The Making & Mending Podcast

This episode is dedicated to my mum Marina, who passed away suddenly at the end of July. She was incredible - resilient, creative, full of life and hands down the most loving person I know. She taught me how to live a good life full of pleasure and connection even in late stage capitalism. I had 38 years with her and am so proud to call her my mum.  The wonderful Narinder Bazen joined me for this conversation to talk about grief after sudden death, saying goodbye in the best way we can and staying connected to the present moment in a mammal body while we have one foot on the other side.  The title of this episode is a nod to one of my favorite books - The Wild Edge of Sorrow by Frances Weller.  Thank you for listening and sending some love to my mum, Yarrow

The world is a lot, but then what's new? In this episode I wanted to share a few ways in which I am staying grounded this summer, including excellent book selection, gentle rituals and activism that is doable and kind on my nervous system. I hope it's a helpful space for you to think about your own summer and orient towards the pleasure & joy that is available to you. Here is info about the tech day I mentioned: https://pinkwellstudio.com/magic/ Thank you so much for listening! Love, Yarrow

Patient and appreciated listeners, I am bring you another wonderful conversation with Lara Irene Vesta. I hope this find you well, with a bit of sunshine on your face and a quiet moment to dive in. Here is some of what we talked about: Writing beautiful books from bed Growing wild gardens that tend to themselves  Rites of passage and spiritual sinkholes  Finding ways to stay connected to enchantment when things are hard  Lara Irene Vesta is a writer, artist and educator exploring sacred stories and lineage traditions. She is the author of the Moon Divas Guidebook, Wild Soul Runes and Year of the Dark Goddess: A Journey of Ritual, Renewal and Rebirth. Her current creative practice is reclaiming offline life, renewing faith and remembering ancestral crafts and skills. She shares this journey in the Olden Practice newsletter and through by-donation classes at the Wild Soul School. https://www.laravesta.cohttps://www.oldenpractice.com Olden Practice Substack Newsletter:https://laravesta.substack.com  Patreon:https://www.patreon.com/larairene  Year of the Dark Goddess Book Links:Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Year-Dark-Goddess-Journey-Renewal/dp/1578638275Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/year-of-the-dark-goddess-lara-vesta/1144014419  Thank you for listening,Yarrow

This episode is such a heartfelt deep dive into grief, creativity & enchantment with the wonderful Narinder Bazen. Here is some of what we talked about:  The space that death awareness inhabits in our lives Making simplicity & minimalism our own Thresholds & finding a place in the world  Meaning making and ritual through hard times Narinder Bazen is an artist, death midwife, enchanted life guide and death midwifery trainer, living on unceded Penobscot land. (Maine, USA) Her greatest passions include helping to midwife new paradigm death care and grief care and living as a minimalist full of enchantment because of all of the bounty found in nature. When she's not guiding new death midwives, she's spending time painting with watercolors, writing, and playing with her dog Oak. https://www.narinderbazen.com/ You can sign up for the next Spark session over here: https://yarrow.substack.com/ Thanks for listening! Love, Yarrow

I've been such a fan of Christi's work and especially her book Mystical Stitches for ages and so it's a real joy to bring this beautiful interview to you! Here is what we talked about:  Finding one's own voice with shapes, colours and composition  Rituals and creative process Writing books and sharing skills The beauty, magic and resilience of textiles Christi Johnson's personal work combines cosmic visions and botanical beauties, a hypnotic dance of symbols stitched slowly and methodically into fabric. She is the artist behind Mixed Color, a textile studio based in the foothills of the Catskills, NY which provides functional pieces that are thoughtfully made, as well as educating others in creativity and textile arts. Through books, kits, and online courses on embroidery and garment making, Christi guides her students through the skills they need to embrace self expression through handcrafts. She is the author of, Mystical Stitches (Storey Press, 2021), which explores embroidery as a tool for personal empowerment and magical embellishment to bring more meaning into stitches. www.mixedcolor.net Here is the ethical marketing workshop I mentioned: https://pinkwellstudio.com/ethical-marketing-workshop/ Thank you so much for listening!  Love, Yarrow

In this episode I am sharing five sweet & simple things I'll be doing to make the month ahead more beautiful. Think home spa, love letters, self-commitment and flowers. I hope you'll feel inspired!  You can join my monthly Spark Sessions for extra ritual support via my Substack here: https://yarrow.substack.com/ and here is more info about the upcoming donation based workshop on ethical marketing: https://pinkwellstudio.com/ethical-marketing-workshop/ Love, Yarrow

This episode is a dream come true for my nerdy heart - I had a chance to talk to Dr. Isabella Rosner, whose podcast Sew What? I've been a fan of for years. We talked about how she got into textile histories, her PhD research and work at the Royal School of Needlework, about what textiles can teach us about what it means to be human and making time to create.  Dr Isabella Rosner is the Curator of the Royal School of Needlework and Research Associate at Witney Antiques. She recently completed her PhD at King’s College London, researching Quaker women’s needlework, waxwork, and shellwork circa 1650 to 1800. Passionate about schoolgirl samplers and early modern women’s needlework, Isabella hosts the “Sew What?” podcast about historic needlework and those who stitched it. She is a 2023 BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker. https://sewwhatpodcast.com/ Thank you for listening!

This episode is my first interview with a guest in about eight months and I could not feel more excited & honoured to speak to Chaney Williams. There was so much in this conversation that was a balm to my soul - we talked about life-changing moments and accidents, listening to the whispers of your ancestors and our bodies, quiet spaces to create and dreaming new dreams. I hope you love it as much as I did! Chaney Williams (she/they) is a full spectrum doula, ritualist, and writer. She lives in Kentucky and has been a southerner since birth. Chaney strongly believes that all people deserve access to trauma informed, intersectional, sex positive, reproductive care. For Chaney, writing specifically their poetry and creative non-fiction essays are confessional in nature because they create what they know and what haunts them because it is the way they make sense of the world they exist in. It is how she finds belonging in the universe and connects to her ancestors, future descendants, and the collective. https://chaneywilliams.squarespace.com/  https://chaneywilliams.substack.com/  Stitching Together Community: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/stitching/  Thank you for listening, Yarrow

In this episode I'm sharing more about an oral history project I'll be running this year - I want to find out how people with disabilities, like myself, used needlework to explore a sense of place and heritage during lockdown. I'm excited to explore topics like resilience in isolation, material and making vs consumption, connection with family stories and more.  This of course relates to my Stitching Together project, which you can find out more about here: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/stitching/ Thank you, as always, for listening! Love, Yarrow

Happy new year! In this episode I'm talking about how I am centring mental health & wellbeing in my creative practice this year - removing barriers, creating space for accessible participation & dreams, finding the sweet spot of gentle accountability and indulging wildly in flow states!  More info about my web design work is here: https://pinkwellstudio.com/ and you can join Stitching Together here: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/stitching/ Thank you for listening! Love, Yarrow

Perhaps an odd day to publish a new episode, but I thought this might be nice to share today for anyone who also feels a little overwhelmed with the festivities at a time of so much uncertainty and upheaval. Finding and exploring one's creative voice is something I have been thinking about a lot this year - I explored stripping back the media overwhelm, identifying core messages and symbolism and, as always, unraveling perfectionism. I hope this episode gives you something interesting to think about too! Here is more info about the Stitching Together community: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/stitching/ Love, Yarrow

If you're like me, having gentle accountability to slow down & be creative makes it much more likely for you to do things that bring you joy. Maybe you too feel that you need it more than ever.  After a bit of a break I am bringing my Patreon back, because I miss our creative time together and also because I am excited to share my research on radical needlework with you. In this episode I am sharing the new structure for my Patreon/Stitching Together in 2024 - a community space focussed on making, mending, writing & wellbeing.  Learn more here: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/stitching/ Thank you for listening! Love, Yarrow

In this episode I am talking about what slowness means to me in my practice right now and how I've learned to still appreciate the process when chronic illness and disabilities slow me down. I'm taking a longer view on things, thinking about how slowness makes space for observations and stories to be woven into my work and how stitching and carving supports my wellbeing in so many ways. I'm also asking questions about devotion, the value of time and the beauty of simplicity and simple aesthetics.  I hope that if you've ever felt too slow you'll find comfort in listening!  Here is more info on Stitching Together in 2024: https://www.yarrowmagdalena.com/stitching/ Love, Yarrow

In this episode I am talking about taking a specific question into the darker time of the year, thinking about what spiritual practices I want to commit to this season, trying something new & gathering tools that are meaningful to me. You can join my Substack here if you like: https://yarrow.substack.com/ Love, Yarrow

In the second instalment of my Getting Ready for Winter series I am sharing things that have helped me pay more attention to what I love - making, cooking, wandering and having conversations. As the days grow shorter many of us feel we want more of those things, but it can be so so hard to make time. If you feel the same I hope this episode will offer you some ideas & inspiration.  You can join my Substack here: https://yarrow.substack.com/ Love, Yarrow