Episode 59 : 2022 Christmas & New Year Special Part 2 : Review of the Year

Some of the highlights of 2022 on Making Stitches Podcast! (Clockwise from top left; Figen Murray, Amanda Bloom, Khloe from the People’s History Museum, Eleanora Tully at Yarndale, Amoami, Tracy Fox, Great Northern Textile Show, Kitey from the Yarn Whisperer

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.

One of Leah Higgins’ beautiful art quilts on display at the Great Northern Textile Show

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!

Lindsay x

**Listen to the episode here**

To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

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.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Episode 58 : 2022 Christmas & New Year Special Part 1 : Old Friends

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).

Lynda-Rose & Lisa from The Crochet Sanctuary

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.

**Listen to this episode here **

To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

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.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Episode 55 : Sewing to Save the Planet with Stitched Up!

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.

**Listen to the Stitched Up! Episode here**

To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

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.

Oakley the Acorn Tree Sprite & Agatha the Fly Agaric Mushroom amigurumi patterns are available in the Making Stitches Shop

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Episode 51 : Yarndale 2022 A Festival of Yarn & Friendship

Tristen – Yarndale’s mascot for this year – to celebrate 10 years of the festival

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.

Yarndale Festival entrance last Saturday

Crochet designer Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet gave a talk about her blanket design process

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.

The highlight of my day was meeting Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet!

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 Art

Jodi from Cuddlebums Hand Dyed Yarns

Tanya Bentham from Opus Anglicanum Embroidery

Hannah Cross from Hanjan Crochet

Zuzana from Trava & Wool

Matt Farci from Scheepjes & Crojo.life

Sue Kimber from Farm Crafts

Jaki Bogg from Hot Butter Yarns

Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet

Carole Rennison from Hooked by Design

Yarndale Festival

Approaching Yarndale 2022 at Skipton Auction Mart along the Yarn Walk

**LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE OR BY SEARCHING FOR MAKING STITCHES ON YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST APP**

To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

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.

Episode 50 : Colourful Socks & Jumbo Crochet Hooks with Winwick Mum & Juey Jumbo Craft Tools

Juey from Juey Jumbo Craft Tools (left) & Christine Perry AKA Winwick Mum (right)

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.

Jumbo crochet hooks in burned wood & natural finishes

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.

**Listen to this episode by clicking onto this link or searching for Making Stitches Podcast on your favourite podcast app**

Hive Socks from WYS Happy Feet designed by Christine Perry

Roar socks from WYS Happy Feet designed by Christine Perry

Guest links:
Juey Jumbo Craft Tools website
Winwick Mum website
West Yorkshire Spinners Happy Feet Pattern Book

T-shirt yarn Tunisian crochet design by Juey

To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

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.

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.

Episode 49 : Knitting, Crochet & the Online Craft Community with Emmaknitty

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.

*LISTEN TO EMMA’S EPISODE HERE!*

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

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Episode 47 : From Law to Cross Stitch with Sally Wilson from Caterpillar Cross Stitch

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.

LISTEN TO SALLY’S EPISODE HERE.

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

To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.

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.

Up the Garden Path Daisy pattern now in the Making Stitches Shop

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Episode 46 : A New Venture for The Crochet Project with Joanne Scrace

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.

Image from The Shawl Project book by Joanne Scrace & Kat Goldin

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.

Listen to this episode here

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.

The above link is an affiliate link to the Crochet Project.

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.

Episode 44 : Crochet & Knitting at the Woolnest with Lynne Rowe

Crochet & Knitting designer Lynne Rowe is my guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast. You can hear her episode HERE.

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 crochet & knitting 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.

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.

Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Episode 43 : COLOUR, CREATIVITY & A COMMUNITY KICK-STARTER with Clare Albans from hellohooray.com

Hello and welcome to this episode of Making Stitches Podcast celebrating the joys of colour and creativity as well as community support. You can hear Clare’s episode here.

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.

Clare’s first book: Colourful, Fun Embroidery

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.