A Feeling of Warmth

05/06/21 • 36 min

Unravelling the journey that fleece takes from the fells to fabric. This episode tracks how greasy wool bred in the wind and rain of a Lake District Farm becomes a smartly tailored jacket, a beautifully knitted pullover or a laceweight shawl, fine enough to pull through a wedding ring.

A Feeling of Warmth looks at the skills and processes needed from the shepherd, the spinner, the weaver, and the tailor before we can put a wool garment made sustainably and ethically on our backs.

Thanks to Maria Benjamin and John Atkinson, the farmers and entrepreneurs, Lara Pollard Jones of the Spinners, World of Wool, Sam Goates the weaver from Woven in the Bone, the tailor, Karyna Sukha from Fabrika, and the designer the maker Sally Cowell, from Leven Knit and Sew and to Donald S Murray for permission to read his poem, Woven in the Bone.

If you go to Haptic and Hue’s website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast, and pictures of some of the fabrics and techniques we talk about. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your inbox, as well as having a chance to win some of the textile-related gifts I give away with each episode.

If you want to see more about the jackets and shepherds bags that are the subject of this podcast or find out more about John and Maria’s work at Nibthwaite Grange Farm, with the knitting yarn, the fabric, the soap, the meat, or the holiday accommodation then the links are https://dodgsonwood.co.uk/about/ and https://nibthwaitegrangefarm.com/about/ You can see the full drama of this year’s lambing on Maria’s Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/levenknitandsew/

World of Wool can be found at www.worldofwool.co.uk

Sam Goates and Woven in the Bone are at http://www.woveninthebone.com/ or https://www.instagram.com/woveninthebone/

Karyna Sukha, whose London tailoring shop makes the jackets are at https://fabrika.london

Sally Cowell of Leven Knit and Sew – who makes the Shepherd’s Bags can be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/levenknitandsew/

And the poet Donald S Murray can be found at http://www.donaldsmurray.co.uk/

A Feeling of Warmth looks at the skills and processes needed from the shepherd, the spinner, the weaver, and the tailor before we can put a wool garment made sustainably and ethically on our backs.

World of Wool can be found at www.worldofwool.co.uk

Sam Goates and Woven in the Bone are at http://www.woveninthebone.com/ or https://www.instagram.com/woveninthebone/

Karyna Sukha, whose London tailoring shop makes the jackets are at https://fabrika.london

Sally Cowell of Leven Knit and Sew – who makes the Shepherd’s Bags can be found on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/levenknitandsew/

And the poet Donald S Murray can be found at http://www.donaldsmurray.co.uk/

Previous Episode

A Feeling of Resilience

On the face of it repairing and reinforcing textiles simply prolongs the life of our clothes and helps minimize textile waste, things worth having – but for many, it also delivers much more than that. The French sculptor, Louise Bourgeois said: ‘The act of sewing is a process of emotional repair’, it helps to centre us, and tells us stories about ourselves and the resilience of our families and communities.

This episode looks at the case for mending and thinks about how different cultures approach this, from the wool-rich districts of Yorkshire with their darning to the rural areas of Japan with Sashiko and Boro textiles, and onto Indian traditions of telling stories in Kantha cloth and making something completely new out of something old.

Thanks to Claire Wellesley Smith, who is a community worker in Bradford, West Yorkshire, Hikaru Noguchi who lives in Tokyo and is an expert darner now writing a new book about Sashiko, and Ekta Kaul, who tells stories of place, history, and belonging through thread and fabric.

If you go to Haptic and Hue’s website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast and pictures of some of the fabrics and techniques we talk about. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your inbox, as well as having a chance to win some of the textile-related gifts I give away with each episode.

If you want to see more of Claire Wellesley Smith’s work you can find it on her website: http://www.clairewellesleysmith.co.uk/ or on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cwellesleysmith/

Her new book: Resilient Stitch: Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Art is published by Batsford and can be ordered from independent booksellers at https://uk.bookshop.org/a/260/9781849946070

Hikaru Noguchi’s website is at http://hikarunoguchi.bigcartel.com/, and she on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hikaru_noguchi_design/

Her book called Darning: Repair, Make, Mend can be found at https://uk.bookshop.org/books/darning-repair-make-mend/9781912480159. Her new book on Sashiko is due to be published next year.

Ekta Kaul’s work can be seen on her website at https://www.ektakaul.com/. She is on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ekta_kaul/. Ekta is running virtual courses on Kantha stitching and a variety of other classes over the next few months – you can find details at: https://www.ektakaul.com/product-category/embroidery-masterclasses/

Next Episode

A Feeling of Sorrow

How cloth helps us grieve.

Sorrow is a universal human experience – whether it’s for a loved family member, for a way of life that once was, or for events that engulf nations and sweep away millions.

The episode looks at how textiles are an essential part of the process of grieving, and how they bring us comfort and help us deal with deeply felt emotions. It looks at the special place cloth plays in mourning a much-loved father, the loss of a child or partner in political repression, or how they can help us commemorate those who were victims of appalling events like the Holocaust.

The issues this episode deals with are not easy, but in one form or another, sorrowing is something all of us will do in our lives, especially as we come out of a pandemic that has claimed millions around the world.

With thanks in this episode to Caren Garfen, whose stitched work on the Holocaust is enormously powerful, to Deborah Stockdale at the Centre for Conflict Textiles in Northern Ireland and to Judith Staley of Sew Over 50 for sharing the memory aprons, she made to remember her Dad.

If you go to Haptic and Hue’s website at www.hapticandhue.com/listen, you will find a full transcript of this podcast, and pictures of some of the work that is explored in this episode. You can also sign up there to get these podcasts directly in your inbox, and to have a chance to win some of the textile-related gifts I give away with each episode.

The books that I found useful for this series can be found at https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/haptic-hue-booklist which is a small independent shop in Dorset specialising in Nature and Story.