Making Zen Podcast

Lori Siebert: Upcycled Memory Jacket

Join Lori and I as we chat about the freedom and spontaneity of stitching and embracing the beginner mindset to discover new ways of working.

Liz Kettle: Create Your Own Fabric with Paint

It was so much fun to sit down with Liz Kettle and chat about mark making on fabric and her workshop for the upcoming Making Zen retreat.

Meredith Woolnough: Discover, Draw, Design: Developing mindful nature inspired patterns

It was fascinating to learn about Meredith’s art background and schooling, and the important role that drawing plays in her sculptural embroidery.

Victoria Martinez Azaro: How to Eco Print Socks

We’re so excited to have Victoria participating as one of the 20 artists we have joining us for Making Zen this year! Her presentation, “How to Eco Print Socks,” will be live on Thursday, May 18 - day 4 of the 5-day retreat.

Yasmeen Branton : Living Life Through Needle and Thread

Yasmeen K Branton is making her Making Zen debut during our May retreat! It was so lovely to chat with her this morning about the origin of her business, Sand and Stars, as well as the importance of the craft community on- and off-line, and finding peace in stitching.

Liz Haywood : Fastenings from Found Objects

Such a delight to chat with @lizhaywood3754 all about her upcoming workshop for Making Zen: upcycling and looking for recyclable and compostable fastenings. Its fascinating to hear how she looks at the world through the lens of recycling and reusing and how she repurposes many different sorts of objects into her zero waste designs.

Jo Avery: Shisha Samoasa

Such a delight to chat with @joaverystitch all about her upcoming workshop for Making Zen, the peace of sewing by hand, and how wonderful and inspiring a room full of learners is. I was especially fascinated to hear about her #100DayProject and the element of play it brings to her art!

Pippa Haynes: Translating Nature - From Nature to Thread

Have you seen the photos of @lemonpepperstudio ’s 3D embroidery work and thought “that’s beautiful, but I could never?”

I really enjoyed sitting down with Pippa to talk about how her Making Zen workshop is an accessible way to start out with her style of embroidery. We also chatted about her creative process, finding inspiration in nature and enjoying the little things, like opening pretty packages and seeing the first signs of Spring.

Suzi Banks Baum: Make a Blessing Book!

I really enjoyed sitting down with Suzi today to talk about her daily approach to creativity. We chatted about her creative process, how leaving ‘gestures’ such as preparing your workspace the night before as an invitation to start afresh each day and the power of 15 minutes of ‘me time’.

Miriam Polak: Embroidering on Clothes

Is it just me, or is there some comfort in hearing that someone as talented as @slow_evenings_embroidery still takes a practice run?

What a pleasure to chat with Miriam about her art and upcoming workshop for the Making Zen Online Retreat! I loved hearing about her passion and how she gets as much out of teaching a workshop as she does out of taking one.

Blair Stocker: Incorporating stitching into quilts

I know so many people with hand-stitched pieces that they aren’t sure what to do with. Does that sound like you? If so, you’ll want to check out Blair’s workshop for the Making Zen retreat!

I had the opportunity to sit down with @blairs of Wise Craft Handmade today and talk about her workshop on using hand-stitched pieces in quilts! It’s fascinating to hear about the creative journeys of other artists and Blair is no exception.

Jayne Emerson: Unweaving and Restitching: Reimagining cloth

Don’t you just love learning new techniques? It was such a pleasure to chat with @jayneemersontextiles about her magical, water-soluble “weaves” and her process.

I particularly loved hearing about Jaynes 'impatient' approach to creativity and that she asks herself 'what if' that continually inspires and engages her creative practice.

Jody Alexander: For the Love of the Back Patch

Are you always on the lookout for new visible mending techniques?

I know I am, and Jody Alexander is after my heart with her visibly mended back patches! I had the lovely opportunity to sit down with Jody and talk about her mending, art, and collection of mended fabrics!

Mirjam Gielen: Stacked Running Stitch

I love Mirjam Gielen's approach to embroidery and the organic look of her pieces. It was a delight to chat with her today about her inspiration and the wonderful things you can do with the humble running stitch!

Heidi Parkes: Quilted Brooch

Don’t you just love a small project that’s a quick make, functional, and teaches you something new?

I had so much fun sitting down with @heidi.parkes and chatting about her Quilted Brooch workshop for the Making Zen retreat, which is exactly that! 

Erika Maizi: Story and Inner Wear Flower Power Stitching

I had a lovely chat with @erika.maizi_thewyrdingway about our shared love for stitching and stories, and the power of journeying inwards and hearing our souls speak to us. 

Lisa Agaran: Spontaneous Stitching for Inner Wisdom

Have you ever thought about the lessons you learn about yourself when you practise art?

What a wonderful chat I had with @lisaagaran about how art is truly a self-care practice and how important it is to listen to your intuition and inner wisdom.

Embroidery Art by Nat: Introduction to Hand Embroidery

I had a lovely time catching up with Nat about her Introduction to Hand Embroidery workshop. We chatted about her background and her journey from Ukraine to Canada, she told me about some of her techniques.

Making Zen Partner: Sew Organised Style Podcast

Between Sew Organised Style and Making Zen, I’ve had many chances to sit and chat with Maria aka @velosews and it’s a delight every time.

We love having @seworganisedstyle as a partner for the Making Zen retreat. Maria’s podcast episodes featuring the Making Zen artists are so valuable to the retreat and teach us so much about the artists!

Making Zen Partner: Aurifil

Did you know that Aurifil is a family owned and run business based in Italy and they create mindful threads for us to work with using egyptian cotton? Some of the process that Karen shared with me today is that the threads are singed to remove excess fibre, and then run through a paraffin bath to add extra sheen and strength.

What a lovely chat with with Karen who enlightened me about this wonderful product.

Making Zen Partner: Shokunin Store

What a pleasure to introduce you all to Yuko of @shokuninstore, one of the wonderful partners we have supporting the May 2023 Making Zen Retreat.

We had a lovely chat about the importance of craftsmanship and how much more special it is to work with a quality, handmade tool as opposed to something that’s mass-produced on the cheap.

Making Zen Partner: Care Australia

I am so pleased to introduce you to @careaustralia , one of our wonderful partners for the Making Zen Online Retreat.

One of the reasons I started this retreat was so that I could give back to the community that’s given me so much. Working with Care Australia allows me to do that by donating a percentage of profits from the retreat to their cause!