Made at Home

Hello everyone - this episode of the podcast is about perfectionism, how I’m a perfectionist to the extent that I really have to watch myself otherwise I’d literally do nothing, and how craft helps with that (in fact craft really has made it so that I can manage to live in the world). I’d be really interested to know if anyone else has the same issue, and if you do, what you find helps? Anyway, he...

Hello everyone - here I am again with a Made At Home podcast, about the handmade things you can buy as souvenirs on holiday and things that are produced local to the place you go. This is my decorative plate we got from the ceramic shop in Seville which I talk about (I’m afraid you can see how terrible my cutting-in is in this photo but in my defence none of our walls are straight) And this is the...

I’m knitting socks with kittens on them, Ghost has done something unfortunate in the wool basket, and I’ve taken leave of my senses and decided to perform in the Buxton Fringe. And of course, as ever, the Guardian has annoyed me about AI. I’d like to reassure anyone listening to this that I love Ghost beyond all things and would never really take her to the Dove Holes Cat Sanctuary, no matter how...

Today I’m talking about how I managed to have a panic attack in the middle of Peter Grimes on Friday, what went down at the Buxton Vintage Textiles Fair last week, and how we shouldn’t feel the need to optimise everything. We’re not robots! Do things badly and be proud of it! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit s...

I’m going to be completely honest with you: this podcast is basically a rant about how rubbish social media has become. I had a moment last week of pure, unfiltered rage about how we are expected to jump through technological hoops, and so I started taking action: I threw away my google dot (well, I put it in a drawer), I cancelled my youtube account, and I started thinking about what I use my pho...

OK I’m sorry everyone. This is one of those where I had something planned to talk about and then I set off on a completely random rant about something else, then when I had finished my random rant I thought, well I’ll talk about what I was going to talk about anyway. So the result is that this podcast is quite long and also changes direction in the middle, much like Dick Dastardly and Muttley in W...

Well, I recorded today’s podcast yesterday while I was in the middle of making a number of quite confusing things in the kitchen, and Ghost was being very unhelpful and kept coming in and looking me right in the eye while pretending she was going to knock everything off the dresser. So it has a slightly hysterical quality. Anyway, this episode is thoughts on the desirability (or not) of homemade p...

Today’s podcast is a bit shorter, because I started talking about post structuralism and I thought your tolerance for that was probably the same as mine! So just a few thoughts on simulacra, but also on Shirley Conran’s advice on how to know if you’re too fat (let me assure you that I don’t pass the test). And luckily Ghost was here to help, in her capacity as Podcast Room Supervisor, so she kept...

On today’s episode I have Keith, who is my husband, talking about how the Made At Home ethos applies to making music, and in particular to the kind of music he makes. We establish early on in the podcast that Keith is The Enemy in terms of my philosophy, and in fact probably has no soul; but we carry on anyway. We talk about all sorts of exciting music here which I have then not put clips of. This...

Today’s episode may be a bit disjointed because we are currently a House Of Flu, but here are some thoughts on my ongoing obsession, ceramics, and things being made in the UK. I feel we may be exploring both of these things again in future podcasts :-). Just a couple of things to add - here is the bowl I’m referring to that cost 25 Euros and which I managed to get in my underseat baggage allowance...

Well, I really think Garage Band and I are arriving at a critical point in our relationship. Picture the scene. It is 2001. You are trying to edit the newsletter for your small voluntary organisation on Microsoft Word. All is well until you try to insert the picture of Tony receiving the big (in size, not amount) cheque from Elaine at the Council who caused a scandal by leaving her husband for one...

Here is episode 3 of my podcast - an interview with mum who bravely volunteered/ was pressganged into becoming my First Interviewee! Now I had an absolute NIGHTMARE trying to edit this with garage band which fought me all the way, so please bear with me. I think I won. Anyway we cover all sorts in this episode, which is ostensibly about what mum was taught to make as a child and what she still mak...

Welcome to Episode 2 of my podcast, where I explore Difficult Feelings around creativity and making things, and how it can be a powerful force for change. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit susiehalksworth.substack.com

Hello everyone As promised, here’s episode one of my podcast! Before I let you listen to this, I’m going to need you to promise you’ll listen to it with a generous ear. It’s basically like the Samuel Johnson quote about women preaching being like dogs walking on hind legs: it’s not that they do it well, it’s that you’re surprised they manage to do it at all. That’s me and podcasting. And you’d als...