The Language of Sewing with Maddie Ballard

Caroline Somos· Host0:00

We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka'wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and Komoqs First Nations.

Helen Wilkinson· Host0:10

[singing] Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da. Da, da, da, da, da, da, da.

Caroline Somos· Host0:14

Hello, and welcome to Love to Sew. I'm Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics and BF Patterns.

Helen Wilkinson· Host0:19

And I'm Helen, the designer behind Helen's Closet Patterns and Cedar Quilt Co.

Caroline Somos· Host0:23

We're two sewing buds who love to sew, and it's essentially all we want to talk about.

Helen Wilkinson· Host0:28

This week, we're interviewing Maddie Ballard, author of Patchwork: A Sewist's Diary. We chat with her about learning to sew during the pandemic, connecting to her roots through her projects, and transforming painful moments into beautiful work.

Caroline Somos· Host0:41

If you love to sew, this is your show.

Helen Wilkinson· Host0:44

[singing] Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da.

Caroline Somos· Host0:48

Hello, Maddie. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Maddie Ballard· Guest0:55

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

Caroline Somos· Host0:57

Oh, we can't wait to chat with you. Can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?

Maddie Ballard· Guest1:02

I sure can. So my name is Maddie Ballard, and I'm a sewist and writer of mixed Chinese heritage from Aotearoa, New Zealand, and I currently live in Melbourne, Australia.

Caroline Somos· Host1:11

Amazing, and we are so excited to talk to you about your book today. But let's just start off with a little bit about your sewing journey. Can you tell us how and when you learned to sew?

Maddie Ballard· Guest1:23

I sure can. So I think, like many sewists, I learned to sew during the pandemic. So my partner at the time and