Make Joy Podcast

Hello yarn friends - This next episode of the podcast is an important one I think, because not all projects are linear. Sometimes they’re started, then put down, then picked back up - and this can happen multiple times in the life of a project. As we all know, life happens. So I wanted to know more about what happens when we step away from a project for a while. It felt like the perfect opportunit...

Hello yarn friends! HUGE thanks for your patience these last two weeks! I had scheduled a break in episodes for while I was in Canada getting my son moved into university but then last week I had a technological hiccup in the middle of my editing which sadly meant waiting another week to bring you this episode of the podcast. But I promise it’s worth the wait as on this episode I’m chatting with S...

Hello yarn friends - I’m so excited to share this episode of the podcast with you as it’s a bit of a departure from the the yarn shops, super sports fan sweaters and bespoke yarn brands that have been talked about so far. Earlier this year I had the pleasure of speaking with Canadian textile artist Alexandria Masse who is pushing the boundaries of crochet with her enormous projects, from giant ins...

Hello yarn lovers - This episode of the podcast is a family affair with Lydia Amartey-Williams of Weku Yarn . It was also supposed to include her sister Hannah, who is the other half of this hand dyed yarn business, but sadly her little man had other ideas that day! I’m sure many makers would agree that there aren’t many projects bigger than starting your own yarn line, but that’s just what Lydia...

Hello yarn friends - I’m super excited to share this second episode of series two of the Make Joy podcast with you, and introduce you to a delightful Canadian in the UK, Karla Courtney . It’s always fun making new knitting friends and Karla mentions meeting “internet friends” a few times on this episode so I hope she doesn’t mind that I definitely consider one after our meet up and chat. You may h...

Hello yarn lovers and welcome back to the Make Joy Podcast! I’m so excited to finally get a chance to share with you Series 2 of the podcast. It feels like I’ve been working on it for ages (probably because I have!) but I’ve been thinking about it for even longer and working to bring together an eclectic mix of guests for this series about Big, Bold, and Beautiful Projects. My first guest of the s...

Hello yarn friends! It’s been a while! How’s your making? Things here have been busy - school, work, plus getting ready for this year’s Make Joy. But through it all, I’ve also found time to record the next series of the Make Joy Podcast. I’m really proud of what has come together for this series, all around the theme of big, bold, beautiful projects. Each episode challenges the kinds of projects w...

Hello yarn friends - It’s Sweater Weather - finally! - and welcome to November. Of course, this is one of the mildest Novembers that I can remember here in the UK so the heavy knits haven’t made it out of the wardrobe yet. I can hardly believe that the podcast started back in August and sunshine and now here I am wrapping up Series 1 under Landon’s grey skies. This is Episode 10 of the podcast, an...

Hello yarn friends - We’re getting close to the end of this first series of the Make Joy podcast and I can hardly believe it. It’s been a wild ride, and a crazy year, and while it hasn’t always gone to plan, I hope you’ve enjoyed listing to the conversations I’ve been able to have with friends and colleagues from the yarn and craft world. This week is a little bit different, as things have been bu...

Hello yarn lovers, and a very Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to you all! Tonight I’m feeling very full - both of Sunday Roast and gratitude for this past year! It seems like life is moving at breakneck speed lately, and I’m working so hard to keep up! My next guest on the Make Joy podcast, Martyn, leads an equally busy life, and I’m kind of in awe of everything he manages to accomplish with a day job...

Hello yarn friends - I’m so excited to share this latest episode of the podcast with you, as it’s Knit City Vancouver this weekend and I loved having the opportunity to speak with Amanda and Fiona of Knit Social , the organisers behind this legendary Canadian yarn festival, when I was in Vancouver this past summer. Sadly, I’ve had some technical issues with the sound on this episode so I hope you’...

Hello yarn friends - Welcome back to our regularly scheduled podcast… It was an unintended break in the podcast these last couple of weeks and I won’t lie that I was wondering if I was cursed to not get a podcast past a fifth episode! Things have been BUSY over here, and that’s more I’ll tell you about soon, but it has meant that with a few things happening all at the same time, and some more trav...

Hello yarn friends - I’m away in Shetland at the moment on one of my Stitchtopia tours. While I was re-listening to this episode of the Make Joy Podcast, I was struck by how the themes of community and shared connections in our knitting are the same wherever makers come together - just like they have on this trip. Once again, a group of knitters who don’t know each other have been joined up and ma...

Hello yarn friends - It looks like it’s going to be a gorgeous sunny day today and I’m enjoying watching the light over the rooftops as I write this to you this morning. It feels like an extra gift to have this sunny weather for the bank holiday weekend, and as I was editing this episode it had me thinking that there might still be time to nip down to the coast for a wee swim on Monday. Fingers cr...

Hello yarn friends - A theme of friendship and fabulous makers is emerging on The Make Joy Podcast with this next episode and my special guest Jacqueline Sava, the founder, creator and Director of Possibilities at Soak . Jacqueline and I have known each other a long time since my Toronto days (and full disclosure, I was once one a sales agent for Soak here in the UK) so it’s always nice to have a...

Hello yarn lovers - I’m delighted to bring you this second episode of the podcast with very special guest, Rachel Brown . Rachel was more or less the first knitter I met when I moved to London and she became my BKFF in short order. Always a good sport, Rach is the knitter you want in your corner when you’re coming up with crazy ideas like creating a yarn crawl in London, or yarn road trip events,...

Hello yarn friends! The first episode of the Make Joy podcast is finally here - thank you for listening! When doing something scary or outside of your comfort zone, it’s always great to have a friend along for the ride, and I’m so happy that Aleks Byrd agreed to be with me on this first episode. Aleks and I travelled to Estonia earlier this year on a knitting retreat with Stitchtopia holidays and...

Hello friends and yarn lovers - Welcome to the Make Joy podcast! This is a secret project that I’ve been working on for a while now, and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I’ve enjoyed recording it. The teaser will let you know everything that I’m hoping this podcast will be: yarn, travel, craft, knitting, creativity and more - and I hope you’ll tune in for each episode. Series One starts...