Sew What?

In this episode, Isabella interviews Thomas Cooper, a PhD student who researches May Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. In the episode, the two discuss May Morris's embroidery designs and works, as well as what inspired and influenced the Arts and Crafts movement.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast. 

In this episode, Isabella discusses samplers and other needleworked items stitched at eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English charity and orphan schools. Special attention is given to the St Clements Danes school samplers and Bristol orphanage samplers. 

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Kathy M'Closkey, a scholar of Navajo weaving. The two discuss Navajo rug and blanket motifs, how economic and agricultural changes affected Navajo weaving, and Kathy's long career as a weaver and freelance curator.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast. 

In this episode, Isabella discusses nalbinding, a stitching technique that predates both knitting and crocheting. Isabella examines the history and technique of over 8,500 years of nalbound goods.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Ruth Singer, an artist and maker exploring personal and collective narratives through textiles. In the episode, they discuss everything from the transition from museum work to historic needlework-based art making, to corded and trapunto quilting, to pin cushions.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Caster Pettway and Mary Margaret Pettway, two Gee's Bend quilters. The trio discuss Caster and Mary Margaret's favourite quilt designs and colours, learning to quilt from their mothers, and their favourite parts of the quiltmaking process.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast. 

Sew What? is back with season 2! In this first episode of the season, Isabella explores minuscule needleworked objects made by 17th-century British schoolgirls, such as tiny purses, bite sized birds, embroidered eggshells, and decorated nutmegs. 

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast. 

In this bonus holiday episode, Isabella discusses Fair Isle jumpers. She talks about the history of the area's knitwear, as well as its style.

Be on the lookout for season 2 of Sew What?, arriving in February 2021.

In the last episode of Sew What? season 1, Isabella talks with Dr Edward Town about Marking Time: Objects, People, and Their Lives, 1500-1800, released by Yale University Press. The book is "an engaging, encyclopaedic account of the material world of early modern Britain as told through a unique collection of dated objects." Ed and Isabella discuss four objects from the book, including three unique needleworked pieces. Isabella also covers her PhD research, focusing on English Quaker needlework.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Victorian hairwork researcher and fan, Avery Curran. Just in time for the spooky season that is October! The two talk about the development of hairwork jewellery and how it got to be so popular in the mid-19th century, as well as Avery's own love for knitting.