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A podcast celebrating creative crafts and inspiring makers.
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.
You can find the Black Sheep Wools website here, they are also on Instagram and Facebook.
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.
Last year, I spoke to Tracy Fox, creator of the Great Northern Textile Show and went along to the first ever Great Northern Textile Show.
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.
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.
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.
You can find Mia at her website : Therapeutic Knitting, on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic, & Why I Knit Podcast.
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.
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!
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.
You can find Jen at her on Instagram at @stitchcraftandcook
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.
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
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.
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.
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
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.
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.
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
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.
Happy New Year!
From Lindsay x
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.
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
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.
You can find The Crochet Sanctuary website here, and the Black Sheep Wools Betwixtmas Make Along for this year here.
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.
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.
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
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.
You can find Olesya's website here.
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto 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
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.
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto 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
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.
You can find out more about Stitched Up! through their website and YouTube channel.
To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto 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
Amanda is a wife. A mother. A blogger. A Christian.
A charming, beautiful, bubbly, young woman who lives life to the fullest.
But Amanda is dying, with a secret she doesn’t want anyone to know.
She starts a blog detailing her cancer journey, and becomes an inspiration, touching and
captivating her local community as well as followers all over the world.
Until one day investigative producer Nancy gets an anonymous tip telling her to look at Amanda’s
blog, setting Nancy on an unimaginable road to uncover Amanda’s secret.
Award winning journalist Charlie Webster explores this unbelievable and bizarre, but
all-too-real tale, of a woman from San Jose, California whose secret ripped a family apart and
left a community in shock.
Scamanda is the true story of a woman whose own words held the key to her secret.
New episodes every Monday.
Follow Scamanda on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
Amanda’s blog posts are read by actor Kendall Horn.
