Shows
The Stitch Safari PodcastVangelis Kyris and Anatoli Georgiev - Poems in Textile ArtThis is an expedition into an artistic duo who create magic - two artists had a vision to conceive a world that hovers within and between photography and embroidery, traversing and immersing both arts with an almost palpable dynamism - yet the images are static, serene, and stationary.2024-03-0218 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastA Dynamic Duo of Embroidery Books ReviewedIn this episode, I have two very different, very inspiring new books ready to review - and I chose them for various reasons - but most of all for their value - they delivered something special in terms of content, emotion, insight into process, and that ever-present, behemoth, technique and creativity.2024-02-1618 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastDorset ButtonsThe Dorset Button is something very different indeed - something that remains handmade and meant to be decorative not simply utilitarian.2024-02-0220 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastOnline Embroidery CoursesNot all online video tutorials are professionally crafted or indeed offer great content - but many do, so buyer beware, do your due diligence, check out what’s on offer, understand exactly what it is you’re after and what exactly it is that you’ll receive in the tutorial.2024-01-2019 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidered DollsDolls, those miniature human figures so beloved by the young and the young at heart are a worldwide phenomenon - they’re a means of imitation helping to satisfy a child’s need or instinct to copy and learn through play, but they’re also a BFF.Dolls are time travelers with a series of complex stories to tell about resilience, racism, culture, tradition, family relationships, childhood, memories, escapism, and love and embroidery adds emotion, and individuality to every doll.2024-01-0621 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastStraw Embroidery - Poor Man's GoldStraw has been used to decorate and embellish costumes and ecclesiastical garments since the 1600s - some sources believe that straw was used as an imitation for goldwork embroidery hence the name, poor man’s Gold - it is very reminiscent of goldwork embroidery.2023-12-1619 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastColour in EmbroideryTruly successful embroidery relies on colour to express emotion and mood, focal point, suggest patterns, retain traditions and relate cultural storytelling - when you think about it, colour has a lot riding on its shoulders, but it’s a burden of pure pleasure once you break through that confidence barrier - and that’s a huge struggle for a lot of people, so let’s break down some of those barriers in this episode of Stitch Safari, let’s offer some insights into how to use colour in embroidery, what suggestions may help people conquer colour confidence and what other em...2023-12-0331 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastInspiration for Embroidery ProcessIn this episode, I’d like to swing the pendulum back a little towards a book that forges inspiration through the study of historical textiles to see the process of 27 modern-day working embroiderers. Published in 1993 it’s a gem of a book - and belongs to a time that really was one of the Golden Ages of English embroidery.2023-11-1627 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Embroiderer - Effie MitrofanisThe Stitch Safari Podcast is expanding to include live interviews with Australian embroiderers - and this is the first. Introducing Effie Mitrofanis a researcher, and tutor of both creative and traditional hand embroidery who has lectured and exhibited internationally as well as throughout Australia.2023-10-3126 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastSimply Finding Freedom in EmbroideryFor many embroidery is about gaining a certain amount of freedom from a prescribed formula - their design inspiration may form a narrative, or it may be pure abstraction, expressive mark making, or simply just the coalescence of fabric, texture, and embroidery - and sometimes that’s all it takes. 2023-10-1924 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Art of Pleated Embroidery or SmockingPleated embroidery or smocking, as it’s called now, has always held a sort of mystical allure - it’s a technique that appears complicated and intricate, allowing drape and ease of movement for the wearer, creating an irresistible number of pattern combinations. But fashion designers and innovative textile and fibre artists are also using this traditional technique to create unique and inspiring art and wearable art.2023-10-0519 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidery - The Essential NeedleOne of the main considerations for embroidery is the type of needle you actually need and how to care for it. Needles can either hinder or help during the stitching process, so it’s important to understand the hidden mechanics of their usage.2023-09-2218 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastAn Australian Trilogy of Creative Embroidery - Books by Effie Mitrofanis, Carol Cooke and Sharon Boggon - A ReviewThe three books reviewed for you here in this episode are all written by Australian embroidery artists - showing the depth of innovation and creativity abiding here in Australia. They are all outstanding - and all for very different reasons. 2023-09-0818 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidery and the Power of MagicGo back far enough through history, and you’ll find that magic and mysticism were at the forefront of everyday living and people's remedy was to use embroidery that became part of their visual language - it was storytelling for all to see, educated or uneducated, but, within that embroidery was power - the power of magic.2023-08-2527 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastWorld Embroidery DayWorld Embroidery Day celebrated annually on July 30, was set up in Sweden by one of the Swedish Embroiderer’s Guilds, with a Manifesto encompassing their vision about embroidery to help aid Peace, Freedom, and Equality. This episode examines their Manifesto along with a recent YouTube video celebrating World Embroidery Day 2023 and ideas for celebrating World Embroidery Day 2024.2023-08-1019 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastCovid 19 and the Connectivity of StitchCovid19, self-isolation, and Lockdowns created a revolution in how we associated and communicated with each other - it was a time of re-shaping and re-thinking during uncertain times, but when you think about it, embroidery is a form of connection in itself - through the patterns and imaginative stories captured within every single pull of a needle and thread through a base fabric, connecting us with our past, our present and our future.2023-07-2820 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastArt Versus CraftThis topic is murky, leaden, and depressing - and I’d just like to know, who’s making the decisions pertaining to what art actually is, because I find that to be very blurry indeed. It's time to explore this topic more fully from the perspective of a textile and embroidery artist.2023-07-1322 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidery and the Motivation of CraftivismCraftivism is a gentle form of protest, it’s not extreme yet allows makers a platform to voice their concerns and opinions about social justice, political viewpoints, and environmental issues.2023-06-2922 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidery and the 2023 Archibald Prize WinThis is the first time in 110 years that an artwork that includes embroidery and collage has won the prestigious Archibald Prize. This episode looks behind comments and critics to find a precedent from 1950s America.2023-06-1522 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Invention of the Sewing MachineIt's a tortuous history, the invention of the sewing machine, but surely one of the most important and useful machines ever devised.2023-06-0121 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastKing Charles III Coronation EmbroideryAfter weeks of speculation, we were able to witness the Coronation of King Charles III - and what a celebration of British designers and British craftsmanship, past and present who created spectacular embroidery full of rich symbolism fit for a new King and Queen.2023-05-1820 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastIntricacy and Simplicity - Five Contemporary Embroidery ArtistsJoin me as I discuss five contemporary embroidery artists who make use of both simple and intricate embroidery techniques, using hand and machine embroidery, to create amazingly innovative and diverse stitchery.2023-05-0418 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastContemporary CanvasworkA short recap of the history of Canvaswork for context, moving onto the complexity of contemporary Canvaswork, featuring the design work of two highly regarded artists, Kaffe Fassett and Raymond Honeyman.2023-04-2022 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidery and the Making of the Masculine ‘Queering the Subversive Stitch - Men and the Culture of Needlework’ written by Joseph McBrinn, Published by Bloomsbury in Great Britain in 2021, is the focus of this episode.2023-04-0623 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Bloomsbury SetThe Bloomsbury Set were a very important group of influencers of their time - an influence that, surprisingly, continues to this very day. They questioned normative thinking about literature, criticism, and economics, not to mention their modern attitudes toward feminism, pacifism, and sexuality, but most of all created a self-fashioned design aesthetic. ‘They lived in squares, painted in circles and loved in triangles’.2023-03-2326 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidery and DiversityI’ve touched on men who stitch before, but the combination of the artistic skills and technical ability of the two men I’m going to feature in this episode is beyond exceptional - and what’s unique is that they collaborate - they live together and they stitch together, creating work that revolves around the reconsidered role of gender - the gay family.2023-03-0919 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThree Book Reviews on Sketchbooks for Textile ArtistsWhere would we be without the inspiration and creativity we derived from informative books brimming with crisp, colourful drawings and images? The Stitch Safari Podcast will now include book reviews pertinent to the topics recently covered.2023-02-2323 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastSketchbooks for Embroidery and Textile ArtistsSketchbooks are the personalized visual storytelling of an artist’s process that allows us to see behind the scenes, so to speak, to see the successes as well as the failures, that eventually forms into a fully resolved piece of embroidered textile art.2023-02-0927 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastPaper and Metal EmbroideryUsing either paper or metal in embroidery work is to add to the offering of infinite creative options available for the modern embroiderer.2023-01-1920 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastZero Waste in Textiles and Embroidery Featuring Three Amazing ArtistsZero 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.2023-01-0423 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastHawaiian and Tivaevae QuiltsAloha ‘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.2022-12-2020 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastRalli and Amish QuiltsFrom 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.2022-12-0919 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Rajah and Changi QuiltsThis 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.2022-11-2429 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastWholecloth, Medallion and Baltimore Album QuiltsEach 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.2022-11-1027 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastAmerican Pieced Quilt BlocksAmerican 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.2022-10-2728 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastQuilts and QuiltingQuilts and quilting are and have always been, a worldwide phenomenon - a way to connect, communicate, celebrate, acknowledge or simply remember, and enjoy.2022-10-1730 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastQueen Elizabeth II's Wedding Dress 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.2022-09-3020 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastHidden From View - Embroidered UndergarmentsFrom 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.2022-09-1520 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastSew Bros, Seamsters and ManbroiderersWords like Sew Bros, Seamsters and Manbroiderers have now been added to the stitch and embroidery lexicon, but what are the reasons why more men want to stitch?2022-09-0118 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastFlossing - The Embroidered CorsetThe corset is a garment of feminity, grace and glamour and is a very cleverly engineered garment, one that perfectly balances function with aesthetics.2022-08-1818 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidered ShoesShoe obsession is nothing new. From the exquisitely embroidered Chinese Lotus shoe to the stunning Indian Mojaris, societies world-wide have exhibited their culture through their couture - and their footwear is no exception.2022-08-0425 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastConstance Howard - The Influencer With Green HairRemembered as an innovator and revolutionary, many critical artistic genres owe a great deal to the dedicated work and example of Constance Howard. She nurtured the idea of embroidery as an art form and vehicle for artistic self-expression.2022-07-2118 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMen's Embroidered Waistcoats - An OverviewHistoric images of ornate, over-the-top embroidery tends to make us think it was destined for use by women - but no, fashion in the middle of the 17th century saw the evolution of a new style featuring elegant embroidery, and it was all for men.2022-07-0721 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastWWI War and Rehabilitation EmbroideriesPeople embroidered war embroideries for many reasons - for some it was a means of income, for others it was a form of therapy and rehabilitation.2022-06-2325 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastJudy Chicago - The Dinner PartyJudy Chicago, feminist, artist and art educator is best known for her seminal artwork, The Dinner Party 1974-79. This conceptual art installation also incorporates the use of embroidery.2022-06-0920 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Embroidered Costumes of Miss Phryne FisherThis episode focuses on some of the embroidered embellishments created for this delightfully charming, thoroughly modern, fictional character, Phryne Fisher by Australian costume designer, Marion Boyce.2022-05-2620 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroiderers - Sonia Delaunay and May MorrisIn this episode, I'm honouring two amazingly talented and creative embroidery artists - Sonia Delaunay and May Morris - two very different aesthetics, yet both used stitch in their work.2022-05-1222 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidered Banners of the Artists' Suffrage LeagueFrom something as simple as a needle, thread and cloth, women created thought-provoking, powerful and inspirational messages - showing us the materiality of the history of the women's suffrage movement.2022-04-2827 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastTie-On Pockets - A Hidden WorldFar from being either small or insignificant, women's tie-on pockets, of which many were embroidered, were a portable and flexible item, forming insights into the lives of women and the things that mattered to them.2022-04-0730 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMaison Lesage - Part 2Maison Lesage is a French dynastic embroidery house that now operates under the brand Chanel. Its history dates back as far as Napoleon III. This episode begins with WWII.2022-03-2524 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMaison Lesage - Part 1Say hello to the stunningly beautiful, elegantly innovative and seductively alluring world of French Haute Couture embroidery and The House of Lesage - a journey through the who's who of couturiers worldwide and the French embroidery house that helped interpret their dreams in stitch.2022-03-0921 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastCouched, Beaded and Sequinned EmbroideyA fascinating journey into three extremely simple embroidery techniques that have grown to encompass and embrace modern technology and advances, yet are basically worked exactly as our ancient forebears would have worked them.2022-02-2427 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastNature and EmbroideryThis episode is about deep-diving to unearth some of the more unique and unusual tools and materials created by utilising Mother Nature.2022-02-1023 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMexican Otomi EmbroideryMexican Otomi embroidery, or the more simplified Tenangos embroidery, is a vibrant celebration of riotous colour using a mix of both ancient and modern culture, showing the Otomi's ability to overcome adversity.2022-01-2613 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastBeetle Elytra - Nature's OrnamentUsed for centuries, the exoskeletons or hard outer casings of the Jewel Beetle, have been incorporated into decorative jewellery, objects and stunning embroidery.2022-01-1324 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastIndian Shisha Work, Phulkari and Beetle Wing EmbroideryIn this episode, the focus is on three very distinctive embroidery techniques easily associated with India - Indian Shisha work, Phulkari embroidery and the often overlooked, yet exotically beautiful Beatle Wing embroidery.2021-12-2918 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastIndian Kantha Embroidery Indian Kantha embroidery breathes new life into old textiles and is one of India’s most treasured examples of artisanship. The basis of the art of Kantha is the spiritual practice of ‘making whole again that which is fragmented or broken.’2021-12-1616 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastIndian Embroidery - An OverviewWelcome to the kaleidoscope that is Indian textiles - a vividly colourful and unendingly inspiring world where embroidery, design and techniques are as varied as the very culture of India itself.2021-12-0226 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Japanese Aesthetic and Kimono The romantic and exquisitely wrought designs of the Japanese aesthetic featured on numerous Kimono, inspired many through their elegance and exoticism. From the understated, to the overt, from wartime propaganda kimonos of the 1930’s and 40’s to some of the most beautiful depictions of blossoms and geometric patterning ever seen, the Kimono seduces and captivates, still.2021-11-1926 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidered Rank Badges or Mandarin SquaresRank Badges or Mandarin Squares as they’re also known, are a true representation of the elegance and diversity of East Asian embroidery – there’s absolutely nothing not-to-like here, combining design and embroidery skill of an extremely high level – an experience that should not be overlooked in the annals of research or design styles.2021-11-0421 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidered Dragon RobesDragon Robes conjure exotic, mythical images of a colourful past concept of the mysterious Far East, drawing deeply on ancient Chinese culture and symbols, creating exquisitely embroidered garments of magnificent elegance and technical prowess.2021-10-2224 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Evolution of East Asian Silk EmbroideryEast Asian Silk Embroidery - an exquisite and stunningly beautiful art form emerging from China, the ancient masters of silk, migrating to Korea and Japan – forming the remarkable and unmistakable, East Asian embroidery aesthetic. 2021-10-0831 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastElizabeth I's Wardrobe Embroidery was front and centre, of Elizabeth I's wardrobe, playing its role in enriching surfaces, referencing the symbology of colour – a tool highly used in Elizabethan times, and the means by which she could communicate through the sometimes disparate elements of the designs used. 2021-09-2341 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastBess of Hardwick and the Prison Embroideries of Mary Queen of Scots Bess of Hardwick is probably best known for the immense value of the inventories she had made sometime during 1601, itemising all the furnishings and embroidered textiles from her three properties – many of which were examples of her own craftsmanship and that of Mary Queen of Scots. 2021-09-0920 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Field of the Cloth of GoldThere was one event during 1520 that was quite possibly the costliest, most excessive, most elaborate, dazzling display of overt and blatant showiness and wealth the world had ever seen. It was, of course, the man-made chivalric court festival known as The Field of The Cloth of Gold.2021-08-2628 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Magnificence of Tudor Textiles and EmbroideryThe Tudor’s were the great image-makers of their time, glorified by some of the world’s most magnificent paintings and extant textiles and embroideries, displaying both their majesty and their rituals.2021-08-1225 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastRaised Work, Embossed Work, StumpworkDimension and height in the needle arts create visual excitement and form, and the Elizabethan’s propelled this form of embroidery to a whole new level in their Raised or Embossed work. 2021-07-2917 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastBlackwork EmbroideryThis delicate, counted thread technique, traditionally worked in black thread on a white or off white even-weave fabric such as cotton or linen, has a long lineage, harking back to its North African and Moroccan roots as the true birthplace for this style of embroidery. 2021-07-1617 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastEmbroidered SamplersDerived from the Latin word ‘exemplum’ or Old French term ‘essamplaire’ meaning example, Samplers were a way to reference various designs, types of stitches and their textures, becoming a personal authority or aide-mémoire to record and trial multiple complex stitching techniques, featuring moralising texts, pictorial motifs as well as alphabets, numerals and personal information. 2021-07-0119 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastElizabethan Embroidery - An OverviewWith the Elizabethan age, came high adventure and travel, bringing new design inspiration, and fostering that much-needed re-birth or re-flowering of the art of embroidery, especially for secular use.2021-06-1825 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastOpus Anglicanum - The Flowering of Embroidery Then and NowIn this episode, I explore Opus Anglicanum and its effect on fashion and embroidery in the 20th and 21st centuries. The simple fact is, that in the 20th and 21st centuries, there has been an upturn in the creative arts – especially embroidery and textiles. We’ve again fallen in love with accomplishments from our past.2021-06-0418 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Art and Techniques of Opus AnglicanumOpus Anglicanum was the Haute Couture of its time, whether, for secular or religious garments, coverings, purses, seal bags or even horse trappers, these items were made to be part of an experience – they were made to be seen, to stand out and to display the object or wearer as someone or something of status and was central to an art form displaying the rich material culture of the medieval elite.2021-05-2121 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastWhat Is Opus Anglicanum?Opus Anglicanum refers to the body of unsurpassed English embroidery, spanning a period from 1100 – 1450. It took the medieval world by storm and was viewed as an art form in its own right, on a par with architecture, sculpture and stained glass work. 2021-05-0713 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Black Prince's JuponThe focus for this episode is on a medieval garment – over 600 years old, worn by Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince.2021-04-2214 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Bayeux Tapestry - Satire and MarketingThis episode will end our exceptional journey with inspired satire, as well as its marketing appeal, uniquely reinforcing the Bayeux Tapestry’s long-lasting appeal. 2021-04-0814 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Bayeux Tapestry - The Influencer One of the most fascinating aspects of the Bayeux Tapestry is its indisputable power as an influencer, both Napoleon and Hitler saw power in the medieval embroidery’s appeal, but what about its power in the modern era and across a diversity of media?2021-03-2521 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part VEnter Matilda. A secret operation, called Special Project Brittany, codenamed ‘Matilda’ was brought into play where The Bayeux Tapestry was to be taken from Chateau Sourches to Berlin in two stages, to make it less obvious that it was being taken out of France.2021-03-1118 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part IV The Bayeux Tapestry - a fragile strip of medieval linen covered in embroidery telling the story of the Battle of Hastings, wrangled over by so many during the second world war – French and German and transported no less than five times on open roads with little protection from Allied bombing. 2021-02-2523 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part III Moving forward to World War II - The Bayeux Tapestry was now a survivor for almost 880 years, so what exactly was it about this monumental embroidery that attracted those looking to walk in the self-same footsteps as William the Conqueror? They wanted what William achieved. A defeat over England certainly, but even more than that, they wanted to use William’s powerful and emotive story, carefully embroidered into the Tapestry as propaganda to promote their own ends.2021-02-1121 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part IIThis episode explores the three French plays inspired by The Bayeux Tapestry along with its return to Bayeux, where it was easily accessible for a time by the public at large. And we also look at the work done by Charles Stothard in capturing the Tapestry to help prove its English heritage.2021-01-2823 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Bayeux Tapestry - The Survivor Part 1The longevity of the Bayeux Tapestry displays the footprint of its past, both artistically and historically, and most importantly, as an embroidery telling a visual story anyone can relate to. It's unique and unlike any other surviving artefact from this period. Its survival is one of almost implausible endurance. 2021-01-1424 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMedieval Embroidery StitchesIn this episode, we'll be taking a quick look at the types of stitches used throughout this time as well as to re-cap on just how far we’ve come in this fascinating journey into stitch and the art of the needle. 2020-12-2125 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMedieval Embroidery Tools Looking at, and researching surviving work produced during the Middle Ages, has made me want to explore the tools Medieval embroiderers used. Would they recognise any of ours? Would I recognise any of theirs? Quite a few, surprisingly, so let’s explore just what they had secreted away in their Medieval sewing baskets. 2020-12-1021 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMedieval GuildsMedieval Guilds were formed to promote and protect the art of embroidery, a major trade in the Middle Ages.2020-11-2624 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Sequestered Stitch: Monastic EmbroideryIn today’s episode I’m looking through some fascinating information on Medieval embroidery worked in nunneries and monasteries, the providers of an honourable profession for highly born women along with those with a true passion and calling for the religious life. 2020-11-1226 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMedieval Narrative Textiles - A World in ImagesToday the connection I want to explore, deals with the art of a stitched or woven narrative in Medieval textiles – a world in images, to see if I can justify design parallels and influences going back as far as I can.2020-10-3043 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMedieval ColourThere are so many ways to approach Colour – it’s something I love working with and I’ve researched a great deal, but I have to say, looking at it from a Medieval perspective is very different and absolutely fascinating. 2020-10-2235 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMedieval Artistic Styles: The Influencers - Part 1Embroidery is and will always be a reflection and mirroring of cultures, fashions and styles. Just look to the many excavated finds throughout the world, and you’ll see some of the most beautiful and mesmerising treasures from this time. It’s no coincidence then, that there’s a similarity of styles and symbols, re-interpreted throughout medieval design and needlecraft. Design is an influencer. Covering the first four of eight styles used in Medieval design: Romanesque, Viking, Byzantine and Gothic.2020-10-1121 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMedieval Artistic Styles: The Influencers - Part 2 In this episode, I’ll be focussing on the final four of the eight styles that impacted on Medieval Art. I like to call them The Influencers. In Part 1 I covered Romanesque, Viking, Byzantine and Gothic Art. Now in Part 2, I’m featuring Islamic, Celtic, Carolingian and Ottonian Art. Together these eight styles synthesised into that sometimes ambiguous term ‘Medieval Art, Art of the Middle Ages or Dark Age Art.’ 2020-10-0824 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastMedieval Artistic Styles: The Influencers - Part 1Embroidery is and will always be a reflection and mirroring of cultures, fashions and styles. Just look to the many excavated finds throughout the world, and you’ll see some of the most beautiful and mesmerising treasures from this time. It’s no coincidence then, that there’s a similarity of styles and symbols, re-interpreted throughout medieval design and needlecraft. Design is an influencer.2020-09-2429 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastAn Introduction to Medieval Art and EmbroideryMedieval Art - a period when embroidery was King. It’s time, fellow followers of needlework and stitch to embrace the stunning aesthetic of Medieval art and embroidery. 2020-09-1029 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastCloth of Gold: Sea SilkBelieved to bring good luck, the rare byssus cloth is extremely light and warm and is made from fibres harvested from giant molluscs. One of its remarkable properties is the way it shines when exposed to sunlight - it glows with an unbelievable richness. 2020-08-2715 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastWool - The Common ClothDo you remember that feeling of comfort and warmth from a favourite hand-knitted woollen jumper? Each interlinked stitch enveloped us with hand-made love and utilized one of the world’s most used natural fibres. Wool.2020-08-1324 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Threads of Life - CottonCotton, that soft, fluffy, staple plant fibre, was well known and used from ancient times. It grew wild, it travelled the globe naturally, via its salt-resistant seeds, finally becoming a domesticated crop when societies recognized they could live and stay in one place, year in and year out. 2020-07-3116 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastIdioms, Proverbs and TruismsIn this episode, I explore some of the figurative illustrations of the word stitch and its component family that have enriched our daily lives and literature. 2020-07-1712 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastSilk - The Shimmering MistThe word silk conjures the exotic romanticism of The Far East and The Silk Road, with a history replete with the secrets of sericulture, caravan trade routes, and the expansion of silk production throughout the ancient world.2020-07-0316 minThe Stitch Safari PodcastThe Fibres of Life - FlaxMeander through history and pre-history and delve into the wonderful world of fibre. This episode sheds some light on one of the big four natural plant fibres, flax, which like the needle, opened endless possibilities for commerce and craft. It’s a tantalizing story.2020-06-1920 min
The Stitch Safari PodcastIntroduction to Stitch SafariThe Stitch Safari Podcast is a brand-new fortnightly expedition into the art of the needle, stitch and embroidery, trekking through its development, applications and innovations. Hosted by Australian textile artist, Cathy Jack Coupland this will be a light-hearted, informative tour of the art of the needle.2020-05-2510 min
The Stitch Safari PodcastThe Art of The NeedleThe hand sewing needle was a precious resource, of global importance, but at some point in time, it’s utilitarian use for garment construction also embraced surface decoration and embellishment or, in other words, embroidery – and gave birth to the art of the needle. 2020-05-2516 min
The Stitch Safari PodcastTrek Stop #1 History, Legends and CustomsIn this episode, I’m going to start our trek with a connection between Leonardo da Vinci, The Ceremony of the Broken Needle, and The Needle and Thread Gaudy, plus a few other interesting stitch-related legends.2020-05-2510 min