Running Stitch - A QSOS Podcast
Running Stitch - A QSOS Podcast explores quilt stories, revealing the inner thoughts, feelings, and motivations of contemporary quiltmakers by drawing on Quilters S.O.S. -- Save Our Stories, the long running oral history project created by the Quilt Alliance in 1999.
- Update frequency
- every 15 days
- Average duration
- 31 minutes
- Episodes
- 26
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Algorithms and Design
In this episode of Running Stitch, host Janneken Smucker sits down with Canadian quilt artist Libs Elliott to explore how technology is reshaping the way we design and make quilts. Known for her use …
Voices from QuiltCon
Running Stitch is back! We're bringing you a special bonus episode: Voices from QuiltCon, featuring mini-interviews from quilters just like you, collected at the Quilt Alliance's booth at QuiltCon 20…
The Rotary Cutter
Other than the sewing machine, what tool has been the biggest innovation in quiltmaking? Yes, that’s right: in this episode of Running Stitch, we’re talking all about the rotary cutter.
Our guest is …
Electric Quilt
We’re back with our second episode of Season 4! We’re continuing our focus on the intersection of technology and quiltmaking, but this time, we’re going digital. We’re exploring the backstory and inv…
The Industrial Revolution
We’re kicking off a new season of Running Stitch, focused on the intersections of technology and quiltmaking. But it’s not just about computers and digital sewing machines! In this episode we’re goin…
Quilts Below the Radar
An interview with Roderick Kiracofe, quilt collector and author of Unconventional & Unexpected: American Quilts Below the Radar, 1950-2000, and historian Janneken Smucker about quilts that defy conve…
Radical Quilt Histories
Quilt enthusiasts have been writing about the craft’s history for over 100 years now, first focused on collecting and sharing patterns based on historic quilts, and later collecting and trading publi…
Sewing with Purpose
Sara Trail, and the non-profit organization she founded in 2017, the Social Justice Sewing Academy, has built on a long tradition of quilt artists who use quilts as part of their activist practices. …
Going Pro
We often think of quilters as hobbyists, typically women who like to stitch beautiful bedcovers for use around the home, or to lovingly give to new babies or show off at quilt guild meetings. But for…
Song Quilts
One of the most exciting aspects of the quiltmaking tradition is that within it, artists continue to innovate the form. Eliza Hardy Jones, has done just that with her remarkable Song Quilts series, c…
Learning to Quilt
Some people made sourdough, some people got pandemic pets. Sarah Steiner became the @pandemicquilter, learning how to quilt from youtube and Instagram, and making over 20 quilts since summer of 2020 …
Season Three Trailer
Coming soon: season three of Running Stitch, a QSOS podcast. This season, we're focusing on younger quiltmakers -- quiltmakers who build on quilting traditions and contemporary influences to make som…
Outlier Quilts
What do one-of-a-kind, unusual, or outlier quilts tell us about the quiltmaking tradition? In this episode, Joe Cunningham joins host Janneken Smucker to revisit their 2007 interview and discuss how …
Researching Quilt History
Have you ever wondered how quilt historians can unravel the story of a quilt with just a few threads? Do you want the inside scoop on how researchers look for “clues in the calico”? Our guest this we…
Quilts and Authenticity
What makes a quilt “sing”? Join us for this episode of Running Stitch, with our guest Denyse Schmidt, to explore that question and more. We’ll talk about what it means—for an object OR its maker—to b…
Temperature Check on the Quilt Industry
For well over a century, quilts have meant business. A thriving quilt industry has existed since the 19th century, publishing patterns, selling fabrics and supplies, promoting quiltmaking, and offeri…
Great Quilts
Quilters S.O.S. – Save Our Stories oral history interviews often include the question, “What makes a great quilt?” Running Stitch host Janneken Smucker asks today’s guest, quilt historian Merikay Wal…
On Creativity
Running Stitch is back for Season Two, again digging into the QSOS oral history archive to explore the meaning of quilts in American life. In this episode, host Janneken Smucker talks to quiltmaking …
Season Two Trailer
Join us for a very special sneak preview of our second season of Running Stitch. We'll be sharing more amazing interviews from fascinating folks in the quilt world, including Ricky Tims, Merikay Wald…
Quilts and Writing
This episode--our last episode of season 1 of Running Stitch--features a panel discussion about quilts and writing moderated by host Janneken Smucker. Our four panelists are quilt journalist Meg Cox,…