Sew What?

In this episode, Isabella talks with Kelli Coles, a PhD student who researches Black American schoolgirl samplers. The two discuss Black samplers made by girls across America's East Coast in the late eighteenth through mid-nineteenth centuries.

In this episode, Isabella examines a group of mid-19th-century samplers made by South Indian girls in a missionary school run by a British woman. She discusses the intersection of these samplers and colonialism, focusing on evidence of colonialism in the samplers' threads, inscriptions, and compositions. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Elena Kanagy-Loux, a lace maker, lace historian, and Collections Specialist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Antonio Ratti Textile Center. The two discuss the importance of making in order to understand historic textiles, favourite museum objects, and all things lace. 

In this episode, Isabella discusses the needlework of the Brontë sisters. She focuses on their childhood samplers, an unfinished quilt Charlotte, Emily, and Anne made, and Charlotte's many collar and cuff designs.

In this episode, Isabella discusses Jane Austen's needlework. She focuses on a sampler supposedly made by Jane Austen, as well as a quilt Jane made with her mother and sister.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Rose Sinclair, lecturer in Textiles in the Design Department at Goldsmiths, University of London and design practitioner and researcher. The two discuss Dorcas clubs (specifically those used by Caribbean women when they arrived in the UK in the 1950s and 60s, the topic of Rose's PhD), the intersection of textiles and race, and the power cloth has to tell stories.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Susan Kay-Williams, Chief Executive, Archivist, and Curator of the Royal School of Needlework. The two discuss the history of the RSN, special objects in the collection, and favourite types of needlework.

In this episode, Isabella discusses how samplers from Spanish colonies are the intersections of needlework from around the world and across centuries. The first half of the episode focuses on a Guatemalan sampler at LACMA, while the latter covers motifs in Mexican samplers. At the beginning of the episode is a discussion about the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. Here are just a few resources:TO DONATE:https://bailfunds.github.io/https://www.gofundme.com/f/ukblm-fundhttps://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd?fbclid=IwAR2hmif9qbD6d43ld-QFuL1FCXDFrNRohzgupYKov-9fgnHb7PWFDhewII0TO READ:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-Vxs6jEUByXylMS2BjGH1kQ7mEuZnHpPSs1Bpaqmw0/preview?fbclid=IwAR21QkkmrmmB9f9aKwjm7rgir4M6MbO932ntl1-m0ULFD3Vu3dWSVPHvNFQ&pru=AAABcp3QumA*MZk0-BbHbWHG6SuPfSuBgw# bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCESWhy I'm No Longer Talking to White People About RaceWhite FragilityBetween the World and MeHow to Be An AntiracistThe Hate U GiveTO WATCH:13thWhen They See UsBecomingMoonlightSelmaFruitvale StationTO LISTEN:1619 Code SwitchIntersectionality Matters!About RaceTO SIGN: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd?recruiter=895898514&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=6a4669c0-a74d-11e8-a554-dd9015f4e479https://www.change.org/p/govia-thameslink-justice-for-belly-mujinga-justiceforbellymujinga?original_footer_petition_id=22536040&algorithm=promoted&source_location=petition_footer&grid_position=4&pt=AVBldGl0aW9uAASnUQEAAAAAXtYxCkz3BEtlMjI0YWFhYQ%3D%3Dhttps://www.change.org/p/human-rights-campaign-justice-for-ahmuad-arbery?original_footer_petition_id=22510898&algorithm=promoted&source_location=petition_footer&grid_position=1&pt=AVBldGl0aW9uAD7xTwEAAAAAXtYvfr7R3OczYTNjY2M1Zg%3D%3Dhttps://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor

In this episode, Isabella explores one of her favourite needlework trends, 17th-century frog pouches. These cuties were teeny tiny bags, made of thread, wire, beads, and silk, that probably held sweet fragrances. They were made and worn in early modern England, but scholars disagree on when and why they were made. "Sew What?" attempts to answer these questions. Listen to find out all about these lil embroidered treasures! 

In this episode, Isabella discusses two 19th-century pieces of needlework from opposite sides of the Atlantic, bound together by their tales of woe. The makers are Hannah Powell and Elizabeth Parker and they illustrate that needlework has always been personal and political.