In this episode, we meet Phebe Higgins the stitcher behind Felt the Food. Learn about Phebe's journey, sewing background, and how her graduate education has woven into her crafting of appetizing felt creations. We explore the concept of "functional play," its enriching impact on children, and how Phebe's felted food is at the crossroads of play, learning, and creativity.

Together, we stitch through the soft, flexible, and durable nature of felt, as Lisa shares some of her personal affection for these charming objects. Phebe reveals the meticulous process behind her hand-stitched pieces, from a scrumptious felt apple pie complete with its own recipe card to a touching sweet potato pie design that is sure to evoke memories of sisterhood and solidarity.

And for those of you who seek to "get your stitch together," Phebe has some thread-perfect advice that will inspire you to reach for patience, grace, and joy in your sewing projects. So, grab your needles and let's felt the love on today's episode of the Stitch Please podcast.

=======

Phebe Higgins

Phebe Higgins, the founder of Felt The Food, was inspired by her shy son's transformation during playdates. Witnessing his newfound joy in a play kitchen, she embarked on a journey to craft handmade felt food despite lacking sewing skills. With support from a crafty community, Phebe discovered the joy of creating and its positive impact on her son's development. Felt The Food offers ready-cut felt food kits, complete with materials and YouTube tutorials, fostering creativity and bonding through crafting and imaginative play. Phebe's mission is to empower families to create lasting memories together.

@feltthefood on Instagram

Phebe's Facebook page

Phebe on YouTube

Phebe's Website

=======

Ready to tap in to the visuals of Stitch Please? Then join our Patreon! For only $5 a month you can get all of the video versions of the pod. PLUS more goodies at higher patron levels. We couldn't do any of this without your support. Thank you!

=======

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.

Instagram: Lisa Woolfork

Twitter: Lisa Woolfork

=======

======

Sign up for the Black Women Stitch quarterly newsletter

Check out our merch here

Leave a BACKSTITCH message and tell us about your favorite episode.

Join the Black Women Stitch Patreon

Check out our Amazon Store

Stay Connected:

YouTube: Black Women Stitch

Instagram: Black Women Stitch

Facebook: Stitch Please Podcast

Lisa Woolfork 0:10

Hello Stitchers! Welcome to Stitch Please, the official podcast of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. I'm your host, Lisa Woolfork. I'm a fourth generation sewing enthusiast, with more than 20 years of sewing experience. I am looking forward to today's conversation. So sit back, relax and get ready to get your stitch together!

Lisa Woolfork 0:35

Hey friends, hey! It's Lisa from Black Women Stitch and the Stitch Please Podcast, and I am coming to you from Charlottesville, Virginia, with, as I always say, a very special episode, because this episode is with none other than Phebe Higgins of Felt the Food. I am so excited to talk with Phebe today because I just feel like it sometimes needs to be said that Black people love cute stuff, too. We do! We do. When I tell you how much I love miniatures, like dollhouse miniatures, Barbie furniture, all of these kinds of things. I love these! And felted food is one of the most cute and endearing and, I think, just wonderful projects. And to have Phebe Higgins here with us today–– Phebe, who has innovated, I believe, in the field of felt fooding. And so welcome our felt foodie, Phebe Higgins! Thank you so much for being here today!

Phebe Higgins 1:42

Thank you so much for having me! I'm so excited to talk about felt food and my journey and how other people can join right in and start today into their journey.

Lisa Woolfork 1:51

Absolutely. I am delighted about this as well. So Phebe, can you get us started with your sewing story? What is your sewing story? How did sewing impact your life, development, recreational habits? How did sewing become part of your story?

Phebe Higgins 2:07

So I am new to sewing. I feel like it's in my bones, though. I feel like it's in, it's just in me. My grandmother could make anything and everything; she'd been sewing since she was like 12 years old. She had nine kids, so she made all their clothes. But I never picked any of that up. My mom never taught me any of that. And it wasn't until I needed to learn that all of a sudden, I just started sewing, just a little under a year ago, and now I can't stop! Now my stitches are fantastic. When you're a beginner, you know you make some of the beginner mistakes, which I always account for whenever I'm making kits. But I now teach other beginners how to start their felt food journey and jump right into sewing, because I think there is this connotation that if you didn't learn to sew when you were young and a teenager, maybe in home economics, which is dating me a little bit–– if you didn't learn it then, then you can't learn it as an adult. It's just like a new skill. But that's not true. It's a new skill that you can learn right now.

Lisa Woolfork 3:07

Absolutely.

Phebe Higgins 3:08

And you don't have to have a lot of time. 25 minutes a day, 25/30 minutes a day, and that can get you started on learning how to sew. And I break my stitches down very, very easily for you to see exactly how I sew, why I'm doing things and where people might make mistakes. So I show you and I'm like, "Oh, this is what you might do. And this is how I'm going to tell you how to avoid this."

Lisa Woolfork 3:33

One of the things I appreciate about this, and let me make this distinction, y'all. This is something I wasn't clear about. All of the sewing she is talking about now is hand sewing. This is hand sewing. I was thinking about calling the episode "Felt the Food with Phebe Higgins", but it should also be something about like "Hand Sewing Magic with Phebe Higgins", because when she talks about "my stitches are really great now", it takes some people about a year to feel confident and comfortable getting a straight line on a sewing machine. You are making straight stitches, hem stitches, blanket stitches; you are doing these types of stitches by hand!

Phebe Higgins 4:20

Yeah.

Lisa Woolfork 4:20

And telling other folks how to do it too. It is extraordinary! Tell us about how you came up with the idea of felted food as something you wanted to create.

Phebe Higgins 4:34

So my son was about 18 months old, and we were going to lots of different types of play centers, and they were horrible experiences. He was leaving–– I mean he was crying and screaming. I was leaving crying and screaming.

Lisa Woolfork 4:49

Oh my gosh!

Phebe Higgins 4:49

Lisa Woolfork 5:41

Yes.

Phebe Higgins 5:42

And when I saw that he loved the kitchen, I said, "Oh, let me see if I can combine his love of kitchen play with functional play with speech development." So that's kind of how I started to move into this. I said, "Hmm, I wonder if I could give him a play kitchen at home. So this is a resource that we have every single day, and then begin to build his words, just like I'm using the pancakes. They're like building blocks, but it's a pancake." So it started to click probably about three weeks in, the first time my son said strawberry. He never had a strawberry. He never said the word strawberry. But I kept reiterating, "This is a strawberry. This is a, you know, this is a strawberry. This is a strawberry." And then I was on Live one day, and he picked it up and he said, "Mama strawberry!" And it was the first two-word sentence that he said, and the first time he'd ever said the word "strawberry". And I remember being on Live, being like, "This is what I'm talking about! This is now–– I can use this as a tool for functional play, so it doesn't feel like a lesson or an assignment. It feels like he's just having fun, and I'm just calling out the name of everything over and over and over." And then we start to do things that are–– that build the words even more. For example, present progressive. If you're, you know, into, like, the speech therapy world. I made a peelable banana because I could say "peeling banana", because we learn nouns first when we're, you know, when we're learning word development. That's how–– "mama", "dada", "car"; we're learning the nouns first, then to add the -ing words on. "Peeling" or "cutting", you know, you take the–– so "cutting". So all of the things. So that has really helped my son with word development. And like I said, once I started, it was like a roller coaster. I couldn't stop.

Lisa Woolfork 7:36

This–– it's really spectacular! And let me ask you, Phebe, do you have experience in graduate education? Do you have–– I would love to know how you developed this vocabulary that sounds very discipline-specific to an academic field. Tell me a bit about your background and how this has led to, or contributed to, your sewing felt food.

Phebe Higgins 8:00

So a little bit of a curved pathway, because I went to school for music and psychology, and I wanted to do music therapy. My internship was in an elementary school setting, and that's where I first learned about early intervention.

Lisa Woolfork 8:14

Yes!

Phebe Higgins 8:15

Believe it or not, I took a totally different pathway. I thought, "Oh, gosh, I don't know if this is my field." It came back 20+ years later, when I became a mom, and then I just started connecting with other speech therapists and saying, you know, "How can I take this and turn this into early at-home intervention?" I was a very worried parent. I was, you know, my son was 18 months old. I'm like, "Are the words coming? What's––?" No one was worried! And my doctor, his pediatrician, kept saying, "Phebe, it's fine. Just wait; wait 'til two years." But I wanted to kind of do something, you know? I didn't want to go stir crazy. I said, you know, "I have some time to really focus on this, so let me focus on this." I went to every single free speech therapist event, at any play center that there was, and I got right in front of them. I talked about felt food. I said, "Is what I'm doing functional play?" Absolutely. This is functional play. And then they said, you know, you might want to take some of the stuff that you're doing with felt food and transition it into the real world, so can you incorporate one day a week where you're cooking? And then my son began to say, "Mama cooking? Mama, I cook? Mama, I want to cook."

Lisa Woolfork 9:26

Wow.

Phebe Higgins 9:27

So I've watched my son go from one-word-only sentences to two words to three words to four words, almost five words, and he's not three yet. And of course, the words are gonna, you know, the words keep coming, but this was something that was really important to me. And one of the speech therapists said to me, she said, "One of the first things that, you know, when we go to a client's home that's looking for early intervention, we ask the parents, 'Are you doing any functional play?'" We look for things like a play kitchen, a play sink, play dress-up, play–– any sort of thing that could be functional play that can help draw some of those words out in a very calming, play-like setting. Because if it feels like play, they want to do it. If it feels like learning, you don't want to do it so much. Because I had flashcards! They were like, "He's too young for flashcards!"

They were like, "Calm down. Calm down, ma'am."

Exactly. Exactly.

Step away from the flashcards, ma'am.

You've got to meet them where they're at. And if my son wasn't–– you know, he could have been interested in anything else, and I would have jumped right on that, but he happened to really be interested in this kitchen. And then it became the thing whenever I was going on playdates, I would ask new friends, "Do you have any functional play in your house?" They would say," Oh, what do you mean?" "Do you have a play kitchen? Do you have this?" It's going to kind of tell me whether my son is going to go over there, and he's going to be, like, excited and wanting to play with all these new things. Because a lot of kids, they might not necessarily know how to play with a little truck, or they might know how to play with something that has lots of gadgets. But less can be more, in terms of play.

I'm really appreciating the distinction you're making here about functional play. Can you define for us what functional play is?

Yeah. Functional play is anything that we are doing that transition into the real world. So let's say you're doing something where it's–– whether it's kitchen, whether it's sink, and you're washing your hands; whether it's–– you've got the the mop and the broom, you're doing cleaning play. All of that can be functional play, because it's something that you're teaching them a skill that they're going to use in the near future. And they're watching you do it. They're absorbing it like a sponge. So he's already watching me in the kitchen, cutting everything, putting it into the pot, stirring it, mixing it, flipping it. So any of those things can be considered functional play. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. If you've got a Swiffer, take the top thing off and make it short. Let them walk around and mop. That could be considered functional play. You're cleaning. "Mama cleaning!"

Yes! And what I like about it as well is that it kind of allows them to imagine themselves in the roles that we have.

Exactly.

Like, you know, like, they think washing the dishes is fun. We think of it as a chore, we think of it as–– no, seriously! There's bubbles in there! And there's plates! And you can scrub them and then you can rinse them again, like, in this waterfall! Like, you know––

Like water play! Like having a water table. That could be functional play. There's outdoor mud kitchens. That could be function–– where they put rocks in bowls, and they pretend that they're making a cake.

Yes!

It's something that's so–– it's so simple, and it's just–– it's our everyday life, and we don't even look at it as play.

I like also how you identified, as a lot of parents, I believe, in the COVID era of having children, that this was a new situation. That, you know, they talk about that quote, unquote, "these COVID babies are different," you know, kind of thing. And you identified this new situation, and illustrate the idea that someti–– that new situations require creative solutions. And the creative solution you came up with was something that's also kind of ancient, you know? Sewing! It makes me also wonder, how does the process, for you, of stitching the felt food, contribute to what it means for your son's development? Do you understand what I'm asking? Like, you sitting down, holding the needle and thread; you being the one to do it, rather than buying this device or going to an educational website and saying "They have the toys for creative play. I will buy them rather than make them." There's something–– I just wanted to hear more about your thoughts on the making, and having that be something you stitch with your hands.

I think there's just something so special about knowing that yes, I could go out and I could buy all of these things. But there's something special about knowing "Mama made this." And I think I come from a–– you know, I'm an older millennial, and I come from a boomer, so I come from the mama who said, "Mama can make that! You want a Happy Meal, baby? Mama can make you Happy Meal at home!" So there is something

Girl. We got–– my mother did not let us have–– when Chicken McNuggets first came out, I remember when they first came out because I don't–– I'm not a millennial in any way. I am older. But I remember when Chicken McNuggest first came out, my mother refused to let us have chicken nuggets because she was like, "We're gonna go home and have Woolfork nuggets!" And I was like, "Nobody wants that! Nobody wants that. I don't want "Mama nuggets." I don't want mama-made. You want it–– exactly. "I'll make you a Happy Meal right here! Here is a burger."

And it was always a "Sad Meal" because it was on, like, regular bread, and the grease was coming through.

Oh my gosh!

And then instead of the onions being a little little onion like the dried, dehy- it was like real onions like. So I used to–– we used to call it in my house a Sad Meal.

Oh, that's a sad meal.

So I think that they––

Girl, we lived in the same house! I'm telling you, because we had so many Sad Meals! And you better get happy!

Exactly. Like, this is a Sad Meal. I want–– so there's this pride of knowing that I'm making it for my son, but I feel like I'm integral part of his play, so it feels just a little more special. And then you see other people come over and love playing with it just as much and say, "Oh, where did you buy it," and say, "Everything here I've made." "You made this? Oh my gosh, you've been sewing–– no, no, I've been sewing for four months. I've been sewing for two months. You know, I've been sewing for–– it'll be a year February 17th. So it'll be one year that I have been sewing, and I've made over hundreds of things for my son.

Yes. And talk a bit about your experience, when you find the time to sit down thread one needle or maybe you thread five needles. Tell me about that time for you. What is that like, when you make your first stitch? Can you walk us through that for you?

For me, my time is when my son naps. So we are–– he still has an afternoon nap. I know some people say, "Oh, that typically falls off. In my house, it fell off at 18." We're going to always have a nap. Even if you are not sleeping, you need to take one hour and 20 minutes to rest.

Yes!

No devices, no anything, just rest. But my son does go to sleep. So I usually have to prepare. Like, I have to think to myself, "What do I want to sew?" And I start getting that ready, so that during nap time, that's when I'm working on that project. And an hour and a half is a lot of time. It really–– it's a lot more time than you think, because even if you've taken five minutes to do your quilter's knot and to get your thread ready, and you've divided it, that's a jumpstart that you have into working on that project. So I take that time and then after my son goes to bed, when my husband gets home, we do kind of a tag shift, right? You know, he takes the dogs out, he does all that, we have dinner, and then it becomes Mommy's time. And then during that time, if I want to take some time to read a book or to sew, that's my time. That's my break time, so I can incorporate that in. So it's a nice–– I feel like I have a really nice balance. I never feel like I have to sew all day, and I'm not present because the point is to be present, but to bring back something, like you said, that is on the ancient side, hand sewing. All of this can be done by a machine quickly. I don't have a sewing machine, nor do I know how to use a sewing machine. I've never used one. So all I know is hand sewing. And I feel like I want to bring that zest back, that excitement back, to hand sewing. And I've sold over 400 kits, so people are loving it! They're loving it. They're loving just–– and just watching me sew once a week, that's something that people also have a lot of excitement about.

Yes. And that's the thing about, like, when you are sitting down and you are about to do your last blanket stitch or, you know, when you are about to, you know, you've threaded–– how many needles do you thread at once, to work on something?

Usually two.

I guess I would just love to hear for you. You've got your one hour and 20 minutes. Like, this is Phoebe's time, this is mommy time. I got my two needles threaded. I got my felt pieces. And now I'm ready to make a scone.

Oh, yeah.

Talk about that process. I mean what is that excitement like for you, because you've clearly been able to share that with so many people, you know? Over 20,000 followers on TikTok, people who are in the 1000s, watching you and getting a sense of the way that you're feeling about it. Just–– I would love to hear about, like, when you make that first stitch and you start to round that corner, or the beautiful frosting on the––

Ohhhhh. Excitement! It's so––

Tell me! Tell me, girl. Talk about it!

So there's so much excitement because I think the first thing is, is whenever I'm designing a pattern, I'm seeing the pattern in a 3D way. And then I'm putting the pieces together in a–– I'm sorry, in a flat way, like, a one-dimensional way, and then I'm putting it together in a 3D way. So the first time I'm making it, I always say, everything that gets made gets me three times. And the reason why is the first time it's the prototype. I have to see where–– is the pattern short somewhere? Did I need–– did I leave enough allowance for a beginner if they over-stitch, over-tighten the threads? So I have to allot that it's going to shift or move a little bit. And then if it's fantastic the first time, I sew it again the second time on Live, and I say, "Hey, here are some tips as you're sewing it so that you get this right." And then the third time, I sew it for a video. So there's a lot of excitement when it starts to come together. And I always say this is my favorite part of making this, because as soon as I'm, like, at the halfway point and I'm getting ready to stuff it, that's where I can't sew fast enough That's where if I'm gonna mess up my stitches, that's where they're gonna mess up because I'm exc––I just want to finish it quickly because I want to see–– like when I was making this banana, I just wanted to see it come together.

Yes!

And I did this–– this was the prototype. This was the first one, and I loved it. And I said, "This is the one! This is perfect." I could have done it by four, but I decided by three just seems cute. And it seems like how you would peel a banana. And then having to make sure that there was enough. It's–– I mean, you can't see this, but the stitching is just––

I could see it! It's invisible but, like, the way that it creates the ridge––

Yeah.

–– for the banana. Like, I have to tell you. I know you didn't know this, but longtime followers of the Stitch Please Podcast and of Black Women Stitch will know that I have a hate–hate relationship with bananas. I absolutely hate them.

Get out of here!

No, don't you dare. Don't you dare. The thing is, I hate bananas, but I love banana flavoring. So I love banana Now and Laters; banana Laffy Taffy; those liquid, water-based, 25-cent banana Twin Pops that are in store brands. I like banana–– anything that's artificially banana-flavored, but the real banana I think is horrible.

I agree. And it's so weird because even though I love making this for my son, neither of us like bananas, but he loves to peel them.

Exactly!

He loves to peel. So it's a–– you know, I figure because I have sliced banana slices to have the whole banana, it seems like it was just fitting. I felt like–– there are places wherever I've made the sliced fruit, I want to make the whole, or I go back and I'm like, "Oh, I have the strawberry, now I have to make the slices."

You can make the–– you can make them another one when you make fried plantains.

Oh, now we love plantains! We love–– that's something we love.

Or, like, with those–– I love plantain chips, too. So like if you made like the chips, or the banana chips, or however–– that's, that this is–– I love this! I love your slice. I love of course your banana has slices, because––

Of course it does! Of course!

Hey friends, hey! I know you're enjoying the audio version of Stitch Please, and thanks so much for listening. But you're missing out on all the great stuff going on behind the scenes! That's why I'm inviting you to join our Black Women Stitch Patreon. For as little as $5 a month, you can see all the video versions of the podcast. Plus, you get some amazing swatch cards. You know how much I love the swatch cards! Look, look, see how cool these are? Oh, wait. You can't see them because you are not yet on the Patreon. So when you join the Patreon, you'll be able to see this, me showing you these amazing cards. We also have some great perks at the other tiers, like discounts, swag, office hours and more. Don't be the last sewist in the group now! Head over to patreon.com/blackwomenstitch, or click the link in the show notes and become a Patreon supporter today. We truly cannot do this without you, so thank you so much.

I wondered if you could talk, we could talk a little bit about materials. What is it about felt? It–– and what kind of felt are you using? Is this wool felt, polyester felt? What kind of felt do you encourage people to use, or what kind of–– you know, without giving away too much of your propr–– your intellectual property. How did felt become the thing that it would be?

I think there's just something about working with–– I don't know, there's something about working with felt that just feels really cool. I prefer to use polyester. And I think you're going to find that makers are on either side of the coin. Some will swear by wool, and I have my certain reasons; and I'll tell you why I use polyester. It's washable, over wool, which is not. I have a toddler, and I have to think about my lifestyle. Well, are these gonna last 50 years? Maybe not. Am I okay with it? Absolutely. But I have toddlers that come into my house; we do play dates. So if they've got the sick, I've got to be able to put this in the wash.

Not the sick!

If they've got the sick–– that's what we call it in my house. Oh, they've got "the sick". As soon as they leave, I'm like, "Oh I gotta wash things." So it's just a fact of it being washable. It just being a material that's just a little bit more durable. And I love wool. I love wool for the different variety, because you're gonna–– there's so many colors, when it comes to wool. And that's what I'm jealous of, that you don't have with polyester, is the color. The other thing is, because I am machine cutting–– machine cutting, meaning I use a Cricut machine to cut, the thickness of the felt is so important. It's really going to be a bit too thick.

Yes. I understand. These are great reasons. And I think in terms of the durability, I believe they're going to be durable. I have had my own felt food experience. One year, I made an entire Christmas dinner for my very young nephew, who–– this might have been 10 years ago–– who has since had twin sisters, who has also played with it. So I made a turkey, where the legs could come off and the wings could come off. I made a sweet potato. I made–– there was some kind of green vegetable, but it was really an adorable little set. And fast forward 10 years later, the limbs of the turkey have flown away to their own reward. But the body of the turkey, it's still there, and it's still around. And so polyester does tend to last a long time, which is why we don't want it in our landfills. And that's one of the–– another great reason that these toys that you're creating, these functional play objects, are also durable and can be washed and can be passed on to another set of children, you know? Where the turkey becomes, you know, it's time to make your own limbs for it, children. That's the project now. But that it will last. How do you get your ideas? How do you decide what food is going to be felted?

The grocery store, I take my son to the grocery store as an activity. One, I have to do it. Two, I'm gonna make it fun. So we spend a lot of time in the produce section. We spent a lot of time in the deli section. And if there's anything that he seems to kind of get excited about, I'm like, "Oh!" Like, you know, one day he was really excited about avocado. So I said, "Oh, let's make avocado toast with a sunny side up egg."

Ohhhhh!

"Let me show him how to do something a little different with this." So I try and make some of the foods a bit on the recipe-based side, that way we can follow–– I'll show you what I'm talking about.

Yes!

That way we can follow a, you know, this is an apple pie recipe.

I love the pie with the–– you all, if you're not on Patreon, join the Patreon. We are doing–– we're in the middle of a Patreon drive. Join the Patreon! But can you show the card again? This is an apple pie with cinnamon sticks. The apple pie base has the apple slices in it. And it's a lattice topped pie crust, which means that you can put–– you can take out those fruits, the apples, whatever, and stitch some strawberry slices or banana slices. And just the–– I mean––

So the recipes keep evolving. It could be an apple pie, it could be a banana cream pie, it could be a strawberry cream pie. It could be, you know–– and I do these cards. The directions help you with that early intervention play. So following the directions are–– it kind of reiterates that play. So if you wanted to have a little guide, here's your guide. It's just as a recipe card. Oh,

I love that! I love that in addition to including instructions for the person, the adult probably, or maybe a teen, who will be sewing it themselves, you also include as part of the, you know–– basically, you are helping to dream this toy into existence for this family.

Exactly!

Right? And it's like, "Okay, don't get intimidated, because I know you can do it! And here's the recipe card that you're gonna give to your child to prove it."

Exactly. And you can read the recipe card, and you say–– so I'll give you just–– I'll read the card. This is for the Holiday Dinner Kit. I say, "Listen for the pretend timer." We're listening for the pretend timer. "Remove all baked items and begin plating on your tiny chef's dinner plate. So we're going to cut the legs and the wings, and we're gonna put this on a plate. We're gonna get the green beans on there." And then it says, "Demonstrate how to remove legs or wings with a play utensil."

Yes, yes!

"Finish by adding all dinner sides. Don't forget to plate the dessert because you have that––

The sweet potato pie!

Yeah, with the whip dollop. And then it says, "Enjoy this dinner and dessert with a yummy glass of felt water milk or juice of your choice. Enjoy!"

Oh!

It just makes that element of play just a li–– just–– this is something you can play together with your little one. So I mean I'm sure you know we've all been in a play room before with a little one where they're you're doing this, but this is helping you set the table, sit at the table, pretend to eat and then you could take it further-- clean up, wash the dishes, put away.

Oh my gosh!

It's just–– it's such a fun–– it's such a fun way to play. And I came up with these because when I was a kid, my mom was a part of THE Betty Crocker Cookbook Club. And if you had a mom that was in there, she got–– once a month, they got these recipe cards. I don't know if you remember this, because this is a long time ago.

I'm sure I remember. I'm sure we're about the same age. I think I'm a bit older, but I recall.

So my mom was in this club, a couple of her friends were too, and she would get these cards. And she would open all the cards really quickly, and she would go through and figure out what recipe she wanted to make for her friends. And they would all get together, and they would make something from the Betty Crocker Cookbook card. And it brought such joy to my mom. And I remember my mom just–– she had this little–– and she had hundreds. By the end, she had hundreds of recipes in there. I mean, everything from appetizers, salads, main entrees, desserts, drinks, all the stuff, right? And it brought her such joy. When people would come over, she would flip through her cards and be like, "What should we make?" So I imagine that this is, you know, this is how you will collect your recipe cards for your–– because you're making your own Felt the Food. So it says you're making your own cookbook

That's right!

Kind of like that Betty Crocker.

Oh, what a beautiful idea! And I really appreciate the way that you brought that memory forward, so that we could all participate in it. And so thank you for that. I'm going to ask you our final question. The question we asked all the guests on the Stitch Please Podcast. The slogan of the Stitch Please Podcast is that "We will help you get your stitch together!" Phebe Higgins, of Felt the Food, what advice would you give our listeners today, to help us get our stitch together?

Ah. Don't be afraid to start. I think that's the best thing I can say is start today. Anything that I thought would be intimidating as a beginner, I tried to take on that responsibility. I think the hardest thing is like, "Oh, the patterns! Where do I get the patterns? What do I do this? I have to cut it out! And then I have to find it! Find a thread then find the nee––" You can just jump right into–– you know, the kit has all of the cut pieces; it's ready to go. You just follow the directions. Don't be afraid to jump right into something and skip all the hard steps. I know sometimes we enjoy that, but I think if this business were around when I started, I would have jumped right in. Jumped right in–– right, right over. Just follow a video and that's it? So don't be afraid to begin this new craft. Don't be afraid to get excited about it. And I think you're going to be so impressed with your first piece and your second piece and then–– you know, I have a lot of people that I've watched them, since I launched–– I launched in May. Once I launched in May, I've watched them from May until now. I've seen their first pieces, their strawberries and their bananas, and I got to see their turkeys. Like, making this kind of kit this kind of–– And it's phenomenal! You can't tell me that they're not a professional sewer right now.

Wow.

So this is not a skill that you can't learn because you're an adult. You can learn it right now.

That's so correct. Absolutely. Phebe Higgins, thank you so much for being with us. Before we go, tell us where we can find you. We're gonna put all this stuff in the show notes, but tell us where we can find you.

You can find me at feltthefood.com, and I'm "Felt the Food" everywhere-- TikTok, social media, YouTube. I have some, like I said, great beginner videos to get you started.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Thank you for having me! I'm so grateful I got a chance to chat with you and your audience.

You've been listening to Stitch Please, the official podcast of Black Women Stitch, the sewing group where Black lives matter. We appreciate you joining us this week and every week, for stories that center Black women, girls, and femmes in sewing. We invite you to join the Black Women Stitch Patreon community. With giving levels beginning at $5 a month, your contributions help us bring the Stitch Please Podcast to you every week. Thank you for listening, thank you for your support, and come back next week, and we'll help you get your stitch together!