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

Victoria moved to Gibraltar last year and thanks to the recent relaxation of the lockdown rules over here, we were able to meet in person and have a socially distanced 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 https://www.littleblackduck.co.uk

For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/

This week on Making Stitches we hear from Amanda Bloom the driving force behind Little Box of Crochet. The bi-monthly subscription box delivers a yarny treat to crocheters around the world and contains a complete project with yarn and instructions along with what Amanda describes as 'knick-knackery' or extra little treats to enjoy.

Amanda spoke to me from her home above her beautiful yarn shop 'Craftopia' in Ingleton in North Yorkshire. She spoke movingly about her beloved daughter Jenny who set her off on her Little Box of Crochet journey whilst she was seriously ill with cancer as well as about her move to Ingleton and her hopes for the future.

You can find out more about Little Box of Crochet here: https://www.littleboxofcrochet.co.uk/

For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/

The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/

Hello and welcome to Episode 5 of Making Stitches! This week we hear from a friend of mine, someone who I met through our shared love of crochet and Gibraltar. 

Marisa Alcock was born and brought up here in Gibraltar but is now based in London and teaches music and crochet. We met a few years back through Instagram and I signed up for one of her Gibraltar based summer lessons to master the art of reading a crochet chart. It was loads of fun and involved tapas, wine and reading our charts by the light of our phone torches when it got too dark to see them properly!

Marisa shared an insight into her creative life, which began here on the Rock but which took her to England. She spent some time speaking to me between online piano lessons and a virtual craft club she's running with some of her music students during lockdown. You can find Marisa on Instagram as @mariwish

For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/

The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/

Around this time each year, the call goes out for knitters and crocheters to get busy making for the Yarndale World Creative Project. First there was bunting, and following that came Mandalas, mini Yarndale sheep, flowers and even socks. This year, the festival organisers are asking people around the world to put their time in lockdown to good use and make dishcloths which will be sold to raise money for a local children's hospice charity. 

If you have ever been fortunate enough to visit the festival, which takes place in Skipton in North Yorkshire in September, you will have seen the huge amount of items sent in from all over the world to support the various causes highlighted by the festival. If you would like to join in with this year's appeal, you can find all the details for it at www.yarndale.co.uk

In this week's episode I spoke to one of Yarndale Festival founders Carole Rennison about how the festival came about and why they are calling on our help again this year.

For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/

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. In 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 quilt project.

For full show notes for this episode, please visit https://makingstitchespodcast.com/
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/

It's a real treat to be able to share this episode of Making Stitches with you featuring Eleonora Tully from Coastal Crochet. Eleonora has been immersed in yarn crafts all her life, but 5 years ago began writing about her passion for crochet on her blog Coastal Crochet. Since then, she has published many crochet patterns on her blog, as well as leading crochet workshops and designing professionally for magazines and the Little Box of Crochet.

People around the globe know Eleonora for her seaside inspired designs and the wonderful photos she shares online (both on her blog and social media) of her work and her trips to the beach near her home on the south coast of England with her Miniature Schnauzer 'Salty'.

You can find Eleonora's blog at https://coastalcrochet.com/
For full show notes of this episode, please visit: https:makingstitchespodcast.com/
The music featured in this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from https://melodyloops.com/

In the first ever episode of 'Making Stitches' I speak to the ladies behind the Crochet Sanctuary about their latest CAL (crochet-along) - the Pandemonium CAL - which was released in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. They also discuss how they first started with crochet and why they decided to put on crochet weekend retreats in Cheshire.

You can find out more about the Crochet Sanctuary on their website: https://www.crochetsanctuary.co.uk/

Find them on Instagram and Facebook as 'The Crochet Sanctuary'.

Find out more about the Making Stitches Podcast : https://makingstitchespodcast.com/

Music on this episode is Make You Smile by RGMusic from www.melodyloops.com/

Hello, and welcome to the brand new Making Stitches Podcast. I'm Lindsay and I have a passion for making things in my free time (and even when I'm supposed to be doing other things). This is a podcast which tells the stories behind the crafts, patterns and make-alongs which bind us amateur and even the professional crafters together in this huge online community we exist in. What better time to start that than now, while many of us are stuck indoors because the Coronavirus pandemic? Arts and crafts are enjoying a resurgence now we have more free time on our hands and their calming effects work wonders for our mental health.

Join me in the coming weeks as I speak to some of the people who inspire our creativity in the world of craft.

Theme music 'Make you smile' by RGMusic on Melody Loops www.melodyloops.com
Find out more about Making Stitches at www.makingstitchespodcast.com