Stitch Safari
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Book Review: The Bayeux Tapestry – The Life Story of a Masterpiece
Thrilling and compelling, this book is romantically entertaining and readable. Each new chapter opens vignettes into one of the worlds greatest treasures and is a worthy tribute to its history.
Introducing Stitch Safari: The Rationale
I've now been recording Stitch Safari Podcasts since May of 2020 - and with the fullness of time, I believe I finally have my head around what I'm actually doing. Yes, it's taken me a while - I'm a slow learner, but it's proving popular with just over 3,500 downloads...
Writing a Podcast
What on earth drove me to create this podcast? Passion, pure and simple. I've always enjoyed stitching, and I find history utterly fascinating - I simply married the two together, so the entire ethos for the Stitch Safari podcasts will always revolve around history...
Book Review: A Needle in the Right Hand of God
The Bayeux Tapestry is a visual record of the Conquest of England, but more importantly, it’s a powerful visual representation of cultural memory from a time when literacy wasn’t markedly evident.
Book Review: The Subversive Stitch
Waxing lyrical about books is sort of my thing. I love books, so when a book actually takes me on a journey or makes me think - that's special. And that's what Subversive Stitch by Rozsika Parker did for me. To date, my interest in Feminism has been minimal. ...
Book Review: Women’s Work – The First 20,000 Years – Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times
This book provides a fascinating world-view glimpse into patterns, clothing, spinning, weaving, trade and even language through the ways cloth-making shaped the lives of women.
String & Cloth
Cloth - that much used and overlooked everyday item we wear, sit upon, walk on or sleep between. It's simply there in our ready-made shirts, dresses, bespoke suits and household textiles, but how did cloth-making, come about? It's a story spanning eons. And it all...
Book Review: Guo Pei – Couture Beyond
Guo Pei, the first Chinese designer invited to join the prestigious Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture combines tradition, history and mythology producing unconventional and otherworldly designs – a reflection of her oeuvre. With a reverence for China’s imperial past and beauty, her aspiration is to bring that heritage into a reflection of today’s modern fashion currency.
The Wearable Cloth
Cloth envelops us from morning to night; we slumber between it, we use it to make our homes more comfortable and appealing, and according to statistics, a large percentage of people worldwide, work with it in the textile industry.
Book Review: The Golden Thread
The Golden Thread, How Fabric Changed History, written by Kassia St Clair, Published by John Murray Publishers, 2018. This is the sort of book I would read again and again. It’s an easy read, and extremely informative. Filled with craftily woven stories that bring...
Through The Eye of The Needle
'Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.' John F. Kennedy We know prehistoric man gave rise to the development of a simple implement that was truly life-changing and of world-wide significance. Something small, easily transportable, but a tool that...
One Stitch at a Time
Join me at The Stitch Safari, where I’ll plunder the past, then leap directly into the future. Innovation is happening, but in a world where the emphasis is on ‘fast’ – fast cars, fast food, fast fashion, even fast technology, sewing and embroidery is one area of endeavour where the complete opposite is its unique appeal.
New Beginnings
So, just what is the beginning exactly? Well, for me, it meant going back to when a needle and fibre were first used, and there’s no way to pinpoint exactly who, where or why – it’s all supposition really as nothing remains, but it all hinges on a need to survive.