The Stitch Safari Podcast

Using either paper or metal in embroidery work is to add to the offering of infinite creative options available for the modern embroiderer.

Zero waste is a philosophy of sustainable upcycling, with the benefit of limiting the impact waste, has on our environment.  This episode explores the work of Jessica Grady, Marian Jazmik, and Jane Perkins - all of whom work very differently with recycled elements.

Aloha ‘Ania - that’s Hawaiin for ‘love of country’ - and that’s exactly what we see here, so plainly and beautifully expressed in the graphically striking, exotic Hawaiin quilts as well as Tivaevae quilts from the Cook Islands.

From the Sindh in Pakistan on the Indian subcontinent to the Amish settlements of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana in America, Stitch Safari now travels into two very different styles of quilts resulting from two very different cultures - one is based on long-held, ancient sewing traditions and motifs using appliqué, patchwork, and embroidery to make quilts that vibrate with energy and colour, the other is bound by the restrictions of belief and community, yet still with the ability to produce luminous quilts glowing with colour and pattern.

This episode of The Stitch Safari Podcast focuses on Quilts of Confinement - quilts made by women who were held captive, namely The Rajah Quilt, and the four Changi Quilts including the Girl Guide Quilt.

Each of these quilt-making disciplines holds a valued place in that huge quilt-making pie - adding to the depth and complexity of this beautiful, ancient craft.  Each is distinct from the other, each is highly valued and each has its own absorbing history.

American pieced quilt blocks derive from almost every aspect of life and society including nature, household objects, politics, history, the stars, and people or places.  It really is a case where art reflects life.

Quilts and quilting are and have always been, a worldwide phenomenon - a way to connect, communicate, celebrate, acknowledge or simply remember, and enjoy.

 One of the most important gowns the Queen would have worn during her long life was her wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnel at a time of clothing coupons in an austere and deprived post-war Britain.

From the sensible to the va-va voom, lingerie is revealing, in more ways than one, be it sex, gender, class, morality, or style - and it’s an amazing and intriguing part of our fashion history.