Making Stitches Podcast
A podcast celebrating creative crafts and inspiring makers.
Episodes
87 episodes
Learning Lessons from History with Becky Davies-Downes
Thank you for joining me for the 80th episode of Making Stitches Podcast! This time I'm sharing a chat I had with Becky Davies-Downes from William and Tilda, who, after almost two decades working...
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Season 8
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Episode 80
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34:56
A FARESHARE FESTIVE FEAST
This time on Making Stitches, I'm doing something a little bit different. I want to speak to you about food poverty, especially in my home city of Manchester and how I need your help to try to making things a bit easier for those who are findin...
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Season 8
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Episode 79
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20:16
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 Yarndal...
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Season 8
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Episode 78
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38:35
THREADS OF PROTEST with Dr Gemma McKenzie
My guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast has a background in law and human rights and a passion for crochet too. Dr Gemma McKenzie is a researcher in the Midwifery Department at King's College London specialising in maternity rights...
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Season 8
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Episode 77
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30:44
CREATING A DIGITAL YARN COMMUNITY with Jane Abraham, The Cornish Knitter
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 h...
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Season 8
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Episode 76
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36:43
Finishing a Creative Legacy with Jen Simonic from the Loose Ends Project
One of the unexpected things many people experience when they lose a loved one and have to sort through their posessions, can be unfinished craft projects. Maybe the person who has died was partway through making a baby blanket for a new family...
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Season 8
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Episode 75
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40:42
Finding Joy in Making with Emma Varnam
This time on Making Stitches Podcast, I'm thrilled to be sharing a chat I had with knitting & crochet designer, Emma Varnam.To date, Emma has written 13 books filled with inspiring designs for your home and to gift, from granny squa...
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Season 8
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Episode 74
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30:42
Selling Your Makes on Etsy with Claire Reed
For some of us makers, there's the desire to take our creativity beyond something which is purely a hobby. Whether we opt to teach our craft to others, design patterns or sell finished items at craft fairs or online, there are many ways to pote...
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Season 8
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Episode 73
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22:59
THE LONGEST YARN: Commemorating D-Day in Yarn
Yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. Along with the military commemorations, there was a very special one created in yarn, by hundreds of knitters & crocheters around the globe - The Longest Yarn....
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Season 8
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Episode 72
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37:29
Creativity for Mental Health : a Dive into the Making Stitches Podcast Archives
Hello, I’m thrilled to be back with another series of episodes of Making Stitches Podcast. This time I’m doing something a bit different, instead of launching the new series with a new interview, I’ve taken a dive into the archives.Sinc...
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Season 8
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Episode 71
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28:02
A Decade of Keeping Calm and Crocheting On with Heather Gibbs
Ten years ago, Heather Gibbs was looking for an outlet for her crochet creativity and set up her blog; Keep Calm and Crochet On UK. Little did she know that her blog would be going from strength to strength a whole decade later, but that she wo...
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Season 7
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Episode 70
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26:54
WHY SEWING MATTERS with Barbara Burman
Hello and welcome to Making Stitches Podcast!My guest for this episode is the historian and writer, Barbara Burman, whose latest book is 'The Point of the Needle - Why Sewing Matters'. Barbara, a retired academic from the University of ...
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Season 7
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Episode 69
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47:58
Spinning, Weaving and Niddy-Noddies with Cathy Wright from Lazy Kate Textiles
Welcome to the first episode of Making Stitches in 2024! Sorry for the longer than anticipated break. This is the first of the final three episodes in series seven. This time, I’m sharing a chat I had late last year with ...
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Season 7
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Episode 68
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27:44
MAKING STITCHES 2023 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Hello there and welcome to the Making Stitches Podcast 2023 Christmas Special. Join me for a selection box of treats looking back at the past 12 months in my podcast world.You can hear from guests including Dr Mia Hobbs from the 'Why I ...
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Season 7
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Episode 67
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27:16
LOVING THE LANGUAGE OF CROCHET with Jane Czaja
Jane Czaja has been trying to spread the love of crochet for decades, from teaching beginners groups back in the 1980s to running a crochet and chat group in her local library now! Jane has always been a maker, and since her retirement from com...
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Season 7
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Episode 66
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33:27
Deck the Halls with the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity
This time on Making Stitches Podcast, I want to share a great initiative which is happening in my home city of Manchester. Homelessness is a problem all year round in towns and cities across the world, not just here in the UK and it's a complex...
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Season 7
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Episode 65
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15:15
THE GREAT NORTHERN TEXTILE SHOW 2023
Hello and welcome to this latest episode of Making Stitches Podcast where I'm taking you out on the road with me to the second Great Northern Textile Show which happened a couple of weeks ago in Manchester.You'll hear from a selection o...
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Season 7
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Episode 64
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44:48
Black Sheep Wools at 40 & looking ahead to the Great Northern Textile Show 2023
Back in July, Black Sheep Wools, the largest independent yarn shop in the UK celebrated its 40th birthday. Friends of Black Sheep Wools were invited to join in with a two-day-long birthday party at the Craft Barn in Culcheth, Warrington. I went...
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Season 7
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Episode 63
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30:07
KNITTING IS THERAPEUTIC with Dr Mia Hobbs
When clinical psychologist, Dr Mia Hobbs, was studying at university, her mother suggested taking up knitting would be a great antidote for intensive study. Mia took her Mum's advice and started knitting a shawl which grew gradually as she work...
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Season 7
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Episode 62
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32:05
From Food Styling to Sewing with Jen Rich
Hello and welcome back to Making Stitches Podcast, it's so good to be back with you. I had to take and extended break from podcasting due to a lot of 'stuff' going on, but I'm thrilled to be back with you now with the first episode of Series 7!...
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Season 7
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Episode 61
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36:52
MAKING STITCHES PODCAST SERIES 7 TRAILER
Hello! Making Stitches is coming back very soon for a 7th series. Among my guests in the coming weeks will be food stylist & photographer turned sewing designer Jen Rich to talk about her new book aimed at beginners and established sewists ...
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Season 7
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Episode 0
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4:22
TAPESTRY CROCHET with CATHERINE CROCHETS
Way back in December 2022 I promised you this episode of Making Stitches with crochet designer Catherine from Catherine Crochets. Unfortunately, life rather got in the way of those plans, so now, six months later than originally promised is the...
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Season 6
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Episode 60
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24:10
2022 CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR SPECIAL PART 2 : REVIEW OF THE YEAR
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.You can hear from Figen Murray, Amanda Bloom from Cosy Life Boxes, Rafael Alcaide fr...
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Season 6
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Episode 59
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29:23
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 kno...
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Season 6
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Episode 58
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30:05
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 ...
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Season 6
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Episode 57
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44:56