Michelle is passionate about teaching children about using their hands and has run childrens sewing classes herself as well as writing a column for a well known knitting magazine in the United States.
You can find out more about Michelle and her work through her website.
One of my former podcast guests, Olesya Lebedenko, a Ukrainian patchwork quilt designer and maker, who featured in Episode 41 is hosting a fundraising Art Quilt online auction. It runs until 16th December 2022 and you can bid on one of four beautiful art quilts on sale. All proceeds raised by the sale will go to supporting charities helping people and animals affected by the war in Ukraine. You can reach the auction through this link.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
20 Dec 2022
Stand With Ukraine Art Quilts Auction with Olesya Lebedenko
00:44:56
We first met Olesya Lebedenko on the podcast back in March. Olesya is a Ukrainian textile artist who designs the most beautiful art quilts. She moved to Canada with her family back in 2014 and since then has become a Bernina ambassador as well as a regular on the quilt show circuit in Canada and the United States.
In our last chat, in Episode 41, Olesya spoke about the evolution of her craft from making rag dolls and running workshops in Kyiv to creating quilts in Canada as well as her fears for her friends and family back at home and the unfolding war. Since then, Olesya has lost a dear friend in the bombing and spoke about her loss in this episode between 21:30 and 30:30 in the podcast.
Olesya has been inspired to create four beautiful large quilts - the polar opposite of her usual mini quilt projects and blocks - 'Acorn Power', 'Blossom of Hope', 'Knot for Luck' and 'Stand Together' are up for auction to raise much needed funds for four Ukrainian charities; Magic Food Army, Medical Battalion 'Hospitallers', Ruslan Goroviy and Serhiy Zhadan. You can find all the information you need about the auction and the charities involved here.
Whilst the bids for the quilts may be too much for many to donate, there are quilt patterns which you can buy too - the proceeds of which will be added to the charity total.
My thanks to Olesya for her time speaking to me again for Making Stitches.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
23 Dec 2022
2022 CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR SPECIAL PART 1 : OLD FRIENDS
00:30:05
In this, the first of two Christmas and New Year specials this year, I catch up with a few old friends of the podcast: Lisa & Lynda-Rose from The Crochet Sanctuary (my first ever guests on Making Stitches) and Christine Perry, otherwise known as Winwick Mum, who first appeared back in Episode 31).
We look back at what's been happening in the worlds of The Crochet Sanctuary and sock knitting in 2022 as well as their plans for 2023, and what they are hoping to achieve with their New Year's Resolutions too.
Christine has so far donated £435 to the Trussell Trust through the sales of her her Sofa Snuggle Socks pattern. You can find the pattern here if you want to buy one and help with the fundraising whilst keeping your feet warm at the same time. You can also find Christine's website here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Winter Trip by AudioFlame from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
30 Dec 2022
2022 CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR SPECIAL PART 2 : REVIEW OF THE YEAR
00:29:23
It's that time again, as 2022 draws to a close, I'm taking you on a romp through this year's Making Stitches back catalogue with a few of my highlights.
You can hear from Figen Murray, Amanda Bloom from Cosy Life Boxes, Rafael Alcaide from Amoami, Beth Gillions, Conservation Officer at the People's History Museum, Eleonora Tulley from Coastal Crochet, highlights from the first Great Northern Textile Show, Leah Higgins, Tracy Fox and Kitey from the Yarn Whisperer.
This year, Making Stitches has been listened to across 6 continents and has held the number one spot in the Apple Craft Podcast Charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland & New Zealand. It also reached the number 5 spot in the USA. Thank you to everyone who has listened this year - it's been great to have your company.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Winter Trip by AudioFlame from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
07 Jul 2023
TAPESTRY CROCHET with CATHERINE CROCHETS
00:24:10
Way back in December 2022 I promised you this episode of Making Stitches with crochet designer Catherine from Catherine Crochets. Unfortunately, life rather got in the way of those plans, so now, six months later than originally promised is the final episode of the current series of Making Stitches.
Catherine got hooked on crochet while expecting her second child and since then, her passion for tapestry crochet has grown and grown. Her designs have been featured in books and magazines and she has also designed for yarn companies too. Catherine's designs are often influenced by geometric patterns and, I'm told, are rather addictive to make.
Last November, Catherine was invited to be the guest designer at The Crochet Sanctuary in Cheshire, so I popped along before her workshop to have a chat about her crochet and how it all got started. You can find Catherine's work on her website, Instagram & Facebook. You can find out more about The Crochet Sanctuary here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
15 Sep 2023
MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 7 TRAILER
00:04:22
Hello! Making Stitches is coming back very soon for a 7th series. Among my guests in the coming weeks will be food stylist & photographer turned sewing designer Jen Rich to talk about her new book aimed at beginners and established sewists alike, I'll take you along to the Black Sheep Wools 40th birthday weekend and clinical psychologist and knitter, Dr Mia Hobbs from Why I Knit Podcast will be speaking to me about the therapeutic benefits of crafts.
I can't wait to bring you these creative chats and lots more too in the weeks and months ahead.
For more information about Making Stitches Podcast, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
29 Sep 2023
From Food Styling to Sewing with Jen Rich
00:36:52
Hello and welcome back to Making Stitches Podcast, it's so good to be back with you. I had to take and extended break from podcasting due to a lot of 'stuff' going on, but I'm thrilled to be back with you now with the first episode of Series 7!
My guest this time is Jen Rich, a food stylist & photographer who bought her first sewing machine back in the days of Covid lockdown. Just three years on from teaching herself how to sew, Jen has written a book called 'Stitch: Sewing Projects for the Modern Maker'. She says she has written it with both beginners and established sewing enthusiasts in mind - there is plenty of inspiration inside with 30 different projects to have a go at.
Jen says she wrote the book she wished she could have read when she was first starting out, taking you through the steps of each project. However, the projects should also appeal to established sewers providing short 'palette cleanser' projects for when you need a break after working on larger projects. The fact that they are small items also makes them ideal projects for using up scraps of fabric left over from previous makes.
My sincerest thanks to Jen for agreeing to speak to me for Making Stitches Podcast.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also available from Melody Loops.
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
13 Oct 2023
KNITTING IS THERAPEUTIC with Dr Mia Hobbs
00:32:05
When clinical psychologist, Dr Mia Hobbs, was studying at university, her mother suggested taking up knitting would be a great antidote for intensive study. Mia took her Mum's advice and started knitting a shawl which grew gradually as she worked. From then on, knitting became an important activity for Mia and over time crossed over into her work with colleagues and patients both within the NHS and private practice.
Mia became so intrigued by the positive impact working with your hands can have on mental health, that she started the Why I Knit Podcast so she could speak to other people who have found great comfort in their hobby too.
As a passionate advocate for crafting to keep me on an even keel, I stumbled upon the Why I Knit podcast and asked Mia if she would like to come onto Making Stitches. Thankfully, she said yes!
My sincerest thanks to Mia for agreeing to speak to me for Making Stitches Podcast.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also available from Melody Loops.
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs by buying me a coffee through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson. The latest design - published the same day as this episode is 'Prunella the Pumpkin' an amigurumi pumpkin doll.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
Thank you for listening!
27 Oct 2023
Black Sheep Wools at 40 & looking ahead to the Great Northern Textile Show 2023
00:30:07
Back in July, Black Sheep Wools, the largest independent yarn shop in the UK celebrated its 40th birthday. Friends of Black Sheep Wools were invited to join in with a two-day-long birthday party at the Craft Barn in Culcheth, Warrington. I went along to join the festivities and this episode shares a little bit of what went on.
This weekend, the Great Northern Textile Show is back at Urmston in Manchester for a second year. The show, which features traders, artists, exhibitors and crafts guilds returns, but this time with Domino Panton-Oakley at the helm. I went to meet Domino ahead of the big event to see how preparations were going.
For for information about the Great Northern Textile Show 2023 and to buy tickets, please check out the website.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also available from Melody Loops.
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
10 Nov 2023
THE GREAT NORTHERN TEXTILE SHOW 2023
00:44:48
Hello and welcome to this latest episode of Making Stitches Podcast where I'm taking you out on the road with me to the second Great Northern Textile Show which happened a couple of weeks ago in Manchester.
You'll hear from a selection of traders who brought their products to sell to visitors, several crafts guilds and three hugely talented textile artists who were invited to exhibit their work. In this episode I also spoke to the really inspiring Taslima from CDM UK Manchester which works with women and children (some of whom have suffered abuse) teaching them textile design and craft skills - if you think that listening to this section of the episode may upset you or someone you are listening with, you can skip the section between the 33.5 minute mark and 43.5 minute mark.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also available from Melody Loops.
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs by buying me a coffee through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson. The latest design is 'Prunella the Pumpkin' an amigurumi pumpkin doll.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
Thank you for listening!
24 Nov 2023
Deck the Halls with the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity
00:15:15
This time on Making Stitches Podcast, I want to share a great initiative which is happening in my home city of Manchester. Homelessness is a problem all year round in towns and cities across the world, not just here in the UK and it's a complex problem to solve.
Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity was set up after our Mayor, Andy Burnham was elected. He chose to donate a percentage of his monthly wage to combatting rough sleeping across the city, and it was thanks to that the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity was born. The charity doesn't just offer somewhere for people to stay, it also helps in other ways with food, clothing and help to get people off the streets
Each year, the charity looks at new ways to raise funds to support it's 'A Bed Every Night' campaign, and in the run up to Christmas there's a concerted push to bring in more funding. It costs £30 to pay for one person to have somewhere safe to sleep for the night and to receive the wrap around care on offer.
This year, Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity is calling on knitters and crocheters to help them in partnership with Black Sheep Wools. They have a range of knitting and crochet patterns for sale as well as yarn kits to make decorations. The proceeds from the sale of the patterns will go to the charity as well as 10% from the sale of every yarn pack and, if you would prefer to make a £30 donation through the Black Sheep Wools website, you will be gifted all the patterns for free, and that entire £30 will go to fund a bed for the night.
I spoke to Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity Chief Executive, Fran Darlington-Pollock, who told me why she was calling on knitters and crocheters to help them this year.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
08 Dec 2023
LOVING THE LANGUAGE OF CROCHET with Jane Czaja
00:33:27
Jane Czaja has been trying to spread the love of crochet for decades, from teaching beginners groups back in the 1980s to running a crochet and chat group in her local library now! Jane has always been a maker, and since her retirement from computer programming and lecturing students about it, she has turned her attention to crochet full time.
You can find Jane's name in the credits of crochet books, through her work as technical editor, she also does tech editing work for Inside Crochet and Disney Crochet Magazine. Jane is one of those amazing people who can spot a needle in a haystack - a pattern error!
I think you'll find Jane to be evangelical about the craft of crochet, and if you had her as your teacher, I think that love of the craft would be contagious!
You can find Jane's website here, and her crochet and chat group meets at Kingston Library on 2nd Saturday of the month between 10:30 and 12pm.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
22 Dec 2023
MAKING STITCHES 2023 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
00:27:16
Hello there and welcome to the Making Stitches Podcast 2023 Christmas Special. Join me for a selection box of treats looking back at the past 12 months in my podcast world.
You can hear from guests including Dr Mia Hobbs from the 'Why I Knit' Podcast on the mental health benefits of being creative, Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock from the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity about their yarny Christmas appeal this year and some more of my guests from the podcast this year. Also joining me are some of the lovely people I met at this year's Great Northern Textile Show who will be sharing what's on their Christmas wish list.
Thank you to all of my guests who joined me on this episode, and throughout the year. Thank you to you too for listening! I hope you have a lovely Christmas and that 2024 is kind to you.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Winter Trip by Audioflame from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also from Melody Loops.
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
16 Feb 2024
Spinning, Weaving and Niddy-Noddies with Cathy Wright from Lazy Kate Textiles
00:27:44
Welcome to the first episode of Making Stitches in 2024! Sorry for the longer than anticipated break. This is the first of the final three episodes in series seven.
This time, I’m sharing a chat I had late last year with CathyWright from LazyKateTextiles. Cathy’s a spinner and weaver sharing her love of creativity by teaching these heritage crafts to anyone who wants to learn.
Based in Liverpool, Cathy sells the equipment needed to take up the crafts and runs workshops to show students how to progress their technique. Cathy’s enthusiasm for her craft is clear and she’s dedicated to sharing her expertise.
In addition to teaching, Cathy also runs a monthly meeting for anyone interested in yarn crafts to come together and build a community. TheWoollers runs on the first Saturday of each month in Northern Lights, Caine Brewery Village, 5 Mann Street, Liverpool L8 5AF
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
01 Mar 2024
WHY SEWING MATTERS with Barbara Burman
00:47:58
Hello and welcome to Making Stitches Podcast!
My guest for this episode is the historian and writer, Barbara Burman, whose latest book is 'The Point of the Needle - Why Sewing Matters'. Barbara, a retired academic from the University of Southampton and the University of the Arts, spent more than 40 years teaching and researching the history of dress and textiles.
In her latest book, Barbara takes an in-depth look at the social and cultural significance of sewing, drawing on contemporary voices as well as historical research. In it, Barbara asks what people are sewing, why they are motivated to sew and why people choose to mend?
This was a fascinating chat, which covered lots of different aspects of Barbara's work - I hope you enjoy l listening to it!
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
15 Mar 2024
A Decade of Keeping Calm and Crocheting On with Heather Gibbs
00:26:54
Ten years ago, Heather Gibbs was looking for an outlet for her crochet creativity and set up her blog; Keep Calm and Crochet On UK. Little did she know that her blog would be going from strength to strength a whole decade later, but that she would also end up working with a selection of different crochet magazines and yarn companies as well.
In this latest episode of Making Stitches Podcast, I chatted to Heather about how the blog came about in the first place, how her design career first got off the ground and her hopes for the next ten years to come in her crochet adventure.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
24 May 2024
Creativity for Mental Health : a Dive into the Making Stitches Podcast Archives
00:28:02
Hello, I’m thrilled to be back with another series of episodes of Making Stitches Podcast. This time I’m doing something a bit different, instead of launching the new series with a new interview, I’ve taken a dive into the archives.
Since I last spoke to you, Making Stitches celebrated its 4th birthday (which I think is pretty decent in podcasting) so I thought I’d indulge in a look back at some of the voices which have featured up until this point.
One theme which has been consistent throughout, is the very real benefit that being creative can have on your state of mind. It can be a light relief at a time of high stress, a positive outlet during anxiety and depression, a focus in the midst of paralysing grief.
Quite a few of my guests (not all included here) have spoken about how their craft has helped them during hard times. Speaking from experience, my creativity, be that through crochet, sewing or even making this podcast has really helped me over the years. I am a real advocate for being creative as a result.
Join me as I share chats from the Making Stitches archive:
Lisa & Lynda-Rose from The Crochet Sanctuary about the Pandemonium blanket crochet-along during Covid https://www.crochetsanctuary.co.uk
Patchwork quilter Emma Jones from the Vintage Sewing Box on the importance of making for mental health https://www.vintagesewingbox.co.uk
Former BBC Brussels correspondent, Mary Jane Baxter on leaving a high pressure career for a creative life on the road. https://unbound.com/books/sew-on-the-go
Peace & anti terrorism campaigner Figen Murray OBE on how knitting has helped her grieve the loss of her son, Martyn in the Manchester Arena bomb attack. https://www.figenmurray.co.uk
Dr Mia Webb, clinical psychologist, knitter and podcaster on the Why I Knit podcast on the benefits of knitting for mental health. https://www.therapeuticknitting.org
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
07 Jun 2024
THE LONGEST YARN: Commemorating D-Day in Yarn
00:37:29
Yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Along with the military commemorations, there was a very special one created in yarn, by hundreds of knitters & crocheters around the globe - The Longest Yarn.
Tansy Forster, who has lived in Normandy for over 20 years, was inspired by the Post Box toppers she saw when she traveled to visit Arundel, in southern England. She thought she would have a go at something similar for her garden gate to commemorate this special anniversary. That idea soon morphed to create an 80 metre long yarn masterpiece showcasing scenes from the build up to and of the landings themselves as well as the days immediately after.
Tansy, with the help of Facebook, soon enlisted the help of hundreds of makers from around the world to create metre long panels, each with a scene from that time. Not only that, Tansy has written a book about the project too. The Longest Yarn has featured on TV shows and news programmes around the world, and is set for a tour around the UK, then onto the United States before returning to Carentan in Normandy, where it will remain on permanent display.
In this episode, we hear from Tansy Forster and from Diane McCoombs and Gill >>> from the North West of England, who contributed one of the metre-long panels to the Longest Yarn.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
21 Jun 2024
Selling Your Makes on Etsy with Claire Reed
00:22:59
For some of us makers, there's the desire to take our creativity beyond something which is purely a hobby. Whether we opt to teach our craft to others, design patterns or sell finished items at craft fairs or online, there are many ways to potentially make money from making.
In this episode, I looked at Etsy as a platform for selling creative makes with Claire Reed, an Etsy mentor who guides handmade business owners through their Etsy journeys.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
05 Jul 2024
Finding Joy in Making with Emma Varnam
00:30:42
This time on Making Stitches Podcast, I'm thrilled to be sharing a chat I had with knitting & crochet designer, Emma Varnam.
To date, Emma has written 13 books filled with inspiring designs for your home and to gift, from granny square homewares to adorable cuddly toys and crocheted pot plants! Emma is also a regular columnist for Inside Crochet magazine where she shares her passion for crochet and creativity.
It was such a thrill for me to meet Emma and chat about all things crochet - as well the common curse of friends and families of makers who have handmade gifts thrust upon them whether they want them or not!
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
19 Jul 2024
Finishing a Creative Legacy with Jen Simonic from the Loose Ends Project
00:40:42
One of the unexpected things many people experience when they lose a loved one and have to sort through their posessions, can be unfinished craft projects. Maybe the person who has died was partway through making a baby blanket for a new family member, a quilt for a forthcoming wedding or simply a pair of socks or jumper for a loved one.
If there's someone within the family with the skills and ability to finish that project, that's great, but in many circumstances that's not the case. That's where The Loose Ends Project can help.
Two friends, Jen & Masey, decided that there must be people out there who have the skills and time to finish important craft projects which are left unfinished when someone dies or is no longer able to continue with it. They started matching unfinished projects with volunteer finishers, who complete and return the garments, blankets and accessories.
In the space of less than two years, the friends' idea has mushroomed and they have registered 'finishers' in 64 countries around the world. To date, they have paired projects in 12 different countries.
Jen Simonic, one of the founders of the Loose Ends Project, joined me for this episode of Making Stitches to tell me all about this remarkable organisation.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
02 Aug 2024
CREATING A DIGITAL YARN COMMUNITY with Jane Abraham, The Cornish Knitter
00:36:43
When my guest on today's episode was about to leave a career in London for a quieter pace of life on the Cornish coast, one of her first concerns was where she would be able to buy yarn from. Fast forward a few years and Jane Abraham not only has her own yarn shop, she hosts creative retreats, has her own You Tube channel and has built an online community for crafters 'of a certain age' - the Cornish Flock.
Jane's 'Flock' focuses on knitting, crochet, health and the wellbeing of 'mature women'. Jane says "Many women of a certain age feel isolated, under valued and overlooked. They believe that their interests and feelings are underestimated and there's not enough digital content that connects with them and caters for their continued interest in fashion".
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
16 Aug 2024
THREADS OF PROTEST with Dr Gemma McKenzie
00:30:44
My guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast has a background in law and human rights and a passion for crochet too. Dr Gemma McKenzie is a researcher in the Midwifery Department at King's College London specialising in maternity rights and obstetric abuse. She has decided that in order to raise awareness about her work in the field of maternity rights, she is going use crochet (and knitting) to help her.
Next year, Gemma is holding an exhibition called Threads of Protest in Southport in the North West of England and in central London too, to raise awareness about her work and yarn is at the centre of it. Gemma is collaborating with yarn artists to create works focusing on different aspects of abuse but is also asking for anyone who wants to join her, to send crocheted or knitted squares which will be used as part of a yarn bomb within the exhibition.
The granny squares can be of any type, any colour, any yarn and use any design as long as they measure approximately 15 x 15 cm or 6 x 6 inches. They can be sent to:
Threads of Protest PO Box 239 Liverpool L37 8YU UK
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
11 Oct 2024
YARNDALE 2024
00:38:35
Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Making Stitches - back after a longer than anticipated break!
This time, I'm sharing a bumper episode featuring lots of creative chats with some of the lovely people I met at this year's Yarndale festival in Skipton two weeks ago.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
25 Oct 2024
A FARESHARE FESTIVE FEAST
00:20:16
This time on Making Stitches, I'm doing something a little bit different. I want to speak to you about food poverty, especially in my home city of Manchester and how I need your help to try to making things a bit easier for those who are finding it tough.
As the weather gets colder and we head towards winter, the terrible decision between heating and eating affects many people. FareShare Greater Manchester is a charity which rescues good-to-eat surplus food from the food industry and redistributes it to charities and community groups across the region.
I started working for FareShare Greater Manchester earlier this year and since then, I've been wanting to do something with crochet to help spread the word about what we do and to raise much needed funds to support this organisation.
I have designed a crochet pattern for a Christmas wreath based on a Christmas dinner, complete with sprouts and pigs in blankets. All the profits raised from the sale of the wreath will go to FareShare Greater Manchester.
In this episode, I take you to work with me and introduce you to three of the women I work with, to share what they do to help those in our community who need help.
I would like to thank Jane Czaja for her support in tech editing this pattern. My thanks also go to Ruth Downes, Sally Lamb & Kala Mandviwala for speaking to men for this episode of Making Stitches.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
08 Nov 2024
Learning Lessons from History with Becky Davies-Downes
00:34:56
Thank you for joining me for the 80th episode of Making Stitches Podcast! This time I'm sharing a chat I had with Becky Davies-Downes from William and Tilda, who, after almost two decades working in TV & film costume departments, is now sewing beautiful bags and other accessories inspired by 1940s wartime Britain.
I first bumped into Becky in September this year at the Yarndale Festival. There, she spoke to me about how her current venture had come about, as well as a little bit about her previous career. I simply had to have a more in-depth chat with her about all things 'make do and mend' as well as her previous life working in TV & film.
My deepest thanks to Becky for speaking to me, not once, but twice in quick succession for the podcast!
While you're here, can I just mention my latest crochet pattern - the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath, which I have designed to raise much-needed funds for FareShare Greater Manchester?
FareShare Greater Manchester is a charity which diverts thousands of tonnes of surplus food from the food industry each year to hundreds of charities and community groups in Greater Manchester and the surrounding area. It is simply wrong that so much food would otherwise go to waste when so many people are struggling to access healthy and nutritious food.
The FareShare Festive Feast Wreath is a Christmas crochet pattern for a wreath based on a Christmas dinner - including sprouts and pigs-in-blankets. All the money raised from the sale of the pattern will be going directly to FareShare Greater Manchester.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
20 Dec 2024
MAKING STITCHES 2024 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
00:36:52
Hello and welcome to the Making Stitches 2024 Christmas Special! As always at this time of year, I'm taking a look back at some of the year's highlights for Making Stitches.
I'd also like to thank Jackie, Rachel, Nick, Nickie, Jen, Penny & Steph my fellow Crochet Sanctuary attendees who gave me their 2024 highlights for this episode.
Thank you to you too for listening and following my podcast adventures for the past few years - I've loved being able to bring these creative chats to you for you to enjoy!
I hope you have a happy and peaceful Christmas and that 2025 is good to you!
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston
28 Feb 2025
Talking Colour, Yarn, Sound & Knitting with Felix Ford from KNITSONIK
00:54:45
It’s so good to be back with you bringing another series of Making Stitches Podcast to your ears!
My guest for this episode is Felicity aka Felix Ford, an artist who works in colour, sound and yarn. I first heard about Felix’s work when a mutual friend contacted me and suggested she might be a good guest for the podcast – she was right!
Before our chat which features in this episode, Felix asked to send me a couple of her books and an invitation to join one of her online courses so I could get a proper feel for her work. I signed up for the ‘Colour at Play’ Course in the hope I would be able to improve my skills at marrying colours together when I design a crochet project. In addition to this, I discovered that Felix had a podcast herself – the KNITSONIK Podcast in which she recorded sounds and wove them together with interviews, chats about her work and her own musical compositions.
I really enjoyed getting to know Felix through her work, and then by chatting to her late last year ready for this podcast episode. It was genuinely joyful to hear about Felix’s experiences including learning to colour match oil paint to a basket of eggs, how designing yarny covers for her walking stick diverted conversations with strangers away from her disability to her creativity and how her work with sound, colour and yarn has led her to setting up the KNITSONIK school.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
14 Mar 2025
MENOPAUSE MAKES with Jenni Smith & Kay Walsh
00:37:22
My guests for this episode are a pair of friends who met at a tap dancing class and went on to become creative business partners. They have been sewing for more than 30 years, many of which were spent working together in their sewing studio in Ilkley in Yorkshire.
Since Covid, their classes in sewing and quilting have gone from in person, on a local level, to online and a world-wide audience. They say their mission is to empower women through sewing, one stitch at a time.
Their latest project, the book, Menopause Makes was borne out of many conversations between the friends about the Menopause. They had previously written a book together and decided that as it was a topic of conversation they regularly spoke about, surely many other women were doing the same, so why not write about it in a sewing context.
Along with a foreword by Dr Hannah Davies, a doctor specialising in menopause and lifestyle medicine, the book contains 10 patterns, one for each of ten different menopause symptoms. There is a sleep mask to aid insomnia, a basket for lost things to help with memory loss and keep cool quilt for night sweats.
As well as running classes, both online and in person, Jenni & Kay have travelled abroad to meet crafters from overseas, tell their stories and learn about their traditional crafts and techniques producing crafty travelogues as part of their online courses. Among their creative destinations have been Ireland, the Netherlands and Hawaii along with locations closer to their homes in Yorkshire, like Scotland and Northumberland.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
28 Mar 2025
Carry On Crafting with Justine Robson
00:39:04
After dreaming about a craft festival one night, Justine Robson woke up and decided she should arrange one. Two months later, she’d booked the venue (the South of England show ground) and ten months later Carry on Crafting opened its doors for the first time.
This summer sees the fourth edition of the summer craft festival and with over 600 people camping (tickets to camp sold out in a week) a huge range of craft workshops, stalls and entertainment, it’s going from strength to strength.
That’s not all that Justine does though, she teaches crochet, runs 8 crochet retreats each year, is the custodian of Little Box of Crochet, after its creator Amanda Bloom sought her out to take it on and she’s planning to open a bricks & mortar shop!
Listen to Justine explain how creativity has been a constant in her life, how reconnecting with her creative side helped her recover from a nervous breakdown and how she gets such joy from doing what she does.
Thank you Justine for sharing your story with Making Stitches Podcast!
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
11 Apr 2025
The Gift of Crochet with Marianne Rawlins aka MazCrochets
00:24:36
For so many of us, crochet (or any craft) is as gift which offers mental release, a chance to focus on something away from the day-to-day worries of life and that creative spark so many of us need. When Marianne Rawlins was working part-time whilst raising her very small children, crochet arrived in her life. It gave her a creative outlet and ultimately an additional career, as her hobby developed into writing and designing for Simply Crochet magazine.
Our paths crossed through her work for Simply Crochet and I asked her to come onto the podcast to talk about how her hobby had opened up new doors for her. Whilst crochet is not Marianne's 'day job' it does play a very important role in her life and she takes great pleasure in not only designing and making crochet items herself but writing articles for the magazine about other makers and testing new yarns which have come onto the market for practical features.
The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .
The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
13 Apr 2020
Making Stitches Teaser
00:01:24
Hello, and welcome to the brand new Making Stitches Podcast. I'm Lindsay and I have a passion for making things in my free time (and even when I'm supposed to be doing other things). This is a podcast which tells the stories behind the crafts, patterns and make-alongs which bind us amateur and even the professional crafters together in this huge online community we exist in. What better time to start that than now, while many of us are stuck indoors because the Coronavirus pandemic? Arts and crafts are enjoying a resurgence now we have more free time on our hands and their calming effects work wonders for our mental health.
Join me in the coming weeks as I speak to some of the people who inspire our creativity in the world of craft.
Theme music 'Make you smile' by RGMusic on Melody Loops www.melodyloops.com Find out more about Making Stitches at www.makingstitchespodcast.com
21 Apr 2020
CROCHET SANCTUARY PANDEMONIUM with Lisa Hesketh & Lynda-Rose Simonini
00:29:59
In the first ever episode of 'Making Stitches' I speak to the ladies behind the Crochet Sanctuary about their latest CAL (crochet-along) - the Pandemonium CAL - which was released in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. They also discuss how they first started with crochet and why they decided to put on crochet weekend retreats in Cheshire.
You can find out more about the Crochet Sanctuary on their website: https://www.crochetsanctuary.co.uk/
Find them on Instagram and Facebook as 'The Crochet Sanctuary'.
Find out more about the Making Stitches Podcast : https://makingstitchespodcast.com/
Music on this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from www.melodyloops.com/
01 May 2020
COASTAL CROCHET with Eleonora Tully
00:19:47
It's a real treat to be able to share this episode of Making Stitches with you featuring Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet. Eleonora has been immersed in yarn crafts all her life, but 5 years ago began writing about her passion for crochet on her blog Coastal Crochet. Since then, she has published many crochet patterns on her blog, as well as leading crochet workshops and designing professionally for magazines and the Little Box of Crochet.
People around the globe know Eleonora for her seaside inspired designs and the wonderful photos she shares online (both on her blog and social media) of her work and her trips to the beach near her home on the south coast of England with her Miniature Schnauzer 'Salty'.
You can find Eleonora's blog at https://coastalcrochet.com/ For full show notes of this episode, please visit: https:makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
08 May 2020
CREATIVITY IN CAPTIVITY a Coronavirus Lockdown Quilt
00:19:31
A lot of us are turning to crafts at this time of lockdown and isolation. The act of making things can work wonders for our mental health, and being able to contribute that craft to a community project can help ease the sense of isolation.
Inspired by the story of female prisoners of war making a quilt at Changi Prison in Singapore during World War II, a global group of quilters are contributing to a community quilt which will raise funds for a charity helping communities during this difficult time. In this episode of Making Stitches I spoke to Sue Brown who's idea it was to begin the quilt and Amanda James who has contributed a square to the quilt project.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
10 May 2020
YARNDALE 2020 WORLD CREATIVE PROJECT with Carole Rennison
00:11:53
Around this time each year, the call goes out for knitters and crocheters to get busy making for the Yarndale World Creative Project. First there was bunting, and following that came Mandalas, mini Yarndale sheep, flowers and even socks. This year, the festival organisers are asking people around the world to put their time in lockdown to good use and make dishcloths which will be sold to raise money for a local children's hospice charity.
If you have ever been fortunate enough to visit the festival, which takes place in Skipton in North Yorkshire in September, you will have seen the huge amount of items sent in from all over the world to support the various causes highlighted by the festival. If you would like to join in with this year's appeal, you can find all the details for it at www.yarndale.co.uk
In this week's episode I spoke to one of Yarndale Festival founders Carole Rennison about how the festival came about and why they are calling on our help again this year.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
22 May 2020
CROCHET LESSONS with Marisa Alcock AKA Mariwish
00:23:07
Hello and welcome to Episode 5 of Making Stitches! This week we hear from a friend of mine, someone who I met through our shared love of crochet and Gibraltar.
Marisa Alcock was born and brought up here in Gibraltar but is now based in London and teaches music and crochet. We met a few years back through Instagram and I signed up for one of her Gibraltar based summer lessons to master the art of reading a crochet chart. It was loads of fun and involved tapas, wine and reading our charts by the light of our phone torches when it got too dark to see them properly!
Marisa shared an insight into her creative life, which began here on the Rock but which took her to England. She spent some time speaking to me between online piano lessons and a virtual craft club she's running with some of her music students during lockdown. You can find Marisa on Instagram as @mariwish
This week on Making Stitches we hear from Amanda Bloom the driving force behind Little Box of Crochet. The bi-monthly subscription box delivers a yarny treat to crocheters around the world and contains a complete project with yarn and instructions along with what Amanda describes as 'knick-knackery' or extra little treats to enjoy.
Amanda spoke to me from her home above her beautiful yarn shop 'Craftopia' in Ingleton in North Yorkshire. She spoke movingly about her beloved daughter Jenny who set her off on her Little Box of Crochet journey whilst she was seriously ill with cancer as well as about her move to Ingleton and her hopes for the future.
You can find out more about Little Box of Crochet here: https://www.littleboxofcrochet.co.uk/
For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
05 Jun 2020
SEWING FOR FAMILY & FUN with Victoria Peat
00:26:18
Sewing teacher, dressmaker and patchwork quilter Victoria Peat this week shares her story with Making Stitches. From getting a sewing machine for her 18th birthday and designing patchwork quilts to studying at the London College of Fashion and giving sewing lessons on live TV, Victoria has a true love of making.
Victoria moved to Gibraltar last year and thanks to the recent relaxation of the lockdown rules over here, we were able to meet in person and have a socially distanced chat about everything from making World Book Day costumes to how on earth the contestants on the Great British Sewing Bee cope with the challenges they face.
You can find Victoria on social media by searching 'Victoria Peat' as well as on her website https://www.littleblackduck.co.uk
For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
12 Jun 2020
STRANDED KNITTING with Phil from The Twisted Yarn
00:16:17
This week, Phil from The Twisted Yarn shared her story on Making Stitches. A knitter and crocheter in her spare time, Phil works as a clinical psychologist in her day job and is a mother of twin boys.
Known as 'The Modern Knitter' in her quarterly column in Simply Knitting magazine, Phil has also appeared on BBC TV with her imaginatively reupholstered chair which was reborn as a yarny country cottage complete with a front garden, pond and vegetable patch!
Phil's real love though is her own take on modern stranded knitting rather than the more tradition Fair Isle style. She says she's inspired by nature and is hoping to have her first book on the technique published next year.
You can find Phil at The Twisted Yarn, as well as on social media and Ravelry.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
19 Jun 2020
CROCHETING UNDER LOCKDOWN with Esther from Essie Birdies
00:23:31
Making Stitches this week, features its first international guest, crochet designer, Esther from Essie Birdies who lives in the Netherlands. Ether's interest in crochet was sparked when her daughter was given an amigurumi kit 10 years ago. She taught herself crochet so she could make it for her, that set her off on a path to designing small toys, shawls, bags and home furnishings.
Esther's story just goes to prove that you don't have to start early to make an impact in the world of crochet. She now works in collaboration with yarn brands and has a website filled with her own designs.
Hello and welcome to the tenth and final episode in the first series of Making Stitches. This week I'm sharing a story which is very special to me, that of my sewing teacher Dorcas Hammond.
With a career spanning more than 30 years, Dorcas Hammond is a well-known name in Gibraltar. Her dressmaking workshop has created gowns for many brides and beauty queens ahead of their big events - none more so than when Kaiane Aldorino was crowned Miss World in 2009.
Dorcas has held fashion shows in London, Marbella, Madrid and Portugal, and has won several designers competitions, including the Agulha de Ouro (Golden Needle) in Portugal back in 2004. Dorcas not only creates beautiful clothes, she also teaches students to create their own at her fashion academy. This week we hear how she began sewing as a young child and how she turned her passion into her profession (Dorcas also shares a trick of the trade which involves coffee!).
Hello there! Making Stitches is back for a new series after a long summer break. In this series, as with the first one, I hope to be sharing the stories of interesting creative projects as well as hearing from creators themselves about their own creative journeys.
In this first episode of series 2 I recap on what's been happening over the summer for myself, as well as some of my guests from series 1. Since I last spoke to you, a new crochet podcast has been born, a lockdown quilt has been completed and is now on tour raising funds for charity and just like many other events this summer, a yarn festival is going online, so you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own home.
For more information on the subjects covered in this episode, please check out:
The Crochet Sanctuary Website or find the new Crochet Sanctuary Podcast on your favourite podcast app.
Search for 'The Quilt. Spring2020 Creativity in Captivity' on Facebook.
For full details of Yarndale@home please visit the Yarndale website and follow Yarndale on social media for all the details.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. Music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops
02 Oct 2020
BAG MAKING WITH MRS H & YARNDALE@HOME 2020
00:32:28
This week on Making Stitches I have two guests for you; Bag Maker Extraordinaire Samantha Hussey (otherwise known as Mrs H) and Carole Rennison from Yarndale. Last weekend saw the first ever Yarndale@home as the yarn festival was forced to go online because of the current Covid restrictions. I caught up with Carole earlier this week to find out how the new-look festival had gone.
Before that though, you will hear from Samantha Hussey of Patterns by Mrs H. A bag maker who is on a mission to share the love of her craft with anyone who wants to have a go. Her book The Complete Bag Making Masterclass is packed with tips and ideas for creating your own beautiful bags. It comes with several patterns with detailed instructions on how to make your own. In addition to that, Samantha runs bag making retreats and supports an online bag making community. She tells me all about how her bag making journey developed and why she believes she has a very special super power which helps with her designs.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops
CROCHET AND COMMUNITY with Jill from Gum Leaf Crochet
00:25:58
When Jill, a former nurse living on the eastern coast of Australia, joined Instagram to share her crochet makes three years ago, little did she know she would create a 14,000 strong community of like-minded people. In this episode of Making Stitches, Jill of Gum Leaf Crochet tells me all about how crochet and this online community has helped her in her 'second life' after injury and serious illness forced her to make big life changes.
You can find Jill on Instagram, Facebook and Ravelry as Gum Leaf Crochet.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
STITCHING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GARDEN with Cathy Emmott from Dear Emma Designs
00:34:24
Many of us choose to seek a different career path after starting a family, and Cathy Emmott is no different. She took the time she spent on maternity leave with her young family to look at ways of developing her creative side rather than returning to a job in finance. After a lifetime of being creative, she dusted off her sewing machine and began creating fabric pictures inspired by her surroundings in the Yorkshire Dales. Her business 'Dear Emma Designs' was born and after initially selling her work at local craft fairs, she branched into online sales and leading workshops to pass on the skills she has learned through her craft.
I had great fun speaking to her about her craft, her inspiration, how her business has developed over the past 15 years and about her wonderful workshop in her garden where all the magic happens.
You can find Cathy on social media as 'Dear Emma Designs' and here: dear-emma.com
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
FROM ALPACAS TO THE 3 WISE MEN with Kerry Lord from Toft UK
00:22:41
Kerry Lord took up crochet for the first time when she went on maternity leave from her family's yarn business less than ten years ago. She watched some YouTube tutorials and created a cuddly elephant for her baby, who was still yet to be born. Little did she know back then that Bridget the Elephant would eventually go on to be made thousands of times by crocheters around the world and the book of crochet animal patterns she would go on to write would be translated into 22 different languages.
This week on Making Stitches, I have a chat with Kerry Lord, the founder of Toft and creator of more than 200 crochet patterns. Kerry has gone on to write 11 books, the most recent of which, A Partridge in a Pear Tree, has been released in time for Christmas. She told me how the business first got started and how after shaky beginnings it's become the flourishing creative hub it now is.
We chatted last week on the first day of our most recent national lockdown in the UK and just before Kerry launched the brand new Toft Christmas campaign which you can find all about on the company's website.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
CREATIVITY FOR MENTAL HEALTH with Emma Jones from Vintage Sewing Box & Looking Ahead to Christmas with The Apex Singers
00:24:27
Creativity whether it's music, craft or art has long been seen as having a positive impact on mental health, and after the year we have all experienced, it's something many of us have had to focus on. This week on Making Stitches, Emma Jones from Vintage Sewing Box speaks about the benefits of focusing the mind on stitching and how that simple repetitive activity can calm the mind. Emma also discusses her love of English Paper Piecing and hand embroidery and has a truly lovely tale about a quilt dedicated to the memory of her Gran.
Also this week, as our thoughts turn towards Christmas, we hear from The Apex Singers about a special Christmas Concert they are hosting online. The young vocalist group, which is based in Manchester, launched its first album back in March just as the UK went into lockdown and is now looking forward to performing together for the first time since that launch. The singers want to share the experience with as many people as they can online.
To find out more about Emma Jones' work please check out her website: Vintage Sewing Box You can find out about The Apex Singers here and you can buy tickets for their Christmas Concert 'Snowed in at Home' here.
FINDING COLOUR INSPIRATION IN A LOCKDOWN VEG PATCH with Agnis Smallwood
00:22:09
This week, designer, maker, educator and weaver Agnis Smallwood speaks to me about her craft, her creative journey and how she found inspiration for her work this year among the carrots and radishes she grew in her small veg patch during lockdown. Agnis, who is based in Yorkshire, works on solo weaving projects as well as collaborations with organisations like museums. She also teaches weaving and other crafts like rag rug making and felting.
Just a few generations ago looms were a familiar sight in domestic settings giving artisans the chance to work from home. Just like the generations of weavers who have gone before her, Agnis is currently working on her loom from home which is where she spoke to me from.
You can see Agnis' work and find out about her workshops on her website.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Anu Dent, a crocheter and a much valued supporter of Making Stitches who very sadly passed away in November 2020. My condolences go out to her family and friends.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
HAPPY STITCHMAS! The Making Stitches 2020 Christmas Special
00:51:01
Happy Stitchmas!
In the words of one of my guests for this Christmas Special episode '2020 has been a year like no other', not least because lockdown was responsible for setting me off on this Making Stitches podcasting journey. Back in spring as we were locked down during the first wave of the pandemic, I decided to focus some of my time on speaking to inspiring makers and telling their stories.
Since then I have spoken to people from all walks of life who enjoy yarn crafts, sewing and weaving. My guests have been from the UK, Europe and Australia so far, and in this episode for the first time, you'll hear from a maker from across the pond in Canada too. I thought a Christmas Special would give me the opportunity to look back at this year and share some of the 'Stitch Stories' listeners to the podcast have shared with me as well.
In this episode you will hear from guests from my first two episodes; Lisa Hesketh & Lynda-Rose Simonini from The Crochet Sanctuary and Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet as well as four 'Stitch Stories' from listeners and makers in Canada, Gibraltar and the UK. So however you are spending this festive period, hopefully you will feel as though you are among like-minded friends as you listen to this.
Wishing you all a peaceful Christmas & all the best for the year ahead. Keep safe & enjoy your crafting!
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
DOING WHAT YOU LOVE with Sara Huntington, Editor of Simply Crochet Magazine
00:24:44
Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of Making Stitches for 2021! In this episode you can hear from crochet designer and Editor of Simply Crochet Magazine Sara Huntington. Sara has been crocheting for 20 years and several years ago made a conscious decision to follow her dreams and turn her passion for her craft into her profession after juggling two jobs as well as motherhood to get there.
Sara has seen a boom in the number of people getting interested in crafts and specifically crochet in recent months and is an advocate for its benefits. In this episode she shares her creative journey and the amazing determination she had to get to where she is today. Sara also shares her experiences of the process of finding inspiring designs to fill the pages of each issue of Simply Crochet magazine.
For more information on Simply Crochet, please visit the magazine website and you can find Sara on Instagram as @crochetdeli.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
MAPPING THE WORLD IN TEXTILES with Janet Browne, Textile Artist
00:35:09
Hello and welcome to the twentieth episode of Making Stitches. After two episodes almost exclusively focusing on crochet, our attention is turned to textiles and textile art in particular this time. Late last year I spoke to Yorkshire-based textile artist Janet Browne about her beautiful observational work which maps journeys she has made as well as townscapes, gardens and allotments.
Like all of us, 2020 and the pandemic has seen Janet's world shrink from the freedom of long car journeys to walks around her local neighbourhood and that has had an impact on her work. She spoke to me about her work, how she wasn't able to create the work she does until this particular time in her life and how she finds inspiration everywhere - even in motorway traffic signs!
Making Stitches is going to be taking a short break, but will be back soon. Please subscribe to Making Stitches on your favourite podcast app or follow Making Stitches on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter so you don't miss the next episode.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
Hello there! Making Stitches is coming back for a third series very soon. I can't wait so share some more fascinating conversations with inspiring makers with you. Over the next few weeks you'll be hearing chats I've had with people from the world of textile art and crochet including two TV stars and a YouTuber!
Please make sure you subscribe to Making Stitches on your favourite podcast app so you don't miss the new episodes when they come out. You can also follow Making Stitches on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where all the latest information about episodes will be shared.
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
KEEPING A HERITAGE CRAFT ALIVE with Gini's Dorset Buttons
00:45:48
Until I watched last year's Kirstie's Handmade Christmas (in December 2020), I had never heard of Dorset Buttons before. That was until Louise Armitage (also known as Gini) created the most beautiful picture using Dorset Buttons to depict the seasons of the year and clinched the trophy for the Handmade Decoration competition.
Dorset Buttons originated from the county of Dorset (the clue's in the name) on the south coast of England and have been around since the 1600s. They were used to fasten items of clothing in the days before mass produced machine-made buttons were available and were worn by all sections of society even royalty.
Gini first discovered the buttons as a 17-year-old student when she managed to trace a lady in Dorset, who was in her 80s at the time, and was the last of her family to practice the skill after it had been passed down through the generations. That lady agreed to teach Gini the basics on the understanding that she would keep the tradition going. Gini certainly did that when she introduced so many people to Dorset Buttons on primetime TV!
I caught up with Gini in January this year, after the excitement had died down and the flood of orders which came through in the aftermath of the TV show had been dispatched. We had a great chat about her creative journey as well as her TV experience.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
02 Apr 2021
FROM CHRISTMAS MAKES TO AMIGURUMI APRIL with Hayley Shelton from Dotcraftstudio
00:22:46
Hello again! Last episode we heard from Louise Armitage aka Gini's Dorset Buttons, and how a friendship blossomed between her and Hayley Shelton from Dotcraftstudio while they were competing in Kirstie's Handmade Christmas last year. Well it didn't seem right to only hear from one half of that crafty partnership, so in this episode I share the chat I had with Hayley all about her craft and her amazing end to 2020.
We know Hayley for bringing amigurumi to a national television audience in December last year as she created a beautiful reindeer head using the amigurumi crochet technique. However, she is also an accomplished illustrator and won a tv competition for her Christmas card design last year as well and her work has been shared online by the influencer Mrs Hinch.
I caught up with Hayley a few weeks ago to hear about her big tv experience, how she first got into crafting and her exciting plans for this month.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
16 Apr 2021
STITCHED with Textile Artist, Matthew Downham
00:20:13
Welsh textile artist Matthew Downham always knew he wanted to be an artist, and when he picked up a needle and thread, he knew that was the medium for him. Matthew, who has exhibited his art in the United States, uses layers of stitches to cover teddy bears in his work. For him, the act of threading a needle and tying a knot is as much part of the art as the finished piece itself.
In this episode, Matthew shared with me his journey to becoming the artist he is today, which was interrupted by a prolonged period of anxiety. I'm very grateful to Matthew for speaking so openly about the struggles he has faced so far, and am delighted he shared his story with me.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
30 Apr 2021
THE EVOLUTION OF A CROCHETER with Rosina from Zeens & Roger
00:24:39
Specialising in bright colours and most recently items of clothing like cardigans, mittens and cowls, Rosina from Zeens and Roger is a prolific crochet designer. Based in Devon in the south west of England, Rosina balances her work and family life with creating beautiful crocheted designs, a blog and a popular YouTube channel.
Rosina was first taught to crochet by her Nan but it was only when she went on maternity leave with her eldest son, that she picked up a crochet hook again. Since her first makes for her new born child, she began designing for a wider audience several years ago and has gone on to have her work featured in a number of magazines including Inside Crochet and Mollie Makes.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
13 May 2021
THE ART OF GENTLE PROTEST with Sarah Corbett from The Craftivist Collective
00:50:58
A chance conversation about a small embroidery project while on a long train journey led Sarah Corbett to unite her interest in craft with her passion for activism. Sarah says that at the time of that conversation, while working on a cross-stitch kit during a 5-hour-long train trip, she was feeling burned out by her job as an activist. But she realised there was a way to marry the mindfulness of stitching and other crafts with getting important messages across and supporting the under represented in society.
Sarah now single-handedly runs The Craftivist Collective and has engaged thousands of crafters from around the world (including the inspirational change-maker Malala Yousafzai) in creating their own acts of gentle protest on a range of issues from climate change to women's rights and the campaign for a living wage.
You can find out more about The Craftivist Collective and sign up to The Craftivist Collective newsletter here.
My sincere thanks to Sarah Corbett for speaking to me for Making Stitches Podcast.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
27 May 2021
GRANNY SQUARE APPRECIATION with Heather Griffith from HG Designs Crochet
00:28:25
Crochet can be a form of therapy for so many of us, but for Heather Griffith of HG Designs Crochet, it was through using the craft as rehabilitation after an injury, which set her off on a whole new adventure. At the time, Heather was training to be a lawyer and the repetitive movements of making granny squares helped her physically and mentally throughout her training.
It was last year though, during a period of ill health that she appealed for help to the online crochet community to buy her granny square patterns (to sustain her financially) that she decided to make the leap to crochet full-time.
Now, Heather runs a crochet design business (HG Designs Crochet) and online tuition for wannabe crochet designers (HGDC Hub) publishing work books to help designers grade their patterns and produce work which can be sold.
Heather says that far from being an overnight success, her design work has been a slow burn with her publishing YouTube videos and Instagram posts since 2017. She believes there is room in the market for plenty more crochet designers to join her, sharing their own niche of the crochet world.
You can find out more about Heather's work and her social media and YouTube channels through her website.
My sincere thanks to Heather Griffith for speaking to me for Making Stitches Podcast.
If you would like to vote for Making Stitches Podcast in the 'Specialist Interest' category of the Quite the Thing Media 2021 Podcast Awards, voting is open until 19th June 2021. You can vote here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
10 Jun 2021
CROCHET, CHERRY BLOSSOM & FRIENDSHIP - A DAY OUT AT THE CROCHET SANCTUARY
00:24:05
I'm so happy that I've been able to bring you this latest episode of Making Stitches. Back in the spring of 2020 when I was recording my first episode of Making Stitches, I imagined that before too long, I would be able to travel to meet inspiring makers and record their stories in person. Thanks to Covid lockdowns and restrictions, that hasn't been able to happen until now. That first episode of the podcast featured two ladies, Lisa Hesketh & Lynda-Rose Simonini, the creators of The Crochet Sanctuary, and the brains behind the Pandemonium Blanket Crochet-along (or CAL) which helped hundreds of crocheters cope through that first lockdown. That interview was recorded remotely as the vast majority of the Making Stitches episodes have been, but I hoped that one day, we would get the chance to meet in person. That day came two weeks ago at the first Crochet Sanctuary day of 2021.
The Crochet Sanctuary was first launched back in 2018, after Lisa and Lynda-Rose decided they wanted to create the kind of crochet get-away that they would like to attend themselves. They focus on inclusion and making sure everyone is welcomed and feels part of the group and there is help on hand if you are usure of stitches or techniques. The reason for the sanctuary is crochet, but from my experience on the day, the true message is friendship.
I took my microphone along with my crochet hooks and met some lovely ladies. I hope this epsiode gives you a flavour of the great time I had at my first ever Crochet Sanctuary!
My thanks to Lisa & Lynda-Rose, Amanda from Mrs G Makes, Diane & Sam for speaking to me for the podcast and to all the other lovely ladies I met that day.
You can find out all about The Crochet Sanctuary here.
If you would like to vote for Making Stitches Podcast in the 'Specialist Interest' category of the Quite the Thing Media 2021 Podcast Awards, voting is open until 19th June 2021. You can vote here. You can also vote for Making Stitches in the Listener's Choice Category of the British Podcast Awards here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
24 Jun 2021
HOOKING A BRIGHTER FUTURE with Louise Murray from Hooked by Lou
00:15:38
So many of my guests on the podcast so far have spoken about the healing properties of their crafts, the mindfulness of repetitive stitching, be that with a sewing needle or machine, a pair of knitting needles or a crochet hook. For my guest in this episode, Louise Murray, crochet and other crafts have helped her in her journey since losing her brother suddenly four years ago.
Back on 22nd May 2017, a terrorist attack on an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena left more than 800 people injured and twenty two people lost their lives. One of those who died was Louise's brother Martyn Hett. At the time, Louise was nearing the end of her foundation year studies ahead of plans to study for a degree in Fashion Design. All that was put on hold when the tragedy struck her family so suddenly and so publicly.
Since then, Louise's love of crafts and creating helped her find a new direction and she's now crocheting full time with her business designing and making clothing and accessories called Hooked by Lou. I'm so grateful to Louise for agreeing to share her story and for speaking so openly about her experiences.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
08 Jul 2021
FROM SEWING SCRUBS TO SEWING BEE with Adam Brooks
00:35:26
I don't know about you but this year's Great British Sewing Bee was just what the doctor ordered for me. After a spring of lockdowns, isolation, burst bubbles and home schooling, the creativity, colour and humour of GBSB was so uplifting.
The standard of the contestants this year was really high, and many of them could have gone all the way to final had it not been for one bad day when things didn't go exactly according to plan. The camaraderie of the 12 sewing competitors, the friendships you were able to witness developing and the fabulous garments that were created made it a fantastic series.
One of those contestants was Adam Brooks, an Entertainments Director on a cruise ship, who used his time during the pandemic while stuck on dry land, to get creative and reacquaint himself with his sewing machine. He created beautiful garments on the show from a stunning 1950s style button down dress to a Frida Kahlo inspired playsuit and won the transformation challenge twice! Unfortunately a child's raincoat got the better of him in week 5 and saw him saying goodbye to his fellow contestants.
I'm absolutely thrilled that Adam agreed to speak to me for Making Stitches and really grateful he shared some of his behind the scenes experiences from Sewing Bee. I hope you enjoy listening to our chat as much as I did recording it. You can find Adam on Instagram.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
23 Jul 2021
SEW ON THE GO with Mary Jane Baxter
00:53:02
Back in the days before Covid, when the notion of being able to pack up a camper van and do a road trip of Europe was a thing, former BBC Brussels Correspondent Mary Jane Baxter did just that. She did it in style in a 1986 Bedford Bambi van adorned with vintage wallpaper. Taking just a few possessions with her, including her hand-crank sewing machine and a collection of her own hand-made hats, she set off on a voyage of creativity and adventure calling in on former work colleagues and discovering new textile inspired destinations.
On her return from her tour of France, Belgium, Italy and Scotland, Mary Jane set about recording her travels in the form of a book; Sew on the Go. In it you find a travel journal, a number of creative craft projects you can have a go at as well as a searingly honest document of the highs and, at times, painfully lonely lows of solo traveling. From driving down a black run in the Alps (during summer) and camping next to a Cathedral in France to browsing flea markets and hosting craft pop-ups to help fund the trip, Mary Jane's account of her travels is warm, emotional and utterly inspiring.
My grateful thanks to Mary Jane for sharing her adventures with me for Making Stitches.
You can find Mary Jane's website, where you can order her book; Sew on the Go here and her Instagram account here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
05 Aug 2021
A FLOCK OF CANARY CRAFTIVISTS - BONUS EPISODE
00:25:02
Hello there! Although Making Stitches is supposedly on a summer break, here's a little bonus episode all about a project I've been involved with recently which began with a previous episode of this podcast. Back in May, I released Episode 25 of Making Stitches which featured a chat I had with Sarah Corbett from the Craftivist Collective. In it, she told me about her plan for a summer of 'craftivism' featuring flocks of Canary Craftivists staging public displays of crafting to raise awareness of environmental issues ahead of this year's Cop 26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Galvanized by Sarah's infectious enthusiasm, I found myself co-ordinating a small flock of canary craftivists in Manchester. This episode is the story of how it came about and how it went. Blighted by the 'pingdemic' our flock was small but, dare I say it(?), perfectly formed and we were able to engage passers-by in our craft and the message behind it. I do hope you enjoy listening!
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
20 Sep 2021
MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 4 TRAILER
00:01:22
Hello! Making Stitches Podcast is returning with a brand new series very soon. I'm looking forward to bringing you more inspiring maker stories and sharing more inspiring conversations. Among my first few guests will be the a a queen of colourful crochet, a sock-knitting champion who wants to teach the world to knit socks and a novelist who has used her love of patchwork quilting and sewing as the inspiration for her new novel.
Please make sure you subscribe to Making Stitches on your favourite podcast app so you don't miss the new episodes when they come out. You can also follow Making Stitches on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where all the latest information about episodes will be shared.
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
24 Sep 2021
TEACHING THE WORLD TO KNIT SOCKS with Christine Perry aka Winwick Mum
00:35:34
Hello and welcome to the first episode in series four of Making Stitches Podcast. It has been a very busy summer for me researching stories and makers to share with you on the podcast as well as working on my own creative projects too. It's a real joy to be back with you!
In this episode we hear from Christine Perry, who you may know better as Winwick Mum, a champion of sock knitting who has made it her life's work to simplify the sock-knitting process so anyone can achieve success and knit their own socks. Christine's knitting journey began in earnest at the age of 18 when she saw a jumper she simply had to have and her mother told her to knit it herself. It wasn't until several years later though, that her obsession with knitting socks began.
After being told that knitting socks was too difficult too many times at a knit and natter group, Christine decided to make her own tutorial to demystify the process and published it on her blog; Winwick Mum. That was when the 'Sockalong' was born and in the six years since, over 15,000 pairs of socks have been knitted around the world using Christine's tutorials - and those are just the ones she knows about! She went on to write two books with sock patterns in and has her own YouTube channel in which she shows the process of creating socks. Christine has also designed a range of sock yarns for West Yorkshire Spinners.
Christine was a joy to talk to and her enthusiasm for her craft is truly infectious. I can imagine an awful lot of new sock projects will be cast on after listening to this! You can find Christine and her work via her blog Winwick Mum
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
08 Oct 2021
YARNDALE 2021 : A FESTIVAL OF YARN, CREATIVITY & COMMUNITY
00:36:50
After a hiatus due to the pandemic last year, Yarndale returned to Skipton Auction Mart on 25th & 26th September and I was thrilled to be able to go along! As well as my mask and hand sanitizer I took my microphone and met so many truly lovely people.
This episode is my experience of Yarndale 2021, which in a nutshell was wonderful, friendly, colourful and utterly uplifting. In it you will hear from yarn dyers, craftspeople and business owners who were exhibiting their wares along with Matt Farci from Crojo.Life and Alyson Chu from Moorit Magazine as well as friend of Making Stitches, Carole Rennison from Hooked by Design who is also one of the festival's organisers. I hope you enjoy listening to it as I enjoyed my Yarndale experience - it was a blast!
Here are the people & businesses who feature in this episode - my thanks to everyone who spoke to me.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
22 Oct 2021
THE PATCHWORK GIRLS with Elaine Everest
00:28:16
For many of us, our crafts take a back seat as we concentrate on our careers and creativity can be stifled by everyday life. For novelist, Elaine Everest, a childhood growing up with a mother who made clothes and sewed for friends and family, that creativity stayed with her. From dressmaking as a young girl to making designer garments on a knitting machine for London boutiques to then setting up her own business sewing raincoats for dogs, Elaine achieved a lot before she embarked on yet another creative career as a novelist.
Sewing is a theme which runs through Elaine's series 'The Woolworths Girls' and is centre stage in her latest book; The Patchwork Girls. The story, set in World War II, sees a group of women form a sewing circle making patchwork quilts and other items for the war effort. Elaine drew on her own experience of crafts to write the story which shows the healing effects of both friendships and creativity.
Elaine says that although her interest in crafting had waned over the years, the events of the past 18 months have reacquainted her with sewing, crochet and other crafts and that they have 'saved' her during lockdown. She spoke to me about her life, her love of creativity and how she ended up writing a string of novels.
The Patchwork Girls is published by Pan MacMillan.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
05 Nov 2021
LIVING A COLOURFUL CROCHET LIFE with Emma Leith
00:44:50
When I sat down to chat with the self-named 'Queen of Colour' & crochet designer Emma Leith, I was in for a treat. Emma's enthusiasm for creativity and colour is infectious and she was a delight to speak to. She started out teaching mosaic but a couple of large scale yarnbombs brought Emma to prominence and two books of crochet patterns soon followed. Emma's mindful creations and colour choices are so zingy and uplifting - you can't help but be filled with optimism when you see them.
I hope you enjoy our chat which covered subjects including how a breast cancer diagnosis gave Emma the time to focus on her crochet with no pressure, how her creativity is a conduit for her Buddhist practice and how she has learned to embrace the colours of autumn.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
19 Nov 2021
THE POWER OF THE CRAFT COMMUNITY with Sara Mulvey of Black Sheep Wools
00:30:12
I have been wanting to share this episode with you for a very long time. Back in the darkest days of Covid and lockdown in the Spring of 2020, one of the things which kept me going was watching the series of videos posted by Sara Mulvey from Black Sheep Wools. They ranged from chats about yarn supplies and things which could be ordered from the shop to projects she and the rest of the team were working on to general chit chat about surviving the mundane routines we all found ourselves in during those long months of lockdown.
Back in April of 2020, when I first began Making Stitches, I had a 'hit list' of people I really wanted to get onto the podcast. Sara was one of those people. If nothing else, I wanted to say thank you to her for helping me at a very tricky time. Fast forward to October 2021 and I finally was able to sit down with Sara in her office at the Black Sheep Wools Craft Barn and have a chat about how the past 18 months had been for her and the team, as well as how it all began for her.
I do hope you enjoy listening to this episode of Making Stitches!
You can find Black Sheep Wools here. If you would like to take part in the Christmas episode of Making Stitches with your own 'stitch story' please get in touch with me via social media or email: makingstitchespodcast@gmail.com
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
03 Dec 2021
CRAFTING A DREAM SEWING BUSINESS with Freya Gilbert and Sarah Wadey of Crafty Sew and So
00:30:25
When Freya Gilbert and Sarah Wadey met at a sewing workshop in 2014, they knew they had met a kindred spirit. Within months they followed their dreams of setting up a sewing business and opened their bricks and mortar shop Crafty Sew and So in Leicester selling fabric haberdashery and offering award-winning workshops. They used their skills gained in retail and the fashion industry to build their business which included a variety of craft workshops as well as dressmaking patterns and kits.
When Covid forced the shop to close after 5 years of business, undeterred, Freya and Sarah moved to the Crafty Sew and So workshop and put their business online. During the past 18 months they have not only continued to sell sewing essentials but have run online workshops attracting participants from overseas as well as closer to home. Now that Covid restrictions have eased they are beginning to offer in-person workshops too.
I'm thrilled that Freya and Sarah were able to share their story with me for Making Stitches.
If you would like to find out more about Crafty Sew and So, you can do here. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
If you would like to take part in the Christmas episode of Making Stitches with your own 'stitch story' please get in touch with me via social media or email: makingstitchespodcast@gmail.com
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
17 Dec 2021
MOORIT AND THE WONDERS OF CROCHET with Alyson Chu
00:24:11
When Alyson Chu spotted a gap in the market for a high-end crochet magazine, she decided to draw on her publishing experience and put one together herself. With Kick-Starter backing of over 600 individuals and the support of a group of crochet designers, Moorit was born this autumn showcasing beautiful crocheted garments to make as well as articles and a very cute sheep project too.
A podcaster herself for more than 4 years along with her mother, Vivian, with Keep Calm and Carry Yarn, Alyson is well used to speaking about her ongoing projects and her love of crochet. I think you'll really enjoy hearing about how Moorit came into being, as well as Alyson's hopes for the magazine going forwards and whether she will be won over by the dark side (knitting) or not!
My sincere thanks to Alyson for speaking to me for Making Stitches Podcast.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
24 Dec 2021
HAPPY STITCHMAS 2021! The Making Stitches Podcast Christmas Special & Review of the Year (Part 1)
00:35:26
It's Christmas Eve, so here's my Christmas gift to you dear listener! This year I'm splitting my Christmas Special into two halves, the first one is here for you today, and the second one will be out one week from today on New Year's Eve.
In Part 1 I look back at a few of my personal highlights of the year so far on Making Stitches and feature little snippets from interviews with Sara Huntington - Editor of Simply Crochet Magazine, Louise Armitage aka Gini's Dorset Buttons, Great British Sewing Bee 2021 contestant Adam Brooks, Heather Griffith from HGDC Crochet & Louise Murray from Hooked by Lou. You'll also hear from Tracy, Julie and Lucy from Black Sheep Wools in Warrington and Kate Blackburn from Katie Did This UK hand-stitched cards.
You can find links to all my guests below. My thanks to everyone who spoke to me for the Podcast this year - I couldn't have done it without you!
I hope you enjoy listening to this special festive episode and I very much look forward to sharing Part 2 with you soon! Have a great Christmas!
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
31 Dec 2021
CELEBRATING FREEDOM & CRAFTY RESOLUTIONS FOR 2022 : The Making Stitches Podcast Review of the Year (Part 2)
00:46:31
I hope you've had a lovely Christmas! I have one last gift for you this year before the clock strikes midnight again and we begin another year. Following on from the Happy Stitchmas episode published on Christmas Eve, this is my Hogmanay offering with a celebration of some of the freedoms I was able to enjoy this year as well as hearing about peoples' crafty New Year's Resolutions for 2022.
Among my guests for this trip down Memory Lane are Crochet Sanctuary regulars Diane & Sam who I met on my visit to the Crochet Sanctuary in Cheshire in Spring. There's the hugely inspiring Sarah Corbett from the Craftivist Collective and Evie & Gemma from the Manchester Flock of Canary Craftivists which took place in the city centre in July. Former BBC Europe Correspondent, Mary Jane Baxter, spoke to me about her amazing crafty road trip around Europe and Scotland in her camper van - Bambi, plus there was my fabulous trip across the Pennines to the Yarndale Festival in Skipton in September.
You'll also be able to hear from a couple of the ladies from Black Sheep Wools in Warrington, crafter Kate Blackburn who makes beautiful handstitched cards, Christine Perry aka Winwick Mum and someone who has helped me a great deal this year; Amanada from Mrs G Makes.
My thanks to everyone who has spoken to me for Making Stitches this year and made it a year to remember for the podcast. My thanks to you too for listening! Happy New Year - I hope 2022 is a good one for you.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
14 Jan 2022
FORGIVENESS, HOPE & KNITTED BEARS with Figen Murray
00:35:49
Figen Murray first took up knitting seriously to help her cope with hearing loss. At the time, she was working as a psychotherapist, and decided to practice what she preached and turned to creativity to help lift her mood. Little did she know then that just a few years later her knitting would help her cope with the dreadful loss of her son, Martyn Hett, who was one of the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017.
By the time of the attack, Figen had taken to knitting bears which she sold online and which she used to help people with various mental health issues. In May 2017, her life was (in her words) "turned upside down", and she left psychotherapy work to look at why people are compelled to commit acts of terrorism and to try to prevent it happening so that other families wouldn't have to experience what happened to hers.
Figen's bears became 'Peace Bears' and not only have they given her a constructive way of coping with her own grief, but she has used them to reach out to the victims of other attacks too. Figen now visits schools to speak about terrorism and the dangers of radicalisation as well as the good and positivity there is in the world in a bid to "break the cycle of hate". In December 2021, Figen graduated with a Masters Degree in Counter Terrorism from the University of Central Lancashire and was recognised for her work in counter terrorism when she was awarded an OBE in this year's New Year's Honours List.
It was utter pleasure to speak to Figen for Making Stitches and I'm incredibly grateful for her time and openness in speaking to me for the podcast.
You can find out more about Figen here and to see Jordan the Bear's traveling adventures you can find him here.
For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.
You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.
Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.
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