It really was a momentous moment. For me personally, like, I have such a varied career background.

And, like, I dropped out of high school. I dropped out of college. I've done a lot of different things in my life.

There was a point in time where sewing for me was, like, the equivalent of waiting tables.

It was, like, how I made money on the side.

I don't know.

It just felt like getting to do this with these women brought together so many skills

I had honed in ways I never would have expected to use together all in one place.

And I was like, oh my gosh, I get to like do all these weird crazy things all in this one

company, all for this one purpose.

I'm Sarah Mitnick and this is Seamwork Radio, where we tell stories about the surprising ways

that sewing impacts our

lives.

There's something inherently hopeful about the act of sewing.

With each creative choice, each step in the process, you really inch

closer to making this object that's in your imagination a reality. And I think this is part of

what draws us together as makers. I sometimes wonder how this shared experience of hope

really bonds our friendships and helps us to become more resilient. That was certainly the

case for artists and fabric designers Melody Miller, Alexia Abig, Kim Kite, Sarah Watts, and Rashida Coleman

Hale, the founding designers of Cotton and Steel and Ruby Star Society. Their shared passion for

sewing and textiles changed the landscape of quilting fabrics.

But it was their friendship, their deep respect and trust that really helped them to forge

onward through a bunch of trials and triumphs.

...