Festive Yuletide Treats...

Hello lovelies...

It's that special time of year when we all go and pretend we can fit a forest into our lounges...

We post cards and cards to people we perhaps in reality rarely touch base with..

We decorate every inch of our little homes with twinkly glitz to hide the dust...

Buy tons of pressies that will probably be recycled again next year...

And bake a mountain of pastry goodies resulting in adding three stone to our waistlines to be taken off again throughout Springtime.

Am I a cynic I hear you all say?

Am I as heck as like....

I LOVE the glitz. the glamour and the frivolity of it all just as much as the rest of you do!!!

I adore Christmas.

It's a very precious time of year that fits beautifully into our season of dark days,

foggy mornings and cold numb fingers.

Christmas evokes beautiful memories for us all in some way or another; albeit tiny snippets of smiles for some and oodles of surprises for others...

but for the past few years Christmas has meant worry, sadness and tough times in my little home for one reason or another for our family.

I'm sure I am no different to many out there.

Just because I appear on TV doesn't make me exempt to all the grumbly parts of life.

Losing members of your family so close to this festive period does obviously put a saddened dampner on the time of year and for some I'm sure it is tougher each year and yet you know in you heart that the person (s) you may have lost will have wanted you to still celebrate in style, still sing the same old silly carols and play the same old silly games with your loved ones.

Alot has happened in my family again this year and a few weeks ago I thought I would be facing the same prospect again and yet thankfully to the wonderful peeps of the NHS here in Pterborough, 

I am pleased to say that all my loved ones, near and far will be with me,

all cosied up in our little home doing all of the above....

So.....I consider myself the luckiest lady full of riches right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can I please ask for you all reading this though, to take five mins out to think of all those who are not as lucky as myself in having a huge tree laden with sparkle, a home full of festive smiles and happiness?

Whilst at the hospital I read a notice asking for donations to be placed into Santa's sack

to be given out on Christmas Day to all those patients who will be unable to go home for some reason or another.

Some patients will not be as lucky as hubby with a waiting family eager to have him home.

Without this turning into a Tilly Rose soapbox sermon I'd like to ask you all to consider checking with your local hospital to see if buying a crossword puzzle book, bar of soap, magazine or even a shower gel would help bring a smile or two to someone staying in on a hospital ward this Christmas.....

It doesn't seem alot does it? a magazine?

and yet knowing how much my hubby welcomed such a simple thing, I can guarantee

it will help to bring a festive smile to someone.

So if pennies allow do please consider a little something extra in your basket when you are next at the checkout and pop it in Santa's sack.

Even if your hospital may not be offering the same scheme I am sure there will be something as worth while where you could  do the same for another community.

Thank you for your kindness my lovelies.

A smile is always worth much more than a million diamonds methinks....

Tilly 

x x x

And they call me an expert???

Hello lovelies!

how are you all?

Gosh what a busy time of late it's been for little 'ol me...

I haven't had time to write for a little while.

I'm not complaining at all as I know I'm a lucky soul to be able to do what I love everyday of my life and actually call it work....

but just like the rest of you I have good days and bad and sometimes days that really should be left at the starting line!

Monday was one of those days if I'm being honest with you...

You see it takes a lot to get this old Fen bird flustered...

I am very patient 

I am very calm

I am as quiet as a mouse for most of the time

My years of working with children and young adults of all abilities and special needs has made me a very mellow girl who usually glides through life like a graceful swan with a huge smile on her face even when I may be a little flustered under the tides...

So what happened on Monday???

Well I'm taking a gamble telling you this little treasure because you all think I'm the expert and I would hate to dampen your illusions ...but this is why....

Create & Craft TV - Singer Sewing with the lovely Dean Wilson.

The show started fab and was all going brill until I got to doing one of my rehearsed demos,

a tiny little buttonhole attachment....

just that word makes me shudder now!

Live on air in front of thousands of lovely peeps my little buttonhole foot decided

not to play ball despite having practiced our routine all weekend just in case there were any glitches.

I had tried various sizes, various styles and I had it all sorted....

what could possibly go wrong?

I can't even begin to tell you how many buttonholes I've sewn over the years without even blinking and giving it a thought...

BUT...

this little fella decided to play a wee little joke on me and just wouldn't do what 

I wanted it to do!

Oh my what was a girl to do other than smile sweetly at my presenter, perspire a little as us girls don't do sweating do we girls?

 and go a gorgeous shade of freckled scarlet...

and panic just a wee bit!

Did you see the frustration in my face or did I hide it?

You see at home I would probably have just walked away, made a cuppa and come back with fresh eyes to start again.

Live on TV is a different ball game and there is no such option!

i tried reasoning with it, I tried starting over again, I even tried a different button but alas no....

it was having none of it in front of thousands of eager eyed sewers.

Now in the grand scheme of things it really isn't a life or death situation is it?

it's just a button for goodness sake!

In true Blighty spirit of not being defeated I perservered and pushed through it while my lovely presenter carried on regardless until he saw my smile return... eh voila une buttonhole....

It had completely toppled me.

All I kept thinking was "how could something so tiny cause me to gain a few more grey hairs?"

and they call me the expert hey?

Mmmmm...I do wonder at times!

I love to chat for England and sew and crochet and embroider...

I can't stand wearing loads of make-up

I don't do fake tan

all I do is simply smile and be myself!

(not sure they have the right person at times despite my lovely Nan's advice for anything in life...)

Am I the only way who feels a completely dotty old woman at times that bumbles their way through the simplest of situations with a smile ..... no?

just me then...ha ha!

I have no idea why my lovely attachment wouldn't work.

The machine was perfect....

The button was perfect...

The cotton was perfect...

and off air when I tested it again it worked perfectly again...

NOT funny!

the joys of live TV hey?

Until that moment I had managed to cope with all the stress of working in TV throughout the day without a glitch for all my shows . 

The sewing was a doddle and I was in sewing heaven...

~~~~~~~~~~

I'm thinking there should be a book of these tales somewhere!

The Dotty Tales of a Curly Haired Middle Aged Fen Bird (who pretends to be the expert!) 

Today?

I'm hiding with my big floppy hat amongst the foxgloves just in case the Paparazzi

come looking for this famous celebrity... 

If by any chance you did enjoy the programme and fancy some more Tilly Rose ramblings then tune in next Tues for some gorgeous English Paper Piecing.

Surely I can't manage to go wrong with that one do you think?

hand sewing, hand embroidery and loads of ideas

I absolutely LOVE what I do on TV but boy does it add a few more wrinkles on this 'ol girls face!

Have a lovely day my lovelies....

I will see you soon 

Happy stitching...

Tilly

xxx

What Do You See?

Hello my lovelies!

Friday already?

I am always amazed at how quick time flies!

Aren't you?

I used to hear adults say that as a youngster and think what on earth were they talking about...

At the grand ol age of ..... you know what, I now know!

Life seems so busy and stressful to so many in such a variety of ways.

The toils of every day living is often seen as a struggle to just get through each day and the thought of being creative in any way seems a distant dream

I'm a firm believer in finding the simple things in life to keep us grounded and in touch with what really matters...

Social media is now a huge part of our lives that we can either enjoy or really detest.

For some it rules their lives.

It can take up SO much of our valuable down time if we let it and yet can be so inspiring

if you know where to look.

Be selective in exactly where you actually look and spend your valuable time....

As crafters we all need inspiration and often use social media as our first point of call.

We beg, steal and borrow as they say but mainly borrow ideas from others

to help us create our own projects.

As a textile designer, celebrity crafter, TV personality...call me what you will,

I am no different!

But......

I LOVE nothing more than seeking out new ideas provided to us by Mother Nature to play with...

I know I maybe push the boundaries a little more daringly than some with my projects and ideas but in doing so....

it makes my heart happy, my eyes sparkle, my lips smile and my soul sing.

I try to fill my days with happy smiles when I can 

and tap into some positivity when the time arises, borrow some me time and be creative in amongst the busy world we call our everyday lives.

With the weekend approaching why not take five mins out for yourself

and do the same?

Grab a quiet cuppa and sit amongst the billowing blooms in your garden

Watch the clouds create designs in the sky

trace the outline of a piece of bark with your finger and feel the textures

watch children play

discover new shapes on the beach

They all sound very simple when you write them down in a list like that don't they?

But those simple things in life help us to be in the moment and seek inspiration to be creative...

I know that if you spend a few precious moments indulging you will be inspired to be creative to.

Be kind to yourselves this weekend folks....

be creative in a small way...

Toodle ooh for now!

Tilly

xxx

Keeping Young & Trendy...

Hello my lovelies...

How are we all?

Despite my passion for all things vintage, this week has been an exploration of modern life...

I've finally managed to get my head around modern technology!

I wonder how many of you are the same?

Have you ever thought....

 'Oh I'm to old to try that' or 'What do I need to know how to do that for?'

We all do it... 

What am I talking about?

.....Social Media.

For most of us of a certain age it frightens the pants off us!

Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram....the list goes on!

It's only for the young ones I hear you shout back at me.

Well don't be put off my lovelies!

If I have the perseverance to give them all a go then

 I can re-assure you anyone can get their head around them.

We all say how much our world has changed since our younger days which is something

we used to hear our own parents say. 

I bet you never thought you would ever think you would say the same thing!

But life is an ever changing wheel constantly turning every day....

When you look back at photos of a different era it reminds us just how much times have changed.

I'm sure the Victorians thought the same about such progress of their times as did everyone during the second world war

Well done't be put off folks.

Embrace a new venture however frustrating it may seem to get your head around it...

You'll be surprised at the results.

You'll be introduced to a new community of like-minded peeps, be able to keep in touch with friends a little more and share your love of hand crafting to so many others out there all feeling the same.

This week I managed to work out how to link all my sites together on my blog which really doesn't sound much at all to anyone in the tech world but for me was a huge success!

 If you fancy a nosey simply click on the buttons at the top of the page and pop along...

We are a happy family in the crafting community who love to share our ideas and skills and I think it is wonderful that we have Social Media.

At the press of a button we can have instant access to patterns, tutorials, inspiration, ideas for projects, advice from other crafters and share our smiles with each other.

I simply love it!

Go on... give it a go

Know you'll be hooked :)

Tilly

x x x