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.

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 57 : Stand with Ukraine Art Quilts Auction with Olesya Lebedenko

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.

Olesya & her daughter wrapped in the ‘Stand Together’ quilt

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.

**Listen to this episode here**

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.

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

Episode 53 : The Great Northern Textiles Show 2022

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.

One of Leah Higgins’ Art Quilts called Cadence 7

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 organiser
Leah Higgins, artist
Louise from Sincerely Louise

Holly Palmer from Planet Quilts
Ian Fothergill from The Knitting Gift Shop
Tanya from the Woolly Tangle
Julie from Tilly Flop Designs

Ally Rose from the International Feltmakers Association with her penguin head

Christine and Ally from the International Feltmakers Association

Caroline from Montague Patchers in Sale

Members of the North Cheshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers & Dyers

Liz Carrington from the North Cheshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers & Dyers

Carrie (l) & Helen (r) from Yarn Addicts Manchester

Helen & Carrie from the Yarn Addicts of Manchester
Great Northern Textile Show

Listen to the episode here!

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

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

Episode 52: From Rusty Metal to Works of Art with Tracy Fox : Dyer, Print Maker & Artist

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.

One of Tracy’s scarves dyed using leaves & rust

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 listen to the Episode here

You can find Tracy’s website here.

Tracy’s finished Lockdown art quilt project using some of her ‘fire’ dyed cloth

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.

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 41 : From Ukrainian Cross Stitch to Canadian Quilting with Olesya Lebedenko

Olesya Lebedenko with some of her previous books

Hello and welcome to the first episode in this new series of Making Stitches Podcast!

Kicking off this new 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.

An example of traditional Ukrainian cross stitch along with quilted button in Ukraine’s National colours

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. Firstly with craft supplies to make rag dolls and then also teaching students how to make them. 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 applique work.

A traditional quilted Ukrainian cottage scene used to make a glasses case

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.

The quilt block of a dreaming cat which Olesya referenced in our chat

You can listen to this episode here.

To find out more about Olesya and her beautiful work, please have a look at these links:

Olesya Lebedenko Design
Olesya Lebedenko Instagram
Olesya Lebedenko Etsy Shop

You can find out more about traditional Ukrainian embroidery here.

A quilt block from Olesya’s 365 days quilting challenge

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 16 : Creativity for Mental Health with Emma Jones from the 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 and our thoughts look ahead to Christmas with the Apex Singers.

Emma Jones says on her blog that she ‘loves sewing’ it’s been an important part of her life since early childhood. In this episode Emma not only explains how stitching has helped her deal with difficult times, she 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.

Mabel’s Garden – Emma’s quilt dedicated to the memory of her Gran

Emma with ‘Mabel’s Garden’ on display at the art exhibition

To find out more about Emma Jones’ work please check out her website: Vintage Sewing Box

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. Lydia Wonham from The Apex Singers explains how 2020 has changed the way the group has made music and how they now want to share their Christmas performance with as many people as they can online.

You can find out about The Apex Singers here and you can buy tickets for their Christmas Concert ‘Snowed in at Home’ here.

** YOU CAN LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE HERE OR BY SEARCHING FOR MAKING STITCHES IN YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST APP! **

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.

Episode 11 : 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:

Lynda-Rose & Lisa from The Crochet Sanctuary

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 theMaking Stitches Podcast

Music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops

**You can listen to this episode here! ** You can also find Making Stitches on podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher as well as many others.

Episode 7 : Sewing for family & fun with Victoria Peat

Sewing teacher, dressmaker and patchwork quilter Victoria Peat this week shares her story. 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 television, Victoria has a true love of making.

Victoria moved to Gibraltar last year and thanks to the recent relaxation of the lockdown rules here, we were able to meet in person and have a socially instanced 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.

You can hear Victoria’s episode of Making Stitches here.

The competition winning fox pinafore dress mentioned in the episode

The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.

Episode 3 : ‘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. For 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 project.

The photos feature some of the quilt squares already sent in to the ‘Creativity in Captivity’ quilt. Top photo: (clockwise from top left) made by Harriet Seddon, David Seddon, Cathie Holden & Amanda James (who features in this episode).

Bottom photo: (clockwise from top left) made by Gwen Shackleton, Barbara Holden, Nikki Holden & Lynda Jackson

You can listen to the episode h ere or by searching for ‘Making Stitches’ on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and other podcast apps.