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. 

I hope you enjoy listening!

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/

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

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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 Happy Stitchmas!

It's that time of year again when I take a look back at the past 12 months and choose some of the highlights of my podcasting year. 

2025 has been a big year for me, I celebrated 10 years of blogging (Postcard from Gibraltar and then Making Stitches Blog) and 5 years of Making Stitches Podcast.

In this episode I share some of the chats I have had this year and you may have heard before as well as some new chats too. 

Included in this episode are: 

• Christine Perry from Winwick Mum speaking about 10 years of the Winwick Mum sock along.
• Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet talking about 10 years of her blog and our celebration of a decade online with our Let's Celebrate Wreath collaborative crochet pattern.
• Sara & Sean MacLeod from Crochet in the Glen chatting about the fun they have together and how they love to share their silliness online.
• Kirstie MacLeod, the artist behind The Red Dress, who I met at Woven in Kirklees on World Stitch Day.
• Becky Davies-Downes from William & Tilda who appeared a couple of times on the podcast last year. I interviewed her again at Yarndale this September, and this is the first time I've shared our chat.
• Also at Yarndale, I spoke to Julie Park, a close friend of Amanda Bloom, who sadly died this year. Julie has taken on Amanda's social media accounts after her death and has raised funds to support the Yarndale Start-Up Bursary for fledgling creative businesses at the festival in memory of Amanda and her daughter Jenny.
• More recently, I was at the Christmas edition of the Crochet Sanctuary Crochet Days just last weekend. While I was there I spoke to Lisa and Lynda-Rose who run the Crochet Sanctuary and, who were my guests on the first ever edition of Making Stitches back in the spring of 2020.
• I also caught a quick few minutes with Heather from Keep Calm & Crochet On and Jess from Hook & Cwtch.

I hope you enjoy listening, and that you have a great Christmas. I'll be back again soon, with the last episode of the current series - and my 100th episode! 

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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 episode of Making Stitches Podcast I chat to Anita Gibney — the designer behind Made by Anita and the author of the brand-new book; Patchwork Granny Square Blankets. Known for her beautiful crochet blanket deisgns, Anita has become an ambassador for Stylecraft Yarns and has just published her first book.

We chat about how her love of crochet began, the inspiration behind her quilt-inspired granny-square blankets, and what it was like to turn years of designing into her first published book. Anita also shares insights into her creative process, how she approaches colour schemes, and why it's important to share skills to inspire makers of all skill levels.

Whether you’re a crochet beginner, a seasoned maker, or simply someone who loves hearing from a fellow creative, I'm sure you'll enjoy listening to Anita's story.

You can find Anita’s website here: madebyanita.co.uk

Find out about Anita's new book: Patchwork Granny Square Blankets

Here is the yarn company which Anita made reference to during our chat: The Grey Sheep.  

Thank you for listening to Making Stitches Podcast!

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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.

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. (Justine has listened back to this episode before being released, and it is being published with her blessing).

You can buy the Merry Crochet Makes E-Book here, and you can find Little Box of Crochet on Instagram & this is Nicky's website and her Instagram page - @aheartshapedcherry - please give her a follow!

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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.

My guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast is Kat Molesworth, the creative force behind the Blogtacular Podcast & Festival. With Blogtacular, Kat helped countless creatives and bloggers find their voice and their community online. 

These days, Kat's work means she's serving another creative community, working for Immediate Live, on the Knit & Stitch Show, the Stitch Festival & the Festival of Quilts. Kat has also been a quilter for years and this summer, qualified as a Master Quilter with the Quilters Guild. 

Kat and I chatted about her childhood fascination with photography and how that developed into her professional life, her online adventures, hosting live events and what quilting has given to her.

I'm really grateful to Kat for taking the time to speak to me for Making Stitches.

You can find Kat here on her website & Instagram account. For more information about the live events Kat works on for Immediate Live, please check out their website.

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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.

Welcome to Making Stitches Podcast!

In this episode I share a chat I've had with Michelle Greaves, one half of the team behind the brand new TexStyle festival which is coming to Manchester next year. Michelle and her Mum, Carole, have been hosting yarn festivals for a number of years including the Buxton, Cumbria and Stafford Wool Gatherings, next year, they are hosting a much bigger event spanning all sorts of textile and yarn crafts in central Manchester.

TexStyle is a fresh celebration of all things textile, from knitting and crochet to sewing, weaving and sustainable fashion. It will bring together makers, artists, guilds and other enthusiasts for a weekend of inspiration and creativity in the historic Manchester Central (formerly GMEX).

I really enjoyed chatting to Michelle about how her career has swerved from fashion design to digital media alongside organising yarn festivals with her Mum, Carole, who has decades of experience in the yarn industry.

I hope you enjoy listening to our chat!

If you would like to find out more information about TexStyle, please check out the website : https://texstyle.uk/

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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.

My guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast is Amy Ting, a crochet designer from the US who specialises in amigurumi. Amy is a passionate advocate for the Japanese technique of crocheting in the round to create soft toys. She has been crocheting amigurumi creatures for 7 years and shares her work online on her website: https://curiouspapaya.com/ and on social media too https://www.instagram.com/curiouspapaya/

This summer, Amy released her first book of crochet patterns called Amigurumi Critters which contains 25 patterns to make cute crocheted animal soft toys. In this chat we spoke about how crochet came into her life and led her to publish her first book.

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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.

On the weekend of 27th & 28th September, Skipton Auction Mart was again transformed into Yarndale. The festival of all things creative brings stall holders and crafts people from far and wide to share their love of their creative passions.

While knitting and crochet take centre stage with every imaginable colour and type of yarn, there are many other crafts to enjoy, including embroidery, sewing, spinning, felting, lacemaking and so much more. 

I went along with my trusty microphone and chatted to so many people, friends I've known online, people I've met before and so many new acquauintances too. It was a total joy.

I was also thrilled to be able to chat to Julie Park, a good friend of the late Amanda Bloom, who was there to represent her friend and support 3 new creative businesses with the Yarndale Start-Up Bursary.

My thanks to everyone who spoke to me for this episode including:

Carley from Unicorn Puffs & Rainbows

Lydia from Laurette Crafts

Sue Maton from The Mercerie

Emma Wood from Verde

Julie Park on behalf of Amanda Bloom & the Yarndale Start-Up Bursary

Sammy from Auspicious Stitch

And Sara & Sean from Crochet in the Glen

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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.

The Red Dress, recently recognised by the Guiness World Records as the largest collaborative embroidery project, is a truly stunning piece of work. It was created by Kirstie Macleod, a British artist, over a period of 14 years with the help of 380 different embroiderers.

The dress is made of 87 silk panels which have been embroidered by people from 51 different countries and includes techniques passed down through generations, the work of skilled crafts people and first time stitchers. There are purely decorative sections and others which reflect stories of trauma, resilience and healing. 

The embroiderers include female refugees from Palestine, Syria and Ukraine, women seeking asylum in the UK from Iran, Iraq, China, Nigeria and Namibia, survivors of war in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda and DR Congo. Now complete, The Red Dress tours museums and exhibitions around the world amplifying the voices of the people who have contributed to it. Kirstie has also recently published a fascinating and beautiful book about the project called The Red Dress - Conversations in Stitch.

I was lucky enough to see The Red Dress for myself and hear Kirstie speak about this truly amazing project at World Stitch Day at Woven in Kirklees Festival this summer. I feel privileged to have been able to see it and hear just a few of the stories of the people behind this mammoth project.

I hope you enjoy listening to this episode, if you would like to find out more about The Red Dress, please visit Kirstie's website for more info on its creation and where you can see it for yourself.

For full show notes, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.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.

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.

Back on 1st June this summer, the Woven in Kirklees Festival kicked off with World Stitch Day at Oakwell Hall in Batley. Among the attractions of stalls from local community groups, textile artists, workshops and an interactive fabric 'Time Machine' was The Red Dress on display in West Yorkshire for the first time.

The Red Dress is an award winning collaborative embroidery project which was conceived by the British artist Kirstie Macleod. It took 14 years to complete and features the work of 380 embroiderers from 51 different countries, many of whom come from marginalised communities. The dress is currently in the middle of a global tour and was on display for the whole of June at Oakwell Hall in Birstall.

The 'Woven in Kirklees' textiles festival first launched in 2019. The community festival celebrates all kinds of textiles and related crafts with yarn bombs, textile art exhibitions, workshops and talks.

The biennial festival runs for a whole month and this year had 130 different events happening throughout June. Initiated in 2019 by Kirklees Council, the festival "is owned by everyone, including community groups, textile businesses, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district".

I went along to World Stitch Day and spoke to a number of the exhibitors, the festival's curator, Nat Walton as well as Kirstie Macleod about the amazing Red Dress. 

Here are some useful links to discover more about the events and groups featured in this episode:

• Woven in Kirklees Website
• The Red Dress Website 
• The Campervan Collective 
• Six Million Plus

And to find out more about the appeal to make crocheted hearts for the North West & North Wales Paediatric Transport Service, please click this link.

For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.

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.