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Making Stitches Podcast

A podcast celebrating creative crafts and inspiring makers.

Lindsay Weston

Hello and welcome to Making Stitches Podcast! This time, my guest is Annah O'Leary from Needle and Feather, a colourwork knitting designer.Annah has led a very creative life, studying woven textiles at university, working in poduct design and then teaching, before knitting took over. When Annah first tried knitting, she found it frustrating and just didn't 'get it', however during a period of time when she was suffering from anxiety, she picked it back up again and, very quickly, started designing her own colourwork motifs. Annah started designing and knitting small squares, purely because they didn't take long and could be completed in an evening, giving her something achievable and enjoyable to focus her mind. After sharing her designs online, she was encouraged to publish her own patterns. When Annah decided to leave her job in teaching, designing took over full-time and this year, as well as attending numerous shows and festivals, she has launched an e-learning course on colourwork and has published her first book: Knit an Heirloom Blanket.I first met Annah at Carry on Crafting in July this year, you can catch our quick chat in Episode 110: Carry on Crafting 2026. Our paths crossed again last month at Yarndale, listen to Episode 113: Yarndale 2026 to hear our chat then. But, in-between, those two events, and in the midst of a house move, Annah very kindly found the time to chat with me for this episode!Thank you Annah! It was lovely to hear your story!You can find out all about Annah's work on her website: https://needleandfeather.com/Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

From Woven Textiles to Knitting an Heirloom Blanket with Annah O'Leary of Needle & Feather

It's 10 years since I first visited Yarndale and thanks to me living a lot closer to Skipton now than I did back then, I am lucky enough to be able to visit each year. Last month, I made my sixth visit Skipton Auction Mart for this brilliant event celebrating all things yarn and creativity. As is now the tradition, I took my microphone with me to capture some of the atmosphere and to give myself the excuse to chat to fabulous creative people who were there too, both vendors and visitors.In this epsiode, you can hear me chat to Sara & Sean from @crochet_in_the_glen, Paulette Edwards from BBC Radio Sheffield @bobette10, Edith Sanders @edith.sanders, Tom from @theyarnartist, Lydia from @laurettecraftsuk, Annah from @needleandfeather, Stephen West @westknits, Clare Montgomerie @clairemontgomerie, Ailsa Stephen @ailsa.makes.things, Gordon Cree @manknitted, Stephanie Thompson @stephaniethompsoncoaching and Tracy Callaghan @tracythecreativetherapist from last year's Game of Wool @gameofwoolofficial, Sammy from Auspicious Stitch @auspicious.stitch, Jane Crowfoot @janiecrow, Becky from William & Tilda @williamandtilda, Bex from The Pigeon's Nest @thepigeonsnest, Steffi Glaves @steffi_glaves, Michelle Greaves from @Knitting4FunUK & @texstyle_festival.You can find out all about Yarndale over the festival's website here.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

YARNDALE 2026: A Festival of Yarn & Woolly Creativity

Hello and welcome to Making Stitches Podcast, my guest this time is Anglo-Irish former TV and Theatre actor, now knitting teacher, Alice O'Connell. Knitting first came into Alice's life when she was sitting around waiting to be called onto set and soon changed her life. We spoke about times when it's been incredibly important to her, including when she first became a Mum for the first time, and during her successful treatment for breast cancer.Alice now teaches others to knit through online classes from her home in Amsterdam, and is hoping to share her passion for the many benefits of knitting creativity with as many people as possible.You can find Alice on her website and Instagram account.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

From Doctor Who to stress-relief knitting with Alice O'Connell

Hello and welcome to a brand new series of Making Stitches Podcast!My guest for this first episode is crochet designer and teacher Sam Sabido. Sam first learned to crochet after being gifted crochet lessons around 15 years ago. At the time, she was having a tricky time and hoped crochet would give her a creative outlet and some time to concentrate on her own wellbeing. Little did she know back then what an impact crochet would have on her life. After mastering the craft herself, she began teaching others to crochet, she started designing her own patterns and was invited to appear as a regular guest designer on Sewing Street TV. In 2024, Sam published her first book: My Granny Square Wardrobe and will be publishing her second later this year.We met at Carry on Crafting in July this year - you may remember hearing me chatting with Sam briefly at Carry on Crafting in my last episode. When we spoke, I asked if she would like to come onto Making Stitches for a longer chat, and I was thrilled she said yes. In this episode, Sam speaks openly about her struggle with Post Natal Depression after the birth of her third child and whilst expecting her fourth. She discusses the healing properties of making and how she has seen it help others as well as herself. I loved chatting to Sam, and I hope you enjoy listening too.Thank you for speaking to me for Making Stitches Podcast Sam!You can find Sam here at Sam Sabido Crochets and Adventures in Crafting.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

The Healing Power of Crochet with Sam Sabido

This time last weekend, Carry on Crafting celebrated its 5th birthday. The festival, based at Ardingley Showground in Sussex, played host to craft stalls, workshops, vintage stands, tasty food, music and fun.Last March, I spoke to the festival's founder, Justine Robson on this podcast (for episode number 94. At the time, she invited me along to the festival - over a year later, I got there!It was everything I imagined it would be, and more. I met old friends and made new ones too, I crocheted, I chatted, I watched football, listened to music and even got to interview a radio legend called Graham!Thank you to everyone who spoke to me for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast including (in order of appearance):Kerry Lord from ToftEleonora Tully from Coastal CrochetAnnah from Needle & FeatherKitey from The Yarn WhispererBex from The Pigeon's NestMaking Stitches Podcast listeners, Clare & SarahGraham - the voice of Radio CoC (Carry On Crafting!)Sam Sabido from Sam Sabido CrochetsNicky Ward from A Heart Shaped CherryJustine Robson from Carry on CraftingAs well as everyone to helped make the weekend run so smoothly for us - especially the wonderful Carry on Crafting volunteers (particularly Clare who gave me a lift back to the station!).It was a truly special experience!This is the final episode in the current series of Making Stitches Podcast, I will be back again (all being well) in the autumn, with some more inspiring creative chats for you.I hope you have a lovely summer!Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

CARRY ON CRAFTING 2026: A Weekend of Crafting, Camping & Fun

In this episode of the Making Stitches Podcast, I'm joined by documentary filmmaker Paul Wyatt, director of the beautiful documentary film Sheep, Actually.Although this conversation is a little different from my usual chats with makers, it explores something at the very heart of many of our crafts: wool.Paul's documentary asks us to look beyond the skein and back to its origins, exploring the connections between sheep, farmers, wool and the people who transform this remarkable natural fibre into the textiles we love.Inspired by the simple but powerful idea, "If you're going to work with wool, get to know how a sheep lives," the film follows the story of a sheep called Cow while opening up wider conversations about farming, sustainability, craftsmanship and our relationship with the materials we use every day.Whether you're a knitter, crocheter, spinner, weaver, feltmaker, embroiderer or simply someone who loves natural fibres, I think you'll find this a fascinating conversation.Find out more about Sheep, Actually, including screenings, news and ways to support the film:https://www.paulwyattfilms.com/sheepactuallyYou can also follow Paul Wyatt Films on social media for updates on the documentary.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

Sheep, Actually: A Film About Wool & a Sheep Named Cow with filmmaker Paul Wyatt

In this episode, I'm delighted to be joined by contemporary textile artist Murron Fraser. Based in Manchester, Murron's work is inspired by nature, folklore and storytelling, creating richly layered textile pieces that invite us to look more closely at the hidden wonders of the natural world. Through a combination of machine embroidery, printmaking, and mixed media techniques, she creates artworks that are full of texture, colour and meaning. Alongside her artistic practice, Murron is also a passionate educator and workshop facilitator, helping others reconnect with their creativity through community projects, courses and nature-inspired textile experiences. In our conversation, we talk about the threads that run through her work, from Celtic folklore and the idea of hidden worlds, to the role of observation, curiosity and creative play in her practice. We also discuss how she balances life as a working artist, educator and community arts practitioner, and why slowing down can be such an important part of the creative process. Thank you Murron for speaking to me for Making Stitches Podcast!You can see Murron's work over on her website: textilesbymurron.comYou can sign up to Murron's newsletter here: https://www.textilesbymurron.com/newsletterMurron's Instagram profile is here and you can find her on Facebook here.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

Reconnecting with your imagination with textile artist, Murron Fraser

Hello, and welcome to Making Stitches Podcast! This time, I'm delighted to be joined by Melissa Santiago-Val founder and CEO of Sew Positive. What began during the pandemic as a community effort making face masks to raise money for NHS charities has grown into an inspiring charity using sewing, mending and up cycling to support peoples' mental health and wellbeing.In our chat, Melissa shares her own creative journey, the story behind Sew Positive and how stitching can be more than simply making something with our hands. We talk about creativity as a tool for connection, confidence and community, and explore how sewing can help people through difficult times while also encouraging a more sustainable approach to the clothes we wear.You can find out more about Sew Positive over on their website and you can find lots of other information on their linktree here.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

Connection, Confidence & Community with Melissa Santiago-Val from Sew Positive

Upstairs in an historic industrial building in the centre of the West Yorkshire town of Slaithwaite is a vast collection of handmade items, tools and publications charting the history of knitting and crochet in the UK. The Knitting and Crochet Guild Collection was started in 1991 and is cared for by a team of dedicated volunteers.Hidden away in this fascinating archive is an extraordinary collection of handmade garments, patterns, yarns, tools, publications and shade cards, all connected to the rich history of knitting and crochet in the UK. Thousands of items have been donated by makers from across the country, preserving not just beautiful pieces of work, but also the stories, skills and social history behind them.The collection has grown into a real treasure trove, an invaluable research resource for academics and historians, but also an endless source of inspiration for contemporary designers, knitters and crocheters.I feel hugely privileged to have been invited along to see some of the Collection for myself. I loved chatting with Angharad Thomas a Volunteer Textile Archivist and Isobel Holland a Collection Volunteer over in Slaithwaite, and am very grateful to them for speaking to me for Making Stitches Podcast.You can find out all about the Knitting and Crochet Guild over on their website along with all the information we chatted about in our conversation about the Collection including when their upcoming events will be happening.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

Stitching History: Inside the Knitting and Crochet Guild Collection

This time on Making Stitches Podcast, I’m joined by Kit Giroux, semi-finalist from the 2025 series of The Great British Sewing Bee. In our chat, Kit talks about their sewing journey, from first learning as a child to rediscovering a love of making a year or so before appearing on national television. We also chat about what it was really like to take part in series 11 of The Great British Sewing Bee.Kit shares some brilliant behind-the-scenes insights from their time in the Sewing Bee sewing room, including the story behind the unforgettable paper dress created for Pop Art Week, which went on to win Garment of the Week. We talk about the pressure of choosing and getting your hands on the right fabric when the challenges start, stepping through the screen to appear on a show you've loved for years, and the joy of making clothes that truly reflect personal style.As well as looking back on Sewing Bee, Kit also talks about their hopes for the future, including plans to release an original range of sewing patterns. Thank you so much Kit for allowing me to come and visit you and for speaking to me for Making Stitches!You can find Kit on Instagram and TikTok.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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 designed by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Pattern challenges, THAT paper dress and life after Sewing Bee with Kit Giroux

I'm taking you out on the road with me today to Stockport to visit a fabulous yarn shop, Manchester Wool & Yarn. The shop celebrated its 2nd birthday earlier this year and is owed and run by Gareth, a passionate maker and supporter of the yarn community.Stocked with familiar brands and products from independent yarn dyers based across the North West of England, it's a positive treasure trove of colour, squishyness & is such a lovely place to visit. Regular 'Bitch and Stitch' socials support a welcoming community of yarn lovers, and Gareth is always happy to help answer any yarn or pattern queries he encounters from customers. It was so lovely to visit Gareth at Manchester Wool & Yarn, and I'm so grateful he took the time to speak to me for the podcast - thanks again Gareth!You can find Manchester Wool & Yarn's website here and Gareth is also very active on social media, find him on Facebook, Instagram & TikTok.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

Yarn, Fibre & Community with Gareth from Manchester Wool & Yarn

My guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast is the wonderful Anna Nikipirowicz. Anna first learned to knit and crochet as a child in Poland, but she says she found it boring - luckily for us, as an adult she found a new passion for both crafts and is passionate about sharing her love and knowledge of them.Anna has published a series of books on crochet techniques, embroidery onto crochet, Tunisian crochet as well as a book on crochet & knitting too. Her passion for her craft is truly infectious and she loves to meet makers and help them improve their techniques and try new things in workshops across the UK and also abroad.Shawls, socks and blankets are Anna's favourite items to make and she wants everyone else to join her on her brilliant yarny adventure too. Thanks so much for Anna for finding the time to speak to me for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast!You can find Anna's website & Instagram account here.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

From London 2012 to Peru:  Anna Nikipirowicz's fabulous yarn adventure

Two weeks ago, the first ever TexStyle Festival threw open its doors at Manchester Central. It was an amazing weekend of creativity, community and lots and lots of chatting! It was the idea of the mother and daughter team behind the Buxton, Cumbria & Stafford Wool Gatherings, (Michelle Greaves and her Mum, Carole) to create a bigger show encompassing other textile and fibre crafts in their home town of Manchester.It did not disappoint, it featured dozens of stands showcasing beautiful crafts and items to buy, a range of fabulous workshops, a break-out zone called ‘The Hive’ where visitors could escape the busyness and just sit and chat and even work on their wips. Plus there was a Textile Talks stage hosted by yours truly which showcased some fabulous creative folk speaking on their specialist subjects. I was thrilled and very honoured to be asked to host the Textile Talks stage, and loved every minute of it. In this episode you can hear from all of the speakers who stepped up to the mic over the weekend along with other exhibitors too.My thanks to everyone who spoke to me for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast! You can find all of their websites below:Michelle Greaves from TexStyle Festival https://texstyle.uk/Sophia Gardiner - textile artist https://www.instagram.com/sophiagardinerart/?hl=enStephen West from Westknits https://www.westknits.com/ & https://www.stephenandpenelope.com/en-gbAmelia from Amelia Stitches https://ameliastitches.com/Gareth from Manchester Wool & Yarn https://manchesterwoolandyarn.com/Debbie from The Lace Knittery https://www.thelaceknittery.com/Jane Smith from Atelier Nejiribana https://www.nejiribana.co.uk/ & http://www.japaneseembroideryuk.com/Laili Cleasby from Emily Foulds https://www.emilyfoulds.com/Victoria Salmon from Another Knitted Thing https://www.anotherknittedthing.com/Tricia Bashan from Knitting & Crochet Guild https://kcguild.org.uk/Alena Ruth from Manchester Tufting Workshops https://www.tuftingworkshops.co.uk/Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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

TexStyle Festival 2026: A weekend of community, colour & creativity

Katy Mitchell is the crochet designer behind Kate's Crochet Creations, known for her vibrant granny square patterns and beautifully themed blanket designs. Her work celebrates colour, creativity and the joy of crochet, her patterns inspire crocheters of all skill levels. I was thrilled to be able to chat to her about how her hobby turned into a full-time job. Katy's work has been featured in magazines, she is a Stylecraft yarns 'Insider' and, last year, published her first book; The Granny Square Book which features patterns for 125 different squares.You can find Katy on Instagram, Etsy & Ravelry.Thank you so much to Katy for speaking to me for Making Stitches Podcast!It's TexStyle festival time this weekend in Manchester, and if you would like to come along to enjoy the creativity & fun, please visit the TexStyle website to get your ticket!If you would like to listen to my chat with Michelle Greaves, who is one of the TexStyle festival's organisers, you can find it here.Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

Granny Squares Galore! With Katy Mitchell from Kate's Crochet Creations

Hello and welcome to the 100th episode of Making Stitches Podcast. Way back in April of 2020 when I published my first ever Making Stitches Podcast episode, I had no idea that over 5 years later, I would be publishing episode 100! That blows my tiny mind!In the months leading up to this milestone, I had a couple of conversations with my lovely yarny friend, Christine Perry (aka Winwick Mum) and she suggested marking this podcast milestone with a different kind of episode - one with me as the guest.After much consideration, I took Christine up on her kind offer and let her turn the tables - asking me the questions instead. At the start of December, we had a lovely time having a long chat and recording this episode. Among the topics we covered were where I first learned to sew, knit and crochet, my career in journalism and how I got started in radio, our family's time in Gibraltar and how that led to starting my Postcard from Gibraltar blog back in 2015, making friends through the world of creativity, podcasting and blogging and, of course, 5 years of Making Stitches Podcast. I hope you enjoy listening!Huge thanks to Christine for being the host of Making Stitches Podcast this time! You can find Christine's website here: https://www.winwickmum.co.uk/You can find the Making Stitches Blog here: https://makingstitches.co.uk/You can listen to Gibraltar Stories Podcast in all the usual podcast places as well as on the Gibraltar Stories Website: https://gibraltarstories.com/Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

EPISODE 100 - From Postcard from Gibraltar to Making Stitches

Hello there and Happy Stitchmas!It's that time of year again when I take a look back at the past 12 months and choose some of the highlights of my podcasting year. 2025 has been a big year for me, I celebrated 10 years of blogging (Postcard from Gibraltar and then Making Stitches Blog) and 5 years of Making Stitches Podcast.In this episode I share some of the chats I have had this year and you may have heard before as well as some new chats too. Included in this episode are: Christine Perry from Winwick Mum speaking about 10 years of the Winwick Mum sock along.Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet talking about 10 years of her blog and our celebration of a decade online with our Let's Celebrate Wreath collaborative crochet pattern.Sara & Sean MacLeod from Crochet in the Glen chatting about the fun they have together and how they love to share their silliness online.Kirstie MacLeod, the artist behind The Red Dress, who I met at Woven in Kirklees on World Stitch Day.Becky Davies-Downes from William & Tilda who appeared a couple of times on the podcast last year. I interviewed her again at Yarndale this September, and this is the first time I've shared our chat.Also at Yarndale, I spoke to Julie Park, a close friend of Amanda Bloom, who sadly died this year. Julie has taken on Amanda's social media accounts after her death and has raised funds to support the Yarndale Start-Up Bursary for fledgling creative businesses at the festival in memory of Amanda and her daughter Jenny.More recently, I was at the Christmas edition of the Crochet Sanctuary Crochet Days just last weekend. While I was there I spoke to Lisa and Lynda-Rose who run the Crochet Sanctuary and, who were my guests on the first ever edition of Making Stitches back in the spring of 2020.I also caught a quick few minutes with Heather from Keep Calm & Crochet On  and Jess from Hook & Cwtch.I hope you enjoy listening, and that you have a great Christmas. I'll be back again soon, with the last episode of the current series - and my 100th episode! Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

Happy Stitchmas 2025!

In this episode of Making Stitches Podcast I chat to Anita Gibney — the designer behind Made by Anita and the author of the brand-new book; Patchwork Granny Square Blankets. Known for her beautiful crochet blanket deisgns, Anita has become an ambassador for Stylecraft Yarns and has just published her first book.We chat about how her love of crochet began, the inspiration behind her quilt-inspired granny-square blankets, and what it was like to turn years of designing into her first published book. Anita also shares insights into her creative process, how she approaches colour schemes, and why it's important to share skills to inspire makers of all skill levels.Whether you’re a crochet beginner, a seasoned maker, or simply someone who loves hearing from a fellow creative, I'm sure you'll enjoy listening to Anita's story.You can find Anita’s website here: madebyanita.co.ukFind out about Anita's new book: Patchwork Granny Square BlanketsHere is the yarn company which Anita made reference to during our chat: The Grey Sheep.  Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

From an Amigurumi Pig to Crocheted Patchwork with Anita Gibney from Made by Anita

December starts next week which means we are officially on the countdown to Christmas, but there's still time to make a few Christmas gifts for special people or some decorations for your home. In this special 'Bonus Episode' I'm sharing a chat I had with Justine from Little Box of Crochet and Nicky Ward from A Heart Shaped Cherry. Followers of Little Box of Crochet will know that 2025 has been a difficult year for Justine. One of the things she has had to deal with involved being badly let down on a yarn order for her Summer Box of Crochet, which left her severely out of pocket and struggling through no fault of her own.In an attempt to help Justine recoup some of her financial losses, a group of crochet designers have donated Christmas themed crochet patterns to be included in a special E-Book called Merry Crochet Makes, which was curated and edited by Nicky.Last weekend, I spoke to Justine and Nicky about this special collaboration and how it all came together, including chatting about how difficult things have been for Justine this year. (Justine has listened back to this episode before being released, and it is being published with her blessing).You can buy the Merry Crochet Makes E-Book here, and you can find Little Box of Crochet on Instagram & this is Nicky's website and her Instagram page - @aheartshapedcherry - please give her a follow!For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

Merry Crochet Makes with Justine Robson & Nicky Ward - BONUS EPISODE

My guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast is Kat Molesworth, the creative force behind the Blogtacular Podcast & Festival. With Blogtacular, Kat helped countless creatives and bloggers find their voice and their community online. These days, Kat's work means she's serving another creative community, working for Immediate Live, on the Knit & Stitch Show, the Stitch Festival & the Festival of Quilts. Kat has also been a quilter for years and this summer, qualified as a Master Quilter with the Quilters Guild. Kat and I chatted about her childhood fascination with photography and how that developed into her professional life, her online adventures, hosting live events and what quilting has given to her.I'm really grateful to Kat for taking the time to speak to me for Making Stitches.You can find Kat here on her website & Instagram account. For more information about the live events Kat works on for Immediate Live, please check out their website.For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

Quilts, Blogs, Podcasts & Live Shows with Kat Molesworth

Welcome to Making Stitches Podcast!In this episode I share a chat I've had with Michelle Greaves, one half of the team behind the brand new TexStyle festival which is coming to Manchester next year. Michelle and her Mum, Carole, have been hosting yarn festivals for a number of years including the Buxton, Cumbria and Stafford Wool Gatherings, next year, they are hosting a much bigger event spanning all sorts of textile and yarn crafts in central Manchester.TexStyle is a fresh celebration of all things textile, from knitting and crochet to sewing, weaving and sustainable fashion. It will bring together makers, artists, guilds and other enthusiasts for a weekend of inspiration and creativity in the historic Manchester Central (formerly GMEX).I really enjoyed chatting to Michelle about how her career has swerved from fashion design to digital media alongside organising yarn festivals with her Mum, Carole, who has decades of experience in the yarn industry.I hope you enjoy listening to our chat!If you would like to find out more information about TexStyle, please check out the website : https://texstyle.uk/For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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. 

TexStyle: Looking ahead to a new festival for 2026 with Michelle Greaves

My guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast is Amy Ting, a crochet designer from the US who specialises in amigurumi. Amy is a passionate advocate for the Japanese technique of crocheting in the round to create soft toys. She has been crocheting amigurumi creatures for 7 years and shares her work online on her website: https://curiouspapaya.com/ and on social media too https://www.instagram.com/curiouspapaya/This summer, Amy released her first book of crochet patterns called Amigurumi Critters which contains 25 patterns to make cute crocheted animal soft toys. In this chat we spoke about how crochet came into her life and led her to publish her first book.For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

All Things Amigurumi with Amy Ting from Curious Papaya

On the weekend of 27th & 28th September, Skipton Auction Mart was again transformed into Yarndale. The festival of all things creative brings stall holders and crafts people from far and wide to share their love of their creative passions.While knitting and crochet take centre stage with every imaginable colour and type of yarn, there are many other crafts to enjoy, including embroidery, sewing, spinning, felting, lacemaking and so much more. I went along with my trusty microphone and chatted to so many people, friends I've known online, people I've met before and so many new acquauintances too. It was a total joy.I was also thrilled to be able to chat to Julie Park, a good friend of the late Amanda Bloom, who was there to represent her friend and support 3 new creative businesses with the Yarndale Start-Up Bursary.My thanks to everyone who spoke to me for this episode including:Carley from Unicorn Puffs & RainbowsLydia from Laurette CraftsSue Maton from The MercerieEmma Wood from VerdeJulie Park on behalf of Amanda Bloom & the Yarndale Start-Up BursarySammy from Auspicious StitchAnd Sara & Sean from Crochet in the GlenFor full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

YARNDALE 2025 : Celebrating Yarn & Community

The Red Dress, recently recognised by the Guiness World Records as the largest collaborative embroidery project, is a truly stunning piece of work. It was created by Kirstie Macleod, a British artist, over a period of 14 years with the help of 380 different embroiderers.The dress is made of 87 silk panels which have been embroidered by people from 51 different countries and includes techniques passed down through generations, the work of skilled crafts people and first time stitchers. There are purely decorative sections and others which reflect stories of trauma, resilience and healing. The embroiderers include female refugees from Palestine, Syria and Ukraine, women seeking asylum in the UK from Iran, Iraq, China, Nigeria and Namibia, survivors of war in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda and DR Congo. Now complete, The Red Dress tours museums and exhibitions around the world amplifying the voices of the people who have contributed to it. Kirstie has also recently published a fascinating and beautiful book about the project called The Red Dress - Conversations in Stitch.I was lucky enough to see The Red Dress for myself and hear Kirstie speak about this truly amazing project at World Stitch Day at Woven in Kirklees Festival this summer. I feel privileged to have been able to see it and hear just a few of the stories of the people behind this mammoth project.I hope you enjoy listening to this episode, if you would like to find out more about The Red Dress, please visit Kirstie's website for more info on its creation and where you can see it for yourself.For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

THE RED DRESS with Kirstie Macleod

Back on 1st June this summer, the Woven in Kirklees Festival kicked off with World Stitch Day at Oakwell Hall in Batley. Among the attractions of stalls from local community groups, textile artists, workshops and an interactive fabric 'Time Machine' was The Red Dress on display in West Yorkshire for the first time.The Red Dress is an award winning collaborative embroidery project which was conceived by the British artist Kirstie Macleod. It took 14 years to complete and features the work of 380 embroiderers from 51 different countries, many of whom come from marginalised communities. The dress is currently in the middle of a global tour and was on display for the whole of June at Oakwell Hall in Birstall.The 'Woven in Kirklees' textiles festival first launched in 2019. The community festival celebrates all kinds of textiles and related crafts with yarn bombs, textile art exhibitions, workshops and talks.The biennial festival runs for a whole month and this year had 130 different events happening throughout June. Initiated in 2019 by Kirklees Council, the festival "is owned by everyone, including community groups, textile businesses, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district".I went along to World Stitch Day and spoke to a number of the exhibitors, the festival's curator, Nat Walton as well as Kirstie Macleod about the amazing Red Dress. Here are some useful links to discover more about the events and groups featured in this episode:Woven in Kirklees WebsiteThe Red Dress Website The Campervan Collective Six Million PlusAnd to find out more about the appeal to make crocheted hearts for the North West & North Wales Paediatric Transport Service, please click this link.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

World Stitch Day 2025

Hello and welcome to the first episode in this new series of podcasts from Making Stitches.This time, I'm sharing a chat with my crochet friend Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet. Eleonora and I have both celebrated a special blog birthday this year. It's 10 years since we both began our blogging adventure.While there's no doubt that Eleonora's blogging and designing has taken her to extraordinary places compared to my own experience, it's been so lovely for me to follow her success and share my own journey with her over the years. Our blogging platform connected us in our early days of blogging, and for the past decade we have regularly communicated both through blog comments and through social media. We were lucky enough to be able to meet in person at Yarndale in 2022, then again last year. It was at Yarndale 2024 that we decided to work on a collaboration to mark our blog birthdays. Today, we are launching our collaborative crochet pattern, the Let's Celebrate wreath. You can find the patterns for the wreath cover and the bunting over on Eleonora's blog at coastalcrochet.com and the patterns for the amigurumi balloons & birthday cake on my blog at makingstitches.co.ukAlso in this episode, you will hear a few teasers of what to look forward to in upcoming episodes of Making Stitches including World Stitch Day at the start of Woven in Kirklees, a chat I had with Kirstie Macleod, the artist behind The Red Dress, and Amy Ting, the amigurumi designer behind Curious Papaya and the author of Amigurumi Critters.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

LET'S CELEBRATE with Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet & a look ahead to Series 10

When Micah Clasper-Torch first designed a coat using fabric which had been embellished with punch needlework, her passion was born. Moving from the intense world of fashion design in New York to a more laid back lifestyle in California, Micah embraced the craft of punch needle and ran with it. Her passion for the craft is infectious, so much so that she launched Punch Needle World, a platform to celebrate the art, craft and history of punch needle. Micah has taught thousands of people how to punch needle through online courses and has recently written a book about the craft sharing 15 designs merging fashion and punch needlework.In this episode you can hear Micah talk a little about the history of punch needle, how she is spreading her love of the craft and how she has merged her two passions of fashion and punch needle too.If you would like to find out more about Micah, you can find her website here and her Instagram account here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

PASSIONATE ABOUT PUNCH NEEDLE with Micah Clasper-Torch

The 'Woven in Kirklees' textiles festival first launched in 2019 and is due to kick off for its 2025 edition this weekend. The community festival celebrates all kinds of textiles and related crafts with yarn bombs, textile art exhibitions, workshops and talks.The biennial festival runs for a whole month and this year will have 130 different events happening throughout June. Initiated in 2019 by Kirklees Council, the festival "is owned by everyone, including community groups, textile businesses, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district".Among the attractions on offer this year is 'The Red Dress'. The Red Dress is an award winning collaborative embroidery project which was conceived by the British artist Kirstie Macleod. It took 14 years to complete and features the work of 380 embroiderers from 51 different countries, many of whom come from marginalised communities. The dress is currently in the middle of a global tour and will be on display for the whole of June at Oakwell Hall in Birstall.I caught up with the festival curator Nat Walton in the busy run up to this year's launch to find out more about what people can expect to see at this year's Woven.You can find out the full programme of events at the 'Woven in Kirklees' Festival on their website.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

Looking Ahead to 'Woven from Kirklees' with Nat Walton

When Rachael Mills took up crochet as a means to giving up smoking, little did she realise that it would one day lead to her making a Turner Prize winning doily! Last year, when the Glaswegian artist Jasleen Kaur was named the winner of the Turner Prize, crocheter Racheal was celebrating at home in Blackburn. I was thrilled when she agreed to come onto the podcast to share her side of this amazing story.Rachael's first creative job was piece work sewing at a bridal gown factory, she then went on to set up her own sewing business when she was made redundant and later on took up crochet as a hobby to keep her hands busy when she gave up smoking. She now spends her mornings on her sewing business and her afternoons crocheting commissions and teaching up to 50 people each week in her crochet classes.You can find Rachael's creative business Facebook pages here: REM Designs for sewing and Crazy Crochet Creations.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

From Sewing Wedding Dresses to Crocheting a Turner Prize Winning Doily with Rachael Mills

My guest for this episode is my yarny friend, Christine Perry, who first made an appearance on the podcast back in 2021. Since chatting back then, we have become friends and when I heard that she was gearing up to a big milestone in her sock-knitting journey, I asked her if she would like to come back onto the podcast and chat about it. Last weekend, on Saturday 3rd May, Christine celebrated a whole decade of encouraging people around the world to. knit socks through her Winwick Mum Sockalong. Christine's main aim is to encourage beginners to get over their fears of knitting in the round, turning heels and Kitchener stitch and be able to set off on their own sock knitting adventures. It worked for me - I think it's highly unlikely that I would ever have attempted to knit a pair of socks before chatting to Christine! I can now proudly say that on Saturday I followed Christine's request to cast on a new pair and get knitting to mark this significant milestone (and this is my 4th pair!).I hope you enjoy listening to our chat!You can find all the details about Christine's 10th anniversary giveaway over on her Winwick Mum blog as well as her free sockalong tutorials.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe 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.

Celebrating 10 years of the Winwick Mum Sockalong with Christine Perry

When I first approached Sara from Crochet in the Glen and asked if she would like to be a guest on Making Stitches Podcast, she couldn't understand why I'd want to speak to her. Like many (thousands) of other people who follow her Instagram account I'd enjoyed seeing her posts from her home on the picturesque Cowal Peninsula on the West Coast of Scotland - not just for the scenery, or her beautiful crochet creations, but because of her "crochet supermodel" husband Sean!Sean and Sara are collectively a hilarious team. Their posts are colourful and very, very funny. Sean can often be spotted strutting down an imaginary catwalk in their home wearing some of Sara's crochet creations - often wearing several different items at the same time. I am so glad that Sara said yes to an interview and as a bonus, Sean was able to join us too. I hope you enjoy listening to them share their story as much as I did when I recorded it! You can find Sara and Sean at the Crochet in the Glen Instagram account.Since the last episode of Making Stitches Podcast was published, Making Stitches has celebrated a birthday - it's now 5 years old. Thank you to everyone who has come onto the podcast over the past 5 years, everyone who has listened and supported me along the way! Lindsay xFor the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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.

Spreading Joy Online with Sara & Sean from Crochet in the Glen

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. You can find Marianne on Instagram as @mazcrochets and on Ravelry too, where she sells her crochet patterns.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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.

The Gift of Crochet with Marianne Rawlins aka MazCrochets

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!You can find the Carry on Crafting Festival website here & the Little Box of Crochet website here.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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.

Carry On Crafting with Justine Robson

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.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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.

MENOPAUSE MAKES with Jenni Smith & Kay Walsh

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.I have to say a huge thank you to Felix for being so generous with her time and for allowing me to use some of her music in the podcast episode. You can find the KNITSONIK podcast here if you would like to hear more of Felix’s audio work. (I can especially recommend the Shetland Wool Week episode)You can find the KNITSONIK website here.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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.

Talking Colour, Yarn, Sound & Knitting with Felix Ford from KNITSONIK

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. Included in this year's extravaganza is Tansy Forster from The Longest Yarn, author and academic Barbara Burman, Emma Varnam, Dr Gemma McKenzie from Threads of Protest, Heather Gibbs from Keep Calm And Crochet On, Lisa & Lynda-Rose from The Crochet Sanctuary. Thank you to everyone who has spoken to me for Making Stitches Podcast this year! 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!Lindsay xIf you would like to support my fundraising effort for FareShare Greater Manchester, you can buy the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath crochet pattern here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

MAKING STITCHES 2024 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

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! You can find Becky's website, William and Tilda here.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. You can find more information about FareShare Greater Manchester here.You can buy the crochet pattern for the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

Learning Lessons from History with Becky Davies-Downes

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.You can find more information about FareShare Greater Manchester here.You can buy the crochet pattern for the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath here.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.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

A FARESHARE FESTIVE FEAST

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.You will hear from: Zoe Coates from British WoolEleonora from Coastal CrochetLindsey from Curate Crochet Box and Lottie & AlbertCathy from Dear Emma DesignsAmanda from Joe's ToesBecky from William & TildaNat from Woven in Kirklees FestivalYou can find the websites for all my guests by clicking on the links above, and you can find the website for Yarndale here.Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak to me for this episode - it was such fun to record!For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

YARNDALE 2024

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 ProtestPO Box 239LiverpoolL37 8YUUKTo find out more about Gemma's work and the Threads of Protest Exhibition, please check out her website. Gemma can also be found on Instagram.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

THREADS OF PROTEST with Dr Gemma McKenzie

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".You can find Jane at her website, on Facebook, Instagram & You Tube.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

CREATING A DIGITAL YARN COMMUNITY with Jane Abraham, The Cornish Knitter

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.You can find the  Loose Ends Project Website here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

Finishing a Creative Legacy with Jen Simonic from the Loose Ends Project

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!You can find Emma's website here, and her Instagram page here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

Finding Joy in Making with Emma Varnam

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. You can find links to Claire's services here.**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A PAID ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE**For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

Selling Your Makes on Etsy with Claire Reed

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. You can find out all about The Longest Yarn on their website.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

THE LONGEST YARN: Commemorating D-Day in Yarn

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.ukPatchwork quilter Emma Jones from the Vintage Sewing Box on the importance of making for mental health https://www.vintagesewingbox.co.ukTextile artist Matthew Downham on finding stitches to ease his anxiety. https://matthewdownham.wixsite.com/mysiteFormer 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-goPeace & 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.ukDr Mia Webb, clinical psychologist, knitter and podcaster on the Why I Knit podcast on the benefits of knitting for mental health. https://www.therapeuticknitting.orgFor full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.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

Creativity for Mental Health : a Dive into the Making Stitches Podcast Archives

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. You can find Heather here on her website; Keep Calm and Crochet On UK.To join the mailing list for the 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.

A Decade of Keeping Calm and Crocheting On with Heather Gibbs

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!You can find a link to 'The Point of the Needle - Why Sewing Matters' here.To join the mailing list for the 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.

WHY SEWING MATTERS with Barbara Burman

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 Cathy Wright from Lazy Kate Textiles. 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 5AFYou can find out more about Cathy and her work on her website. To join the mailing list for the 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.

Spinning, Weaving and Niddy-Noddies with Cathy Wright from Lazy Kate Textiles

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.My guests in this episode include:Catherine CrochetsDr Mia Hobbs from Why I Knit PodcastDr Fran Darlington Pollock from the Greater Manchester Mayor's CharitySara from Black Sheep WoolsJen Rich - @stitchcraftandcook on InstagramJulie from Tilly Flop DesignsLisa Wilde from Sunnyside Fabrics UKJane Smith - Japanese Embroidery artistHelen from Yarn Addicts ManchesterCheryl & Joanne from the North Cheshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers & DyersNikki from Allium ThreadsSheila Haldane - textile artistWendy Roby - textile artistDebbie from Why Knot MacrameAnd if  you would like to support the Black Sheep Wools 'Deck the Halls' charity campaign in support of the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity, you can find all the details here.To join the mailing list for the 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 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.

MAKING STITCHES 2023 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

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.You can also see Jane on justhands-ontvTo join the mailing list for the 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.

LOVING THE LANGUAGE OF CROCHET with Jane Czaja

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 streetsEach 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.You can find out more about the work of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity here. If you would like to join the ‘Deck the Halls’ campaign and buy patterns of yarn packs, you get them from Black Sheep Wools.#DeckTheHalls23 #WeDontWalkOnBy #GMMayorsCharityTo 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.

Deck the Halls with the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity

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.Thank you to everyone who spoke to me for this episode including Domino Panton-Oakley from the Great Northern Textile Show, Debbie Davies from Why Knot Macrame?, Janet Markwell from The Corner Patch, Niki from Allium Threads, Julie from TillyFlop Designs, Lisa Wilde from Sunnyside Fabrics, Cathy Unwin from The Quilter's Guild, Cheryl & Joanne from The North Cheshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers & Dyers, Helen from Yarn Addicts of Manchester. Also, textile artists Wendy Roby, Jane Smith & Sheila Haldane, as well as Taslima from CDM UK Manchester.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 is 'Prunella the Pumpkin' an amigurumi pumpkin doll. Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.Thank you for listening!

THE GREAT NORTHERN TEXTILE SHOW 2023

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.

Black Sheep Wools at 40 & looking ahead to the Great Northern Textile Show 2023

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!

KNITTING IS THERAPEUTIC with Dr Mia Hobbs

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 @stitchcraftandcookTo 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

From Food Styling to Sewing with Jen Rich

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

MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 7 TRAILER

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

TAPESTRY CROCHET with CATHERINE CROCHETS

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 xTo 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

2022 CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR SPECIAL PART 2 : REVIEW OF THE YEAR

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

2022 CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR SPECIAL PART 1 : OLD FRIENDS

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

Stand With Ukraine Art Quilts Auction with Olesya Lebedenko

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

THE POWER OF SEWING with Clare Hunter & Michelle Edwards

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

Sewing to Save the Planet with Stitched Up!

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.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.

Amoami: A Symbol of Crochet Resistance with Rafael Alcaide

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.Thank you to everyone who spoke to me for this episode including:Tracy Fox, the event organiserLeah Higgins, artistLouise from Sincerely LouiseHolly Palmer from Planet QuiltsIan Fothergill from The Knitting Gift ShopTanya from the Woolly TangleJulie from Tilly Flop DesignsChristine and Ally from the International Feltmakers AssociationCaroline from Montague Patchers in SaleLiz Carrington from the North Cheshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers & DyersHelen & Carrie from the Yarn Addicts of ManchesterGreat Northern Textile ShowTo 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.

THE GREAT NORTHERN TEXTILE SHOW 2022

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.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.

FROM RUSTY METAL TO WORKS OF ART with Tracy Fox ~ Dyer, Print Maker & Artist

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.Janet Browne from Janet Browne Textile ArtJodi from Cuddlebums Hand Dyed YarnsTanya Bentham from Opus Anglicanum EmbroideryHannah Cross from Hanjan Crochet  Zuzana from Trava & WoolMatt Farci from Scheepjes & Crojo.lifeSue Kimber from Farm CraftsJaki Bogg from Hot Butter YarnsEleonora Tully from Coastal CrochetCarole Rennison from Hooked by Design Yarndale Festival 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.

YARNDALE 2022 : A Festival of Yarn & Friendship

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.

MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 6 TRAILER

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.Guest links:Juey Jumbo Craft Tools websiteWinwick Mum websiteWest Yorkshire Spinners Happy Feet Pattern Book 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.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.

COLOURFUL SOCKS & JUMBO CROCHET HOOKS with Winwick Mum & Juey Jumbo Craft Tools

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. You can find Emma at her website,  Etsy shop, Instagram, Pinterest & Twitter.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.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.

KNITTING, CROCHET & THE ONLINE CRAFT COMMUNITY with Emmaknitty

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.  You can find Kitey at the Yarn Whisperer website, on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, & YouTube.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.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.

YARN, FOOD, NATURE & THE UNIVERSE with Kitey from the Yarn Whisperer

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.You can find the Caterpillar Cross Stitch website here, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube.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.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.

FROM LAW TO CROSS STITCH with Sally Wilson from Caterpillar Cross Stitch

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.You can find The Crochet Project website here, Facebook & Instagram.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.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.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.

A NEW VENTURE FOR THE CROCHET PROJECT with Joanne Scrace

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.

PRESERVING THE FABRIC OF OUR HISTORY with The People's History Museum

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.You can find Lynne at her website, Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest.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.

CROCHET & KNITTING AT THE WOOLNEST with Lynne Rowe

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.

COLOUR, CREATIVITY & A COMMUNITY KICK-STARTER with Clare Albans from hellohooray.com

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.You can find Hannah on her website, Facebook & Instagram.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. You can find out more about Blanket of Hugs Ukraine through the Little Box of Crochet website, Facebook page & Instagram.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.

CROCHET-TASTIC with Hannah Cross from Hanjan Crochet & Amanda Bloom from Little Box of Crochet

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:Olesya Lebedenko DesignOlesya Lebedenko InstagramOlesya Lebedenko Etsy ShopIf 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.

FROM UKRAINIAN EMBROIDERY TO CANADIAN QUILTING with Olesya Lebedenko

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.

MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 5 TRAILER

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.

FORGIVENESS, HOPE & KNITTED BEARS with Figen Murray

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.My guests on this episode were:Sam & Diane who I met at The Crochet Sanctuary Sarah Corbett from The Craftivist CollectiveEvie & Gemma from the Manchester Flock of Canary CraftivistsTracy & Lucy from Black Sheep WoolsKate Blackburn from Katie Did This UK on Etsy & InstagramMary Jane Baxter author of Sew on the GoYvonne, one of the volunteers from the Yarndale FestivalJuey from Juey Jumbo Crarft ToolsCarole Rennison from Hooked by Design & Yarndale Festival OrganiserChristine Perry from Winwick MumAmanda Greenhough from Mrs G Makes Etsy Shop & Mrs G Makes You Tube VideosFor 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.

CELEBRATING FREEDOM & CRAFTY RESOLUTIONS FOR 2022 : The Making Stitches Podcast Review of the Year (Part 2)

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!Sara Huntington - Editor Simply Crochet Magazine & @crochetdeli on InstagramLouise Armitage aka Gini's Dorset ButtonsHayley Shelton aka DotCraftStudioAdam Brooks Matthew Downham ArtHeather Griffith from HG Designs CrochetLouise Murray from Hooked by LouTracy, Julie & Lucy from Black Sheep WoolsKate Blackburn from Katie Did This UK on Etsy & InstagramFor 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.

HAPPY STITCHMAS 2021! The Making Stitches Podcast Christmas Special & Review of the Year (Part 1)

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. You can find out more about Moorit Magazine here and Keep Calm and Carry Yarn Podcast 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.

MOORIT AND THE WONDERS OF CROCHET with Alyson Chu

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.comFor 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.

CRAFTING A DREAM SEWING BUSINESS with Freya Gilbert and Sarah Wadey of Crafty Sew and So

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.comFor 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.

THE POWER OF THE CRAFT COMMUNITY with Sara Mulvey of Black Sheep Wools

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.You can find Emma's work on her website & Instagram.Mary Rose Young Pottery is one of Emma's inspirations.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.

LIVING A COLOURFUL CROCHET LIFE with Emma Leith

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. You can find out more about Elaine on her website, Facebook, Instagram & TwitterFor 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.

THE PATCHWORK GIRLS with Elaine Everest

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.Yarndale Festival Juey  from Juey Jumbo Craft ToolsMatt Farci from Crojo.LifeNiki from Allium ThreadsSarah Paul from Bigwigs AngoraKate from Kate's KlothsJenny & Ruth from  Ammonite YarnsMichelle Lewis from Woolly WumpkinsAlyson Chu from Moorit MagazineJudith from Buttoned UpCarole Rennison from Hooked by DesignFor 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.

YARNDALE 2021 : A FESTIVAL OF YARN, CREATIVITY & COMMUNITY

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 MumFor 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.

TEACHING THE WORLD TO KNIT SOCKS with Christine Perry aka Winwick Mum

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.

MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 4 TRAILER

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!If you would like to find out more about the Canary Craftivists and the Craftivist Collective please visit the Craftivist Collective website, Instagram  or Twitter.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.

A FLOCK OF CANARY CRAFTIVISTS - BONUS EPISODE

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.

SEW ON THE GO with Mary Jane Baxter

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.

FROM SEWING SCRUBS TO SEWING BEE with Adam Brooks

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.You can find Louise's work through the following links:Hooked by Lou website Hooked by Lou on Instagram Hooked by Lou on FacebookFor 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.

HOOKING A BRIGHTER FUTURE with Louise Murray from Hooked by Lou

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.

CROCHET, CHERRY BLOSSOM & FRIENDSHIP - A DAY OUT AT THE CROCHET SANCTUARY

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.

GRANNY SQUARE APPRECIATION with Heather Griffith from HG Designs Crochet

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.Craftivist Collective on InstagramCraftivist Collective on TwitterMy 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.

THE ART OF GENTLE PROTEST with Sarah Corbett from The Craftivist Collective

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.You can find Rosina on Instagram, on her blog and on her YouTube channel.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.

THE EVOLUTION OF A CROCHETER with Rosina from Zeens & Roger

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. You can find Matthew on Instagram and via his 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.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.

STITCHED with Textile Artist, Matthew Downham

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.You can find Hayley on Instagram at @dotcraftstudioFor 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.