SEAMSIDE: Exploring the Inner Work of Textiles

My good friend Luke Haynes joins for me for this SEAMSIDE special episode I’m calling FREE ADVICE where we answer your questions on quilting and the creative life.In this episode, we share our thoughts on the following questions:① How can I move away from pattern-based quilting and play more?② How did you find time to create new work when you were working full-time jobs?③ Where do all your quilts go when you’re done making them?④ I’m a multimedia artists and quilts are a part of what I do. But how can I present my work online with a cohesive voice?Thank you to everyone who called in with questions for this episode. We wish we could answer them all! A special thanks to the four folks whose questions made this conversation possible: Lilia from Bozeman, Montana; Michelle from Toronto; Anne Marie from Phoenix; and Katie from Portland, Oregon⤷ Subscribe to SEAMSIDE to get a notification when a new episode posts⤷ Learn more about THE QUILTY NOOK here⤷ Get your free NOOK trial here⤷ Theme music: Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops⤷ Enter here for your chance to win a FREE YEAR on the NOOK!

Five international textile artists come together for two weeks in the heart of Southern Appalachian mountains at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Kianga Jinaki, Chris Dufour, Chinelo Njaka, and Jesalyn Keziah share powerful insights as we sit around the sewing circle in the quilting studio. In this collective conversation, we discuss: ① what magic our quilts can perform ② how quilts tell stories when words fall short ③ the power of collective effort HELPFUL RESOURCES ⤷ Learn more about the Traditional Craft Mentorships at John C. Campbell Folk School ⤷ Contact Programming at the Folk School to learn more about how community organizations can support mentorships ⤷ Theme music: Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops ⤷ Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK

I’ve got something a little different for you this week. I got inspired being at home and looking at my grandma's memory quilt. It made me realize I’ve got some more stories I’d like to share with you about that quilt. I hope you enjoy and pick up something you can use in your own creative practice. XOZ⤷ Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK ⤷ Theme music: Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops ⤷ Subscribe to SEAMSIDE and you’ll get a note as soon as a podcast posts⤷ Enter here for your chance to win a FREE YEAR on the NOOK!

The creative landscape is dotted with mountaintops and valleys. If we’re lucky, we have more moments up on the mountain where everything appears huge and expansive, full of sunshine and clarity. But it’d be naive to expect to stay there for too long. Sometimes we gotta wallow down in the valley too.This special episode of SEAMSIDE is dedicated to those valley moments. I reached out to past guests on SEAMSIDE and asked them to describe how they deal with creative and professional disappointments. I was curious to hear not only how they responded but also what they found helpful.In this episode we hear from Nick D’Ornellas, Christi Johnson, Michael Sylvan Robinson, Victoria Gertenbach, Clare Hu, Julian Jamal Jones, and Rachel Meginnes.⤷ Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK ⤷ Theme music: Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops ⤷ Subscribe to SEAMSIDE and you’ll get a note as soon as a podcast posts

Weaver Jennifer Mao joins us for an episode of BACKSTITCH. If you haven’t heard our first chat nearly two years ago, you can hear that on episode 2. In this BACKSTITCH conversation, Jennifer shares candidly about how it feels to be experiencing a creatively unproductive season in her practice. We discuss: ① does an artist have to make art to be an artist② how do we move through the quiet seasons of our creative practice ③ how to be your own best friend when you need it most You can learn more about Jennifer on Instagram ⤷ Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK ⤷ Theme music: Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops ⤷ Subscribe to SEAMSIDE and you’ll get a note as soon as a podcast posts

As you may have heard, the embroiderer Lou Gardiner and former guest on SEAMSIDE passed way a few days ago after a recurring bout with cancer. When we talked in 2022, she spoke openly but hopefully about her diagnosis as you’ll hear in this episode.I’d like to offer this conversation with Lou as a way of holding space for such a radiant force of creative power. ⤷ Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK ⤷ Theme music: Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops ⤷ Subscribe to SEAMSIDE and you’ll get a note as soon as a podcast posts

Patrick T (@ptayyyyy) and I dream up a quilt that ① has been turned into a lazyboy recliner, and ② also operates as a plant standWant to be on the show? Call the CRAZY QUILT HOTLINE open 24/7 at (828) 278-8211‬ and leave me a message anytime of day or night. Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK⤷ Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK

Christi Johnson and I have been floating in each other’s orbits for a few years now, but you know how time passes and when I sat with her a couple weeks ago on a panel discussion, we realized it’d already been too long. Christi is a clothes-making and embroiderer with an eye constantly trained on the mysteries of the universe. She’s the author of Mystical Stitches, a book that I keep close at hand in my studio, host of the Stitchwish Radio podcast, and now a mother of a precious four-month-old human. In this conversation, we discuss: ① how raising a child is like working with fabric ② the beauty of raw silk and double gauze ③ how you can sew magic into your workYou can learn more about Christi Johnson here⤷ Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK⤷ Theme music: Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops⤷ Subscribe to SEAMSIDE and you’ll get a note as soon as a new episode posts

Print-maker and weaver Nick Dornellas joins us for an episode of BACKSTITCH. If you haven’t heard our first chat a year prior to this one, you can hear that on episode 8. In today’s conversation we discuss: ① his big show in Philadelphia this year ② how he’s finding balance in refinement and looseness③ why this July is such a special month for him You can learn more about Nick on Instagram ⤷ Get your free trial to the THE QUILTY NOOK ⤷ Theme music: Roll Jordan Roll by the Joy Drops ⤷ Subscribe to SEAMSIDE and you’ll get a note as soon as a podcast posts

My good friend Heidi Parkes joins for me for this SEAMSIDE special episode I’m calling FREE ADVICE where we answer YOUR questions on quilting and the creative life. In this episode, we share our thoughts on the following questions:① How do you prioritize which project to focus on when there’s so much to be excited about?② How do you keep from getting overwhelmed with your stash?③ How do you manage your time?④ I have to travel a lot for my new job. How can I use that to my advantage in my quilting practice?⤷ Learn more about THE QUILTY NOOK here⤷ Get your free NOOK trial here