Check Your Thread Zoe Edwards

This week you will hear an episode of the Sew Organised Style podcast about a social enterprise based in Australia called The Nest Community. The Nest is an incredible charity that empowers women by fostering healing and connection. And they do this important work by keeping existing crafting materials in use and by sharing craft skills and knowledge.



Support the podcast over on Patreon!



I made my pallet bench at a workshop run by The Salvage Sister:





In this episode you will hear founder and CEO of The Nest Community, Roz Holt:





This episode was made by Sew Organised Style podcast and first aired 4/3/24. The second episode, focusing on the volunteers at The Nest Community, aired 1/4/24 and can be heard on the Sew Organised Style website:

This is the second part of my conversation with Maria Theoharous in advance of our feed swap next week. In this part we find out just how organised IS the maker of the Sew Organised Style podcast?! Plus we share which of our previous guests have surprised us and how…



Support the podcast over on Patreon!





This is the second instalment of a two-part conversation. Listen to the first part:




Ep. #138: Making Sewing Podcasts with Maria Theoharous




Maria Theoharous makes the Sew Organised Style podcast. 



Follow Maria on Instagram (@velosews).  





Days for Girls is an organisation that attempts to eliminate the stigma and limitations associated with menstruation. 



I worked out my manifesto with my friend and former coach, Kim Witten, and encouraged others to do the same in Ep. # 71: Making Personal Manifestos with Kim Witten.





Maria was deeply moved when Denise Archer relayed her experience of living with breast cancer and the after effects. 



Birgitta Helmersson surprised me with an Australian accent when we met up to record:




Ep.# 54: A Journey to Zero Waste with Birgitta Helmersson



Ep.# 55: The Challenges of Zero Waste Design with Birgitta Helmersson




The input of the CYT listeners to create the Scrap Strategies episodes have had a direct impact on my sewing.  



One day I would love to record a conversation with Zero Waste Daniel!  

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to make a sewing podcast? Maybe not, but I’ve recorded a conversation with fellow sewing podcaster, Maria Theoharous from Sew Organised Style, that will give you some insights anyway! 



Maria and I came up with lots of fun and illuminating questions to pose to one another. We talked for so long that we're splitting this chat into two episodes, the second part will come later this week. So press play if you want to know which episodes Maria and I are most proud of, and what mistakes we’ve both made during the making of our podcasts! 



Support the podcast over on Patreon!





Maria Theoharous makes the Sew Organised Style podcast. 



Follow Maria on Instagram (@velosews).  





At the time of recording, I was making my fourth pair of Ginger jeans. 



This isn’t the Chanel-style jacket that Maria was making at time of recording, but it’s a great example of her jacket-making talents! 



My mum’s sweatshirt made from scraps:





The Sewcialists was an incredible community blog that focused on sewing. All the previous posts are still available to enjoy. 



Susan Young has appeared in many episodes of Sew Organised Style. You can hear them all, including the conversation that helped Maria get her Sewjo back during lockdown. 



Maria’s episode with Marcia Lois Riddington (@marcialoisriddington on Instagram) is one that feels very representative of Sew Organised Style’s output. 





I am proud of the success of the Seasonal Stash organisation system (Ep. #119). Download the free PDF version. 





I was also very happy with Ep. #107: Sewing is Political. 

Whether it’s because you just participated in Me-Made-May, or you’ve recently had a wardrobe sort out, what do you do with the items you find yourself no longer wearing? In this week’s solo episode, I advise you on how to diagnose why you’re not wearing them. I then suggest five different ways you can update those garments so that you’re excited to wear them again! 



Support the podcast over on Patreon!





Image source: Sarah Brown via Unsplash



If you want to learn more about the Me-Made-May challenge, listen to:




Ep. #84: What is Me-Made-May?




The Clothehorse podcast is a great place to learn more about the life of second hand clothing, including what happens to donated items. 



The three questions to ask of each item of clothing:




Does it fit my personal aesthetic (OR is it a basic garment that pairs well with items that really DO fit my personal aesthetic)?



Does it fit with my lifestyle?



Does it fit my body?




My five suggested approaches for updated unworn garments (including me-mades):




Repair



Refit



Remove something



Add something



Change the colour




For repair, consider signing up to the Winter of Care and Repair challenge for motivation. 



For advice on how to proceed with a repair, this episode might help:




Ep. #135: How to Triage your Mends with Jeanna Wigger




For refitting assistance, check out this episode:




Ep. #86: Garment Alterations with Naomi Fata




The Bernie Belt Bag pattern by Friday Pattern Co. might solve the dilemma of a pocket-free garment:





Image source: Friday Pattern Co. 



The free Oversized Detachable Collar pattern by Tilly and the Buttons would really jazz up a plain garment:





Image source: Tilly and the Buttons



If you’re interested in trying your hand at natural dyeing, these episodes provide a ton of information:




Ep. #13: Natural Dyeing with Amy Taylor



Ep. #52: Grow, Cook, Dye, Wear with Bella Gonshorovitz 



Ep. #88: Natural Dyeing Q&A with Amy Taylor

Does the climate and ecological crisis just feel too massive to deal with sometimes? When it all feels so overwhelming, it can be tempting to tap out completely and disengage. That’s totally understandable. However, my guest today, Beedy Parker, shows us that it is entirely possible to participate in climate related activism and action, whilst continuing to lead a happy and exciting life. From attempting to influence legislation to hemming her neighbours' trousers, Beedy has been getting stuck in since 1970. Sadly, we can’t all be Beedy, but we can all take heart and inspiration in her example. 



Support the podcast over on Patreon!



The leather glove thimble is made in Japan by Little House but it probably sourced most easily via Etsy. 





Beedy Parker is a committed naturalist and social and environmental activist living in Maine, USA. 



Read more about Beedy (unfortunately this link doesn’t seem to work in Europe, frustrating I know!). 



This is another piece about Beedy. 





Beedy recommends sourcing a copy of ‘The Needleworker's Constant Companion’, first published in 1978.





I referred to an article by Christina Garton called Weaving While Neurodivergent on the Handwoven Magazine website that is a fascinating read. 



Check out Beedy’s pants bags and felted wool slippers:









Wool Yes, Plastic Fleece No By Beedy Parker, Camden, Maine



So how about wool, anyway? Here is a wonderful natural fiber that grows on the backs of gentle animals, who, Shmoo-like,* provide meat and manure, and even milk and cheese. When sheep are rotated through pastures, they improve the land and keep the farm open – and yet, the use of wool for clothing and blankets seems to be disappearing, as are the sheep. People who raise sheep in New England and around the world receive less and less money for their fleeces and must depend solely on the meat market for income. What's been happening in the world of wool?



I went on a woods hike this fall with an environmentally minded group and was surprised to see that everyone else was wearing recycled plastic fleece jackets and pullovers, the same people who, five or 10 years ago, would have been wearing beautiful hand knit sweaters and woolen Maine hunting jackets. Even their mittens and scarfs and caps were mostly synthetic. Well, I guess the weather is warmer these days, and the advertising blitz has been successful, and that "fleece" really is sometimes made of recycled plastic soda bottles, which adds a measure of virtue to the apparel, but is this really what we want to wear?



Do we want to wear "oil," with its unfortunate "cradle-to-grave" trail of pollution? Synthetics made of oil attract their relatives, oily stains and synthetic odors and solvents, the outgassing of other plastics in our environment, and these pollutants sink in and stay. To 5 reveal the true nature of plastics, try this little fiber test (cautiously): Singe a few threads of different fabrics with a lighted match. The cotton (or any vegetable fiber) gives off a pleasant wood smoke odor. Wool smells like the burning hair that it is. Synthetic plastic fabrics melt into a sticky black puddle that gives off noxious fumes, a transformation into its original self, as shocking as the melting of the witch in "The Wizard of Oz." This stuff poisons people when it is mined, when it is refined and manufactured, when it outgasses in normal use, and when it is burned in municipal waste; whereas wool comes out of the land, via photosynthesis and protein synthesis, and when we're done with it, microbes can reintegrate it into the land.



Many things have changed in our lives since the days when wool was the dominant fiber in cold weather countries. We now spend most of our time indoors and in temperature controlled cars; we hardly need coats. We don't walk much and our health suffers accordingly. In the past we trusted our wool jackets and socks that breathed when we sweat; that could sh

Have you ever found yourself unsure of how to proceed with fixing a damaged garment? The two most common stumbling blocks are knowing what mending technique to use, and knowing what materials are the best choice to create a long lasting repair. Today mending expert Jeanna Wigger and I guide you on how to triage your mending pile and answer those tricky questions. We then go on to respond to some mending dilemmas submitted by patrons of the podcast. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a much clearer idea of how to tackle your next repair.



Support the podcast over on Patreon!



Find some great pre-owned sewing resources whilst getting essential funds to Palestinians in Gaza via the @destash4palestine Instagram account. 



You can follow Jeanna on Instagram @thepeoplesmending.





Listen to my previous conversations with Jeanna about the Winter of Care and Repair challenge:




Ep. #115: Winter of Care and Repair with Jeanna Wigger



Ep. #132: A Season of Mending with Jeanna Wigger




I help you consider the two main approaches to mending:




Ep. #68: Visible Vs Invisible Mending




Jeanna adopted a ‘hidden in plain sight’ approach to fixing these T-shirts:





Find Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald via her website, and on Instagram @erinlewisfitzgerald. 



Hear Erin’s episodes on CYT:




Ep. #39: Modern Mending with Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald



Ep. #40: Experimend with Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald




Erin also has an online shop, Modern Mending, where you can find high quality mending supplies.  



With help from lovely listeners, we explore the use of fabric scraps:




Ep. #127: Scrap Strategies Part 1



Ep. #128: Scrap Strategies Part 2




For more info on patching:




Ep. #47: Introduction to Patching




Amy Meissner (@amymeissnerartist) is an Alaskan-based artist.  



My recent knee-replacement mend on my son’s joggers: