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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 Cathy Wright from Lazy Kate Textiles. Cathy’s a spinner and weaver sharing her love of creativity  by teaching these heritage crafts to anyone who wants to learn. Based in Liverpool, Cathy sells the equipment needed to take up the crafts and runs workshops to show students how to progress their technique. Cathy’s enthusiasm for her craft is clear and she’s dedicated to sharing her expertise. In addition to teaching, Cathy also runs a monthly meeting for anyone interested in yarn crafts to come together and build a community. TheWoollers runs on the first Saturday of each month in Northern Lights, Caine Brewery Village, 5 Mann Street, Liverpool L8 5AF You can find out more about Cathy and her work on her website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link. For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. 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.

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 Knit' Podcast on the mental health benefits of being creative, Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock from the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity about their yarny Christmas appeal this year and some more of my guests from the podcast this year. Also joining me are some of the lovely people I met at this year's Great Northern Textile Show who will be sharing what's on their Christmas wish list. Thank you to all of my guests who joined me on this episode, and throughout the year. Thank you to you too for listening! I hope you have a lovely Christmas and that 2024 is kind to you. My guests in this episode include: Catherine CrochetsDr Mia Hobbs from Why I Knit PodcastDr Fran Darlington Pollock from the Greater Manchester Mayor's CharitySara from Black Sheep WoolsJen Rich - @stitchcraftandcook on InstagramJulie from Tilly Flop DesignsLisa Wilde from Sunnyside Fabrics UKJane Smith - Japanese Embroidery artistHelen from Yarn Addicts ManchesterCheryl & Joanne from the North Cheshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers & DyersNikki from Allium ThreadsSheila Haldane - textile artistWendy Roby - textile artistDebbie from Why Knot MacrameAnd if  you would like to support the Black Sheep Wools 'Deck the Halls' charity campaign in support of the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity, you can find all the details here. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link. For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. The theme music is Winter Trip by Audioflame from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also 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.

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 computer programming and lecturing students about it, she has turned her attention to crochet full time. You can find Jane's name in the credits of crochet books, through her work as technical editor, she also does tech editing work for Inside Crochet and Disney Crochet Magazine. Jane is one of those amazing people who can spot a needle in a haystack - a pattern error! I think you'll find Jane to be evangelical about the craft of crochet, and if you had her as your teacher, I think that love of the craft would be contagious! You can find Jane's website here, and her crochet and chat group meets at Kingston Library on 2nd Saturday of the month between 10:30 and 12pm. You can also see Jane on justhands-ontv To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link. For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website. 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.

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 problem to solve. Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity was set up after our Mayor, Andy Burnham was elected. He chose to donate a percentage of his monthly wage to combatting rough sleeping across the city, and it was thanks to that the Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity was born. The charity doesn't just offer somewhere for people to stay, it also helps in other ways with food, clothing and help to get people off the streets Each year, the charity looks at new ways to raise funds to support it's 'A Bed Every Night' campaign, and in the run up to Christmas there's a concerted push to bring in more funding. It costs £30 to pay for one person to have somewhere safe to sleep for the night and to receive the wrap around care on offer. This year, Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity is calling on knitters and crocheters to help them in partnership with Black Sheep Wools. They have a range of knitting and crochet patterns for sale as well as yarn kits to make decorations. The proceeds from the sale of the patterns will go to the charity as well as 10% from the sale of every yarn pack and, if you would prefer to make a £30 donation through the Black Sheep Wools website, you will be gifted all the patterns for free, and that entire £30 will go to fund a bed for the night. I spoke to Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity Chief Executive, Fran Darlington-Pollock, who told me why she was calling on knitters and crocheters to help them this year. You can find out more about the work of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity here. If you would like to join the ‘Deck the Halls’ campaign and buy patterns of yarn packs, you get them from Black Sheep Wools. #DeckTheHalls23 #WeDontWalkOnBy #GMMayorsCharity 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 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.

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 of traders who brought their products to sell to visitors, several crafts guilds and three hugely talented textile artists who were invited to exhibit their work. In this episode I also spoke to the really inspiring Taslima from CDM UK Manchester which works with women and children (some of whom have suffered abuse) teaching them textile design and craft skills - if you think that listening to this section of the episode may upset you or someone you are listening with, you can skip the section between the  33.5 minute mark and 43.5 minute mark. Thank you to everyone who spoke to me for this episode including Domino Panton-Oakley from the Great Northern Textile Show, Debbie Davies from Why Knot Macrame?, Janet Markwell from The Corner Patch, Niki from Allium Threads, Julie from TillyFlop Designs, Lisa Wilde from Sunnyside Fabrics, Cathy Unwin from The Quilter's Guild, Cheryl & Joanne from The North Cheshire Guild of Spinners, Weavers & Dyers, Helen from Yarn Addicts of Manchester. Also, textile artists Wendy Roby, Jane Smith & Sheila Haldane, as well as Taslima from CDM UK Manchester. 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 theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also available from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown. You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs by buying me a coffee  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. The latest design is 'Prunella the Pumpkin' an amigurumi pumpkin doll.  Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston. Thank you for listening!

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 along to join the festivities and this episode shares a little bit of what went on. You can find the Black Sheep Wools website here, they are also on Instagram and Facebook. This weekend, the Great Northern Textile Show is back at Urmston in Manchester for a second year. The show, which features traders, artists, exhibitors and crafts guilds returns, but this time with Domino Panton-Oakley at the helm. I went to meet Domino ahead of the big event to see how preparations were going. For for information about the Great Northern Textile Show 2023 and to buy tickets, please check out the website. Last year, I spoke to Tracy Fox, creator of the Great Northern Textile Show and went along to the first ever Great Northern Textile Show. 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 theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also available 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.

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 worked. From then on, knitting became an important activity for Mia and over time crossed over into her work with colleagues and patients both within the NHS and private practice. Mia became so intrigued by the positive impact working with your hands can have on mental health, that she started the Why I Knit Podcast so she could speak to other people who have found great comfort in their hobby too. As a passionate advocate for crafting to keep me on an even keel, I stumbled upon the Why I Knit podcast and asked Mia if she would like to come onto Making Stitches. Thankfully, she said yes! My sincerest thanks to Mia for agreeing to speak to me for Making Stitches Podcast. You can find Mia at her website : Therapeutic Knitting, on Instagram at @knittingistherapeutic, & Why I Knit Podcast. 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 theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also available from Melody Loops. The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown. You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs by buying me a coffee  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. The latest design - published the same day as this episode is 'Prunella the Pumpkin' an amigurumi pumpkin doll.  Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston. Thank you for listening!

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! My guest this time is Jen Rich, a food stylist & photographer who bought her first sewing machine back in the days of Covid lockdown. Just three years on from teaching herself how to sew, Jen has written a book called 'Stitch: Sewing Projects for the Modern Maker'. She says she has written it with both beginners and established sewing enthusiasts in mind - there is plenty of inspiration inside with 30 different projects to have a go at. Jen says she wrote the book she wished she could have read when she was first starting out, taking you through the steps of each project. However, the projects should also appeal to established sewers providing short 'palette cleanser' projects for when you need a break after working on larger projects. The fact that they are small items also makes them ideal projects for using up scraps of fabric left over from previous makes.  My sincerest thanks to Jen for agreeing to speak to me for Making Stitches Podcast. You can find Jen at her on Instagram at @stitchcraftandcook 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 theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops other music used in this episode is Happy Sunshine by Roman Cano, also available 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

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 alike, I'll take  you along to the Black Sheep Wools 40th birthday weekend and clinical psychologist and knitter, Dr Mia Hobbs from Why I Knit Podcast will be speaking to me about the therapeutic benefits of crafts. I can't wait to bring you these creative chats and lots more too in the weeks and months ahead.  To join the mailing list for the new Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link. For more information about Making Stitches Podcast, please visit the Making Stitches website. 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

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 final episode of the current series of Making Stitches. Catherine got hooked  on crochet while expecting her second child and since then, her passion for tapestry crochet has grown and grown. Her designs have been  featured in books and magazines and she has also designed for yarn companies too. Catherine's designs are often influenced by geometric patterns and, I'm told, are rather addictive to make. Last November, Catherine was invited to be the guest designer at The Crochet Sanctuary in Cheshire, so I popped along before her workshop to have a chat about her crochet and how it all got started. You can find Catherine's work on her website, Instagram & Facebook. You can find out more about The Crochet Sanctuary 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 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

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 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! From Lindsay x 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 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

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). 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. 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 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