Making Stitches Podcast

Lindsay Weston

A podcast celebrating creative crafts and inspiring makers.

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118 episodes
Updated July 18

Episodes118

Newest first

Dec 11, 2020 · 22 min
FINDING COLOUR INSPIRATION IN A LOCKDOWN VEG PATCH with Agnis Smallwood
This week, designer, maker, educator and weaver Agnis Smallwood speaks to me about her craft, her creative journey and how she found inspiration for her work this year among the carrots and radishes she grew in her small veg patch during lockdown. Agnis, who is based in Yorkshire, works on solo weaving projects as well as collaborations with organisations like museums. She also teaches weaving and other crafts like rag rug making and felting. Just a few generations ago looms were a familiar sight in domestic settings giving artisans the chance to work from home. Just like the generations of weavers who have gone before her, Agnis is currently working on her loom from home which is where she spoke to me from. You can see Agnis' work and find out about her workshops on her website. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Anu Dent, a crocheter and a much valued supporter of Making Stitches who very sadly passed away in November 2020. My condolences go out to her family and friends. For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. Making Stitches Podcast is recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
Nov 27, 2020 · 24 min
CREATIVITY FOR MENTAL HEALTH with Emma Jones from Vintage Sewing Box & Looking Ahead to Christmas with The Apex Singers
Creativity whether it's music, craft or art has long been seen as having a positive impact on mental health, and after the year we have all experienced, it's something many of us have had to focus on. This week on Making Stitches, Emma Jones from Vintage Sewing Box speaks about the benefits of focusing the mind on stitching and how that simple repetitive activity can calm the mind. Emma also discusses her love of English Paper Piecing and hand embroidery and has a truly lovely tale about a quilt dedicated to the memory of her Gran. Also this week, as our thoughts turn towards Christmas, we hear from The Apex Singers about a special Christmas Concert they are hosting online. The young vocalist group, which is based in Manchester, launched its first album back in March just as the UK went into lockdown and is now looking forward to performing together for the first time since that launch. The singers want to share the experience with as many people as they can online. To find out more about Emma Jones' work please check out her website: Vintage Sewing Box You can find out about The Apex Singers here and you can buy tickets for their Christmas Concert 'Snowed in at Home' here. 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 recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
Nov 13, 2020 · 22 min
FROM ALPACAS TO THE 3 WISE MEN with Kerry Lord from Toft UK
Kerry Lord took up crochet for the first time when she went on maternity leave from her family's yarn business less than ten years ago. She watched some YouTube tutorials and created a cuddly elephant for her baby, who was still yet to be born. Little did she know back then that Bridget the Elephant would eventually go on to be made thousands of times by crocheters around the world and the book of crochet animal patterns she would go on to write would be translated into 22 different languages. This week on Making Stitches, I have a chat with Kerry Lord, the founder of Toft and creator of more than 200 crochet patterns. Kerry has gone on to write 11 books, the most recent of which, A Partridge in a Pear Tree, has been released in time for Christmas. She told me how the business first got started and how after shaky beginnings it's become the flourishing creative hub it now is. We chatted last week on the first day of our most recent national lockdown in the UK and just before Kerry launched the brand new Toft Christmas campaign which you can find all about on the company's website. For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. Making Stitches Podcast is recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
Oct 30, 2020 · 34 min
STITCHING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GARDEN with Cathy Emmott from Dear Emma Designs
Many of us choose to seek a different career path after starting a family, and Cathy Emmott is no different. She took the time she spent on maternity leave with her young family to look at ways of developing her creative side rather than returning to a job in finance. After a lifetime of being creative, she dusted off her sewing machine and began creating fabric pictures inspired by her surroundings in the Yorkshire Dales. Her business 'Dear Emma Designs' was born and after initially selling her work at local craft fairs, she branched into online sales and leading workshops to pass on the skills she has learned through her craft. I had great fun speaking to her about her craft, her inspiration, how her business has developed over the past 15 years and about her wonderful workshop in her garden where all the magic happens. You can find Cathy on social media as 'Dear Emma Designs' and here: dear-emma.com For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. Making Stitches Podcast is recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
Oct 16, 2020 · 25 min
CROCHET AND COMMUNITY with Jill from Gum Leaf Crochet
When Jill, a former nurse living on the eastern coast of Australia, joined Instagram to share her crochet makes three years ago, little did she know she would create a 14,000 strong community of like-minded people. In this episode of Making Stitches, Jill of Gum Leaf Crochet tells me all about how crochet and this online community has helped her in her 'second life' after injury and serious illness forced her to make big life changes. You can find Jill on Instagram, Facebook and Ravelry as Gum Leaf Crochet. For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops. Making Stitches Podcast is recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
Oct 2, 2020 · 32 min
BAG MAKING WITH MRS H & YARNDALE@HOME 2020
This week on Making Stitches I have two guests for you; Bag Maker Extraordinaire Samantha Hussey (otherwise known as Mrs H) and Carole Rennison from Yarndale. Last weekend saw the first ever Yarndale@home as the yarn festival was forced to go online because of the current Covid restrictions. I caught up with Carole earlier this week to find out how the new-look festival had gone. Before that though, you will hear from Samantha Hussey of Patterns by Mrs H. A bag maker who is on a mission to share the love of her craft with anyone who wants to have a go. Her book The Complete Bag Making Masterclass is packed with tips and ideas for creating your own beautiful bags. It comes with several patterns with detailed instructions on how to make your own. In addition to that, Samantha runs bag making retreats and supports an online bag making community. She tells me all about how her bag making journey developed and why she believes she has a very special super power which helps with her designs. You can find Samantha here: mrs-h.com You can find Yarndale here: yarndale.co.uk 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 recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar.
Sep 18, 2020 · 20 min
MAKING STITCHES IS BACK FOR A NEW SERIES!
Hello there! Making Stitches is back for a new series after a long summer break. In this series, as with the first one, I hope to be sharing the stories of interesting creative projects as well as hearing from creators themselves about their own creative journeys. In this first episode of series 2 I recap on what's been happening over the summer for myself, as well as some of my guests from series 1. Since I last spoke to you, a new crochet podcast has been born, a lockdown quilt has been completed and is now on tour raising funds for charity and just like many other events this summer, a yarn festival is going online, so you can enjoy it from the comfort of your own home. For more information on the subjects covered in this episode, please check out: The Crochet Sanctuary Website or find the new Crochet Sanctuary Podcast on your favourite podcast app. Search for 'The Quilt. Spring2020 Creativity in Captivity' on Facebook. For full details of Yarndale@home please visit the Yarndale website and follow Yarndale on social media for all the details. For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. Music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops
Jun 26, 2020 · 23 min
A LIFE IN DRESSMAKING with Dorcas Hammond
Hello and welcome to the tenth and final episode in the first series of Making Stitches. This week I'm sharing a story which is very special to me, that of my sewing teacher Dorcas Hammond. With a career spanning more than 30 years, Dorcas Hammond is a well-known name in Gibraltar. Her dressmaking workshop has created gowns for many brides and beauty queens ahead of their big events - none more so than when Kaiane Aldorino was crowned Miss World in 2009. Dorcas has held fashion shows in London, Marbella, Madrid and Portugal, and has won several designers competitions, including the Agulha de Ouro (Golden Needle) in Portugal back in 2004. Dorcas not only creates beautiful clothes, she also teaches students to create their own at her fashion academy. This week we hear how she began sewing as a young child and how she turned her passion into her profession (Dorcas also shares a trick of the trade which involves coffee!). You can find Dorcas here: https://dorcasfashiondesigns.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu5dkQ52RvguLxlf58AyDGA For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/ Making Stitches Podcast is recorded and edited by Lindsay from Postcard from Gibraltar
Jun 19, 2020 · 23 min
CROCHETING UNDER LOCKDOWN with Esther from Essie Birdies
Making Stitches this week, features its first international guest, crochet designer, Esther from Essie Birdies who lives in the Netherlands. Ether's interest in crochet was sparked when her daughter was given an amigurumi kit 10 years ago. She taught herself crochet so she could make it for her, that set her off on a path to designing small toys, shawls, bags and home furnishings. Esther's story just goes to prove that you don't have to start early to make an impact in the world of crochet. She now works in collaboration with yarn brands and has a website filled with her own designs. You can find Esther on Instagram as @esiebirdies and her website is : https://essiebirdies.wordpress.com/ For full show notes for this episode, please visit : https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
Jun 12, 2020 · 16 min
STRANDED KNITTING with Phil from The Twisted Yarn
This week, Phil from The Twisted Yarn shared her story on Making Stitches. A knitter and crocheter in her spare time, Phil works as a clinical psychologist in her day job and is a mother of twin boys. Known as 'The Modern Knitter' in her quarterly column in Simply Knitting magazine, Phil has also appeared on BBC TV with her imaginatively reupholstered chair which was reborn as a yarny country cottage complete with a front garden, pond and vegetable patch! Phil's real love though is her own take on modern stranded knitting rather than the more tradition Fair Isle style. She says she's inspired by nature and is hoping to have her first book on the technique published next year. You can find Phil at The Twisted Yarn, as well as on social media and Ravelry. For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
Jun 5, 2020 · 26 min
SEWING FOR FAMILY & FUN with Victoria Peat
Sewing teacher, dressmaker and patchwork quilter Victoria Peat this week shares her story with Making Stitches. From getting a sewing machine for her 18th birthday and designing patchwork quilts to studying at the London College of Fashion and giving sewing lessons on live TV, Victoria has a true love of making. Victoria moved to Gibraltar last year and thanks to the recent relaxation of the lockdown rules over here, we were able to meet in person and have a socially distanced chat about everything from making World Book Day costumes to how on earth the contestants on the Great British Sewing Bee cope with the challenges they face. You can find Victoria on social media by searching 'Victoria Peat' as well as on her website https://www.littleblackduck.co.uk For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
May 28, 2020 · 29 min
LITTLE BOX OF CROCHET with Amanda Bloom
This week on Making Stitches we hear from Amanda Bloom the driving force behind Little Box of Crochet. The bi-monthly subscription box delivers a yarny treat to crocheters around the world and contains a complete project with yarn and instructions along with what Amanda describes as 'knick-knackery' or extra little treats to enjoy. Amanda spoke to me from her home above her beautiful yarn shop 'Craftopia' in Ingleton in North Yorkshire. She spoke movingly about her beloved daughter Jenny who set her off on her Little Box of Crochet journey whilst she was seriously ill with cancer as well as about her move to Ingleton and her hopes for the future. You can find out more about Little Box of Crochet here: https://www.littleboxofcrochet.co.uk/ For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
May 22, 2020 · 23 min
CROCHET LESSONS with Marisa Alcock AKA Mariwish
Hello and welcome to Episode 5 of Making Stitches! This week we hear from a friend of mine, someone who I met through our shared love of crochet and Gibraltar. Marisa Alcock was born and brought up here in Gibraltar but is now based in London and teaches music and crochet. We met a few years back through Instagram and I signed up for one of her Gibraltar based summer lessons to master the art of reading a crochet chart. It was loads of fun and involved tapas, wine and reading our charts by the light of our phone torches when it got too dark to see them properly! Marisa shared an insight into her creative life, which began here on the Rock but which took her to England. She spent some time speaking to me between online piano lessons and a virtual craft club she's running with some of her music students during lockdown. You can find Marisa on Instagram as @mariwish For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
May 10, 2020 · 11 min
YARNDALE 2020 WORLD CREATIVE PROJECT with Carole Rennison
Around this time each year, the call goes out for knitters and crocheters to get busy making for the Yarndale World Creative Project. First there was bunting, and following that came Mandalas, mini Yarndale sheep, flowers and even socks. This year, the festival organisers are asking people around the world to put their time in lockdown to good use and make dishcloths which will be sold to raise money for a local children's hospice charity. If you have ever been fortunate enough to visit the festival, which takes place in Skipton in North Yorkshire in September, you will have seen the huge amount of items sent in from all over the world to support the various causes highlighted by the festival. If you would like to join in with this year's appeal, you can find all the details for it at www.yarndale.co.uk In this week's episode I spoke to one of Yarndale Festival founders Carole Rennison about how the festival came about and why they are calling on our help again this year. For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
May 8, 2020 · 19 min
CREATIVITY IN CAPTIVITY a Coronavirus Lockdown Quilt
A lot of us are turning to crafts at this time of lockdown and isolation. The act of making things can work wonders for our mental health, and being able to contribute that craft to a community project can help ease the sense of isolation. Inspired by the story of female prisoners of war making a quilt at Changi Prison in Singapore during World War II, a global group of quilters are contributing to a community quilt which will raise funds for a charity helping communities during this difficult time. In this episode of Making Stitches I spoke to Sue Brown who's idea it was to begin the quilt and Amanda James who has contributed a square to the quilt project. For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
May 1, 2020 · 19 min
COASTAL CROCHET with Eleonora Tully
It's a real treat to be able to share this episode of Making Stitches with you featuring Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet. Eleonora has been immersed in yarn crafts all her life, but 5 years ago began writing about her passion for crochet on her blog Coastal Crochet. Since then, she has published many crochet patterns on her blog, as well as leading crochet workshops and designing professionally for magazines and the Little Box of Crochet. People around the globe know Eleonora for her seaside inspired designs and the wonderful photos she shares online (both on her blog and social media) of her work and her trips to the beach near her home on the south coast of England with her Miniature Schnauzer 'Salty'. You can find Eleonora's blog at https://coastalcrochet.com/ For full show notes of this episode, please visit: https:makingstitchespodcast.com/ The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/
Apr 21, 2020 · 29 min
CROCHET SANCTUARY PANDEMONIUM with Lisa Hesketh & Lynda-Rose Simonini
In the first ever episode of 'Making Stitches' I speak to the ladies behind the Crochet Sanctuary about their latest CAL (crochet-along) - the Pandemonium CAL - which was released in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. They also discuss how they first started with crochet and why they decided to put on crochet weekend retreats in Cheshire. You can find out more about the Crochet Sanctuary on their website: https://www.crochetsanctuary.co.uk/ Find them on Instagram and Facebook as 'The Crochet Sanctuary'. Find out more about the Making Stitches Podcast : https://makingstitchespodcast.com/ Music on this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from www.melodyloops.com/
Apr 13, 2020 · 1 min
Making Stitches Teaser
Hello, and welcome to the brand new Making Stitches Podcast. I'm Lindsay and I have a passion for making things in my free time (and even when I'm supposed to be doing other things). This is a podcast which tells the stories behind the crafts, patterns and make-alongs which bind us amateur and even the professional crafters together in this huge online community we exist in. What better time to start that than now, while many of us are stuck indoors because the Coronavirus pandemic? Arts and crafts are enjoying a resurgence now we have more free time on our hands and their calming effects work wonders for our mental health. Join me in the coming weeks as I speak to some of the people who inspire our creativity in the world of craft. Theme music 'Make you smile' by RGMusic on Melody Loops www.melodyloops.com Find out more about Making Stitches at www.makingstitchespodcast.com