Nicky Ward – Making Stitches Podcast

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!

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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

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. (During our chat, Justine became quite upset – for obvious reasons – however, she has listened back to this episode before being released, and it is being published with her blessing).