Close Knit

In Episode 60 of the Close Knit Podcast - the final episode of 2020, I spoke to Grace Rother, a lesbian quilt-maker and writer. I have long admired Grace’s practice - her way of making things accessible and her deep clarity on how she makes and shares. We talk about her quilt raffles this year, most recently culminating in her virtual quilting bee raising funds for Assata’s Daughters, an effort of more than 100 quilt-patch makers. Grace and I discuss the ways that textiles hold a softness for concepts and ideas that might feel a bit scary or out of our norm, like defunding the police and abolishing prisons. We talk about translating cozy sweater trends through DIY knitting, and how boundaries come into play when sharing online. Grace has shifted her practice over this year to change how she engages with Instagram, a shift I have been taking notice of and wondering if I might find a similar path - and we talk about how that shifting attention feels and looks for her. This is the final episode of 2020, and I feel so grateful that Grace joined me for this chat!

EPISODE 59 :: Carolina Jimenez

EPISODE 58 :: Aisling Camps

EPISODE 57 :: Sonya Philip of 100 Acts of Sewing

EPISODE 56 :: Catarina of The Olive Trees and the Moon

EPISODE 55 :: Marcee & Hubbard Jones of Housework

EPISODE 54 :: Sarah Nsikak of La Reunion Studio

Craft & Care - COVID19

EPISODE 53 :: Geana Sieburger of GDS Cloth Goods

EPISODE 52 :: Gina Stovall of two days off clothing - Building a Sustainable Clothing Brand On Your Days Off

You’re listening to Episode 51 of the Close Knit Podcast and this week I spoke to  Sarah Danu of Danu Organic. You’ve probably noticed this year that I’ve focused a lot on clothing production and slow fashion in my interviews. I was thinking about this recently and I don’t know exactly why that is - it’s just been a curiosity that I’ve had, and I’ve followed it. It’s led me to so many interesting conversations with people producing clothing - from designers to makers, and I’ve learned so much about the way that people produce clothing locally - and all the steps involved in this!  So that all led me to Sarah - who runs Danu Organic, a clothing line made from organic color grown cottons. Sarah tells me about her memories from childhood of sewing buttons onto a scrap of fabric, as she learned to sew, and a beautiful quilt project she and her mom undertook as she prepared for her first year of college.  Sarah made a bunch of bold career decisions that led her to WOOFing and an interest in the slow food movement, which ultimately led her to seeking out solutions in slow fashion to treat our bodies, the bodies of workers, and the planet with care and respect - which led her to seeking out Fibershed in the Bay Area, and ultimately connecting to scientist and farmer, Sally Fox.  Sarah walks me through her journey with production so far, how she’s had to let go of some of the traditional advice around timelines and launching products, she tells me about her vision for her line - offering clothing for masculine folks and children (!! which is exciting, if you’ve been around in the slow fashion scene for a minute!), and some upcoming natural dyeing on her garments.  And Sarah is generously offering a discount code just for Close Knit Podcast listeners! Head to Danuorganic.com and use the code closeknit (all lowercase, one word) at checkout for 20% off! 

Ani reads aloud 4 short essays she wrote last year on care-taking through making

You’re listening to Episode 50 of the Close Knit Podcast and this week I spoke to Mandy Kordal of Kordal Studio. Mandy is someone I have admired for so long - every singe collection she’s designed has just made me swoon, and it was such a treat to bring her onto the podcast this month. She walks me all the way back to her earliest memory of working with textiles - influenced by her grandmother and her mother, who are both talented designers and sewists. As has been my line of inquiry lately - this year, actually, I wanted to understand how Mandy went from altering and painting on her clothes as a kid to running a knitwear and now woven-ware clothing line. How her interest was piqued by a neighbor, leading her to study fashion design and taking a class in machine knitting - which informs her garment design and making presently. We discuss the subtleties of machine knitwear design, fiber sourcing, and how being a values-driven brand, as a concept, is an evolution. Mandy talks me through their partnerships with weavers and mills in Peru and Guatemala and how these relationships have evolved over the course of Kordal’s existence. Listen on for our whole chat! Thanks for tuning in!

In episode 48 of the Close Knit Podcast, I spoke to Erin M. Riley. Erin is someone whose work I’ve followed and admired for literal years, and if I’m being completely honest, I was so psyched when they agreed to come on the podcast. Erin’s work has always deeply intrigued me, and their internet presence was always focused on their work, so I was especially excited to get to talk to them and hear more about how they make their incredible, gigantic tapestries, and how their life experiences have informed their work. Erin takes me all the way back to middle school, when they were a restless teen sewing seed beads onto clothing and winning sewing machine threading competitions at school. We talk about how their family dynamics, and how their family’s journey with addiction has impacted them and the type of work they’ve created. We discuss the early internet and how it’s changed, how their work engages with various forms of pleasure, and themes that are not often talked about publicly. And we discuss the ways that people have engaged with their work online and off and the importance of making work that can be engaged with in person. Erin was so deeply candid with me in this episode, and I so deeply appreciated their perspective on their own art and its interaction with the world.

In Episode 47 of the Close Knit Podcast, Ani spoke to Jewell Christine of North Knits Jewell is a knitter, designer, and founder of Our Maker Life. We talk about Jewell’s family history - her grandmother’s amazing crochet legacy and how that’s informed her own work. She’s super ambitious and strong-willed- she always has been, and has always had a lot of clarity around what she wants in life. Studying journalism, Jewell found the strong voice she has today, and uses that skill set to inform her work through her social media and maker meet ups with Our Maker Life. We talk about the place that spirituality and faith have in her knitting, and how she’s used knitting to quiet her mind and ease her through periods of difficulty and sometimes depression. Jewell speaks so candidly and openly about her own journey and her experiences and that was part of what really drew me to her, I love the way she sees the world - through this lens of goodness - and it really shows in her work. Listen on for our whole chat- thanks so much for tuning in!