Stitches & Stories is a new concept book group for 2023. It is a collaboration between Jo from The Bobbin Sisters (Backfold, Hay-on-Wye) and Jules at North Books. We thought a book group of crafters who sit and discuss books while they work alongside each other would be rather fun. Jo takes the credit for coming up with the first six textile-themed books.

The group meets on the third Thursday of every alternate month from 4pm to 6pm, and refreshments will be included.

Bring a stitching project with you and don’t forget to read the book in advance! See below.

JOIN THE CLUB

The book club meetings are seated events, so places are limited, and the October event was pretty full. Please email Jules on jules@northbooks.co.uk or pop into The Bobbins Sisters (winter hours) to add your name to the waiting list. Participation costs £5 (or is free if the book is purchased in advance from North Books at a 10% discount).

At North Books, 4 Castle Street, Hay-on-Wye on Thursday 21 December, 4–6pm.

THE BOOK

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham is the final book on S&S reading list

Our sixth novel up for discussion on Thursday 21 December is The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham The Victorian chiller from the author of The Silent Companions. This will also be a small festive gathering so please bring a snack or bottle to share.

Tilly Dunnage left her hometown of Dungatar in rural Australia under a black cloud of accusation. Years later Tilly, now a couturier for the Paris fashion houses, returns home to make amends with her mentally unstable mother. Mid-century Dungatar is a small town, and small towns have long memories.

At first she wins over the suspicious locals with her extraordinary dressmaking skills. But when the eccentric townsfolk turn on Tilly for a second time, she decides to teach them a lesson and exact long-overdue revenge... Packed with memorable characters, acid humour and luscious clothes, The Dressmaker is an irresistible gothic tale of small-town revenge.