Sew Your Suitcase with "Garichild" Martha McIntosh

Registration info: KINDRED SPIRITS: AN AFRICAN AMERICAN QUILTERS CONVERGENCE, June 15-17, 2023, Durham, NC 

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Martha McIntosh

Also known as GariChild, Martha McIntosh is a powerful creative. An engineer by trade, she also makes stunning works of apparel that are guaranteed to impress while also sending her self regard into the stratosphere. You can find Martha being fabulous on Instgram, Facebook, and her website. She also has work indexed at the ever-helpful Curvy Sewing Collective.

Lisa Woolfork

Lisa Woolfork is an associate professor of English specializing in African American literature and culture. Her teaching and research explore Black women writers, Black identity, trauma theory, and American slavery. She is the founder of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. She is also the host/producer of Stitch Please, a weekly audio podcast that centers on Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. In the summer of 2017, she actively resisted the white supremacist marches in her community, Charlottesville, Virginia. The city became a symbol of lethal resurging white supremacist violence. She remains active in a variety of university and community initiatives, including the Community Engaged Scholars program. She believes in the power of creative liberation.

Insight from this episode:

• Why plus-size clothing can be more expensive and why we shouldn’t accept it
• Dressing for occasions to honor other cultures with intention without making it into a costume
• Why making your own clothes can help you feel excited about what you’re wearing and give you a boost of confidence
• How Martha prepares for trips, from deciding on patterns to packing her suitcase
• How to decide what fabrics to use when traveling to warm climates

Quotes from the show:

• “I’m not paying this extra $300 just because of the extra 2 yards supposedly for my body. I’m just going to buy me a sewing machine and figure out how to make it myself!” - Martha McIntosh, Stitch Please, Episode #48
• “I am now walking in space, in my me-made outfit, and you’ve gotta talk to me nicely. I even walk with a little something… it activates a whole entire character. New character has now loaded, Martha has arrived! Martha in her me-made is here for a good time!” - Martha McIntosh, Stitch Please, Episode #48
• “Something new, something blue, something borrowed, something Black. And when I say ‘something Black’, it’s a Black designer, Black-inspired fabric… it has to speak to that. There’s always that element.” - Martha McIntosh, Stitch Please, Episode #48
• “One thing I never want to do on vacation is iron. Never ever. Love to press, hate to iron. That is the fact of my sewing life.” - Lisa Woolfork, Stitch Please, Episode #48
• “When we see another sister, another kin… and they’re like, ‘Where did you get that? They make that in our size?’ I sure do. I sure do. …It gives me the chills.” - Martha McIntosh, Stitch Please, Episode #48
• “If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.” - Lisa Woolfork, Stitch Please, Episode #48

Resources Mentioned:

• Stitch Please’s Stitching Holiday Traditions series with Martha McIntosh (December 21, 2022)

Episode Sponsor:

Kindred Spirits: A Convergence of African American Quilters, June 15-17, 2023, Durham, NC

Stay Connected:

YouTube: Black Women Stitch

Instagram: Black Women Stitch

Facebook: Stitch Please Podcast

Lisa Woolfork:

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

Martha McIntosh:

Instagram: @garichild

Facebook: Martha McIntosh

Curvy Sewing Collective

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This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.

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