Stitches & Stories 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 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 events can get pretty full. Please email Jules on jules@northbooks.co.uk to add your name to the list. Participation 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 17 April, 4–6pm.
THE BOOK
Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese was the first book on S&S’s 2025 reading list
The second novel of 2025 up for discussion on Thursday 17 April is This Golden Fleece by Esther Rutter. This book is available from North Books.
Over the course of a year, Esther Rutter—who grew up on a sheep farm in Suffolk, and learned to spin, weave and knit as a child—travels the length of the British Isles, to tell the story of wool’s long history here.
She unearths fascinating histories of communities whose lives were shaped by wool, from the mill workers of the Border countries, to the English market towns built on profits of the wool trade, and the Highland communities cleared for sheep farming; and finds tradition and innovation intermingling in today’s knitwear industries. Along the way, she explores wool’s rich culture by knitting and crafting culturally significant garments from our history—among them gloves, a scarf, a baby blanket, socks and a fisherman’s jumper—reminding us of the value of craft and our intimate relationship with wool.
This Golden Fleece is at once a meditation on the craft and history of knitting, and a fascinating exploration of wool’s influence on our landscape, history and culture.