Episode 114: From Woven Textiles to Knitting an Heirloom Blanket with Annah O’Leary of Needle & Feather

Hello and welcome to Making Stitches Podcast! This time, my guest is Annah O’Leary, a colourwork knitting designer, from Needle and Feather.

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’s April Square for her Year by Piece blanket design

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!

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

Episode 112: From Doctor Who to stress-relief knitting with Alice O’Connell

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!

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.

Episode 110: Carry on Crafting 2026 – A Weekend of Crafting, Camping & Fun

This time last weekend, Carry on Crafting celebrated its 5th birthday. The festival, based at Ardingley Showground in Sussex, played host to over 150 craft stalls, more than 150 workshops, a vintage market, tasty artisan food, live music and entertainment, and most off all, 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!

Nicky from A Heart Shaped Cherry – my bell tent buddy!

Thank you to everyone who spoke to me for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast including (in order of appearance):

Kerry Lord from Toft, Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet, Annah from Needle & Feather, Kitey from The Yarn Whisperer, Bex from The Pigeon’s Nest, Making Stitches Podcast listeners, Clare & Sarah, Graham – the voice of Radio CoC (Carry On Crafting!), Sam Sabido from Sam Sabido Crochets, Nicky Ward from A Heart Shaped Cherry, & Justine Robson from Carry on Crafting.

As 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!

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.

Episode 109: Sheep, Actually: A Film About Wool & a Sheep Named Cow with Filmmaker, Paul Wyatt

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/sheepactually

You can also follow Paul Wyatt Films on social media for updates on the documentary.

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

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.

Episode 104: Yarn, Fibre & Community with Gareth from Manchester Wool & Yarn

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 really 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!

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.

Episode 102 : TexStyle Festival 2026: A weekend of community, colour & creativity

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 including, textile artist Sophia Gardiner, Stephen West from Westknits, Amelia Rogers from Amelia Stitches, Gareth from the show’s sponsor Manchester Wool and Yarn, Debbie Munro from The Lace Knittery and Jane Smith from Atelier Nejiribana speaking on the history of traditional Japanese embroidery.

I also spoke to other stall holders and exhibitors who were spending the weekend with us in Manchester and hope you get a real flavour of what the first ever TexStyle Festival was actually like.

The communal rug being created on the Manchester Tufting Workshops stand

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=en

Stephen West from Westknits https://www.westknits.com/ & https://www.stephenandpenelope.com/en-gb

Amelia 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!

And finally, thank you to Michelle & Carole at TexStyle for inviting me to host the Textile Talks stage!

I have just one grainy photo of me in action!!

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.

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

Episode 100 : From Postcard from Gibraltar to Making Stitches

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.

Image shows Lindsay Weston sitting behind the radio desk at Manchester United Radio in the late 1990s — Me back in the late 1990s behind the radio desk at Manchester United Radio – my first job in broadcasting

Image shows Lindsay Weston sitting behind the news reading desk at GBC News — My news reading days at the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation

I hope you enjoy listening to my ramblings about how I ended up doing what I do now!

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/

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

You can listen to Gibraltar Stories Podcast in all the usual podcast places as well as on the Gibraltar Stories Website: https://gibraltarstories.com/

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.

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

The Making Stitches 2025 CAL squares

I look forward to sharing some more episodes of Making Stitches Podcast later on in 2026. Until then, take care of yourself and enjoy your crafting!

Lindsay x

Episode 82 : Talking Colour, Yarn, Sound & Knitting with Felix Ford from KNITSONIK

Image is a still image taken from one of Felix's KNITSONIK online classes and shows Felix wearing one of her stranded coloour work hats and sitting at a table surrounded by her books and speaking to the camera — Felix Ford from KNITSONIK

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 Ford aka Felix, 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!

Image shows a stranded colourwork swatch in the foreground of a photo of a country road — Stranded colourwork inspired by the A road between Reading & Oxford which Felix used to commute along

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.

Image shows the front cover of the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook

I really enjoyed getting to know Felix through her work, and then, towards the end of last year when I recorded the interview 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.

Image shows three stranded colour work swatches alongside the everyday items which inspired them including a vintage book cover, an Edirol digital sound recorder and a small vintage biscuit box — Some of Felix’s stranded colourwork swatches which use everyday items as inspiration including her Edirol digital sound recorder

Image shows image of Felix Ford's head and shoulders, it is taken outdoors with the wind blowing Felix's hair. She is smiling at the camera and wearing spectacles and headphones — Felix on one of her audio adventures

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. (Can I especially recommend the Shetland Wool Week episode?)

Image shows a collage of four walking sticks all of which have been covered with knitted or felted cosies as part of the Missibility project — Walking stick cosies from Felix’s Missability Project

If you’ve been inspired by what you’ve heard and you’d like to find out more about Felix’s online courses & books, you can find everything on her KNITSONIK website just click here for the link.

Image shows stranded colour work swatch in the foreground of a picture of a wall featuring intricate brickwork — Stranded colour work inspired by brickwork in Reading

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.

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

Episode 78 : Yarndale 2024

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 Wool
Eleonora from Coastal Crochet
Lindsey from Curate Crochet Box and Lottie & Albert
Cathy from Dear Emma Designs
Amanda from Joe’s Toes
Becky from William & Tilda
Nat from Woven in Kirklees Festival

You can find the websites for all my guests by clicking on the links above, and you can find the website for Yarndale here.

Eleonora giving her talk at Yarndale 2024

Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak to me for this episode – it was such fun to record!

The view to Skipton Auction Mart from the Yarn Walk

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

Episode 76 : Creating a Digital Yarn Community with Jane Abraham from the Cornish Flock

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.