A Moody Landscape....

Morning my lovelies...

I have had great fun playing with a new camera over the weekend capturing

some fab Fenland sights to be used in my new exhibition pieces.

Driving through the Fen roads of the shadowy Cambridgeshire lands watching the ever-changing skies

always makes my soul sing despite the weather.

The Fens can be isolating and quite daunting if you are not familiar with them.

If you are expecting a big welcome all gooey-eyed and filled with scrummy deliciousness then you 

will be disappointed.

They don't greet you with their arms open wide for a snuggly hug; instead what they do do, is allow you to see them as they are...warts and all and if you enjoy them all well and good and if you don't, well they take the view (very much like many Fenland folk) and that is simply to say then keep on driving through...

"you either take us as you find us or skidavel out of here!"

You can travel for miles and not meet a soul at times.

For me that's what I really love.

Whittlesey Mere Washes

Pollarded Willow at Whittlesey Wash

Silence can be so beautiful in our fast pace of everyday living.

Many people are often put off visiting the Fens saying that there is nothing to look at...

I have to disagree!

If you want chocolate box cottages with beautiful roses around the door, pretty windy lanes filled full of charm or even neatly cut village greens I have to say sadly you probably will be let down

BUT

if you are after atmospheric landscapes, moody skies, miles of peace

and beautiful rugged beauty then you will definitely be overwhelmed by wonderful

delights that await.....

Moody Skies over Fen fields

The Fens have evolved over many centuries from a very harsh landscape that only the toughest survived to what we see today; the long uneven roads surrounded by the billowing Fen reeds that shelter their neighbours, the drains. 

Families, over time have learned to live with each season, the black clods of  mud constantly traipsed into their cottages and the wild Fen winds alongside the extreme poverty that constantly surrounded them and yet their homes were always filled with such cosiness and warmth for family

in the best way they could offer.

Fenland workers 

My exhibition pieces will focus on the connection of woman and cloth throughout time and how they survived with very little, living out in the middle of this vast landscape that chilled them to the bone in more ways than one.

Often Fen women were the strong threads running through a family line that held everything and everyone together.

Personally I don't think much has changed on that side of things.

Did their embroideries help their well being?

Did they see cloth as just a chore of constant repairs?

Would sewing have meant something very different to them instead of how we see it today?

What did they think when they looked out of their windows whilst stitching?

I'm often told the Fens hold nothing but dreary gloomy colours that dull the spirit but

when I look, all I can see is the vibrant colour of life.

My ancestors originate from the Fens.

They are in my blood and I'm very proud to call myself a Fen woman.

I would love to hear from anyone who lives(ed) in the Fens or who has a connection to them and would like to contribute to the stories and memories

I shall be collecting towards my exhibition

If you want to leave a message at the end of this post or get in touch I would love to hear from you!

info@tilly-rose.co.uk

I will be posting a questionnaire on here soon that you may want to fill in also...

In the meantime I will leave you with a few snippets of Fen life that I will be using in my textile pieces...

Toodle-ooh for now!

Tilly

x x x

A Lifetime's Worth of Maternal Love...

Hello my lovelies...

Despite it being the thick of winter and I should be looking out on snow, 

I am surrounded by a beautiful sunny day.

Not that I'm complaining you understand, but it certainly plays tricks with your mind!

It is still a little chilly so at least something is quite normal I guess.

On days like today I do love snuggling up on the sofa with a cuppa or two and reading.

How about you?

Sunday reading...

I am busy doing a little research at the moment for some future exhibits later this year.

Whilst delving into to the depths of the big void of online material I came across an article

that I wanted to share with you all...

As I have already mentioned in a previous post, I have always been fascinated with our connection with fabric throughout time and stitching.

We all relate to cloth in various ways that often hold treasured memories...

Women's voices were often never heard or taken seriously and yet throughout history

I believe women have always been the strong silent thread running through every story... especially when it comes to stitching and threads.

This story totally touched my heart ...

The image above is of an everyday sack made from feedsack cloth. 

Something used all the time to house provisions at one time.

 Rose, held in slavery by a slave owner had a daughter, Ashley, aged 9.

Her daughter was being sold by the slave owner in South Carolina, USA and Rose wanted to let her know how much she was loved.

No-one knows how long she had to get things ready before she was sold but her simple actions turned this every day piece of cloth into an heirloom.

Rose wanted to let her daughter know her sack was her most prized possession even though

it was filled with very little and yet SO much...

an extra dress, three handfuls of pecan nuts, and some braids for her hair

and...

a lifetime's worth of maternal love.

Something no slave owner could ever take away from her...

Many years later in 1921, Ashley's granddaughter Rose was so touched by the power of her story. She embroidered the words on the sack for future generations to treasure.

You can read more details about the story HERE

The fact that a simple sack probably used for storing flour has managed to survive with such a powerful story is amazing don't you think?

We often save the expensive gifts or items of worth as heirlooms for our future generations but for me, a simple piece of cloth often with very little value will always win the day.

Cloth will always cradle our memories and save them for a day when we want to share them with others.

So many of us work with cloth every day of our lives, making items for our families but how often do you consider your cloth as a living and breathing piece of fabric?

Something that holds your secrets, your thoughts, your daydreams...

Tilly

x x x

Stitching Stories in Fabric....

Hello my lovelies!

Hope you enjoyed my show today on Create & Craft TV.

I am so lucky to be able to share my passion for embroidery with you all!

As a textile artist I am absolutely fascinated by the world of stitching on fabric throughout history...

from the elegant costumes of the privileged...

to the simple everyday patchwork often found in our homes...

Now you all know me a little more, I think many of you will probably be able to work out which kind of textiles brings me delight....

I love the fact that all pieces of vintage fabrics hold a story to them outlining our social history and heritage. They hold a key to our ancestry through the type of threads they used, the weave of a certain fabric or even a particular stitch used...

I so wish fabrics could speak to us with the answers to the many questions I always want to ask...

Who stitched this?

Why did they choose this piece of fabric?

What was it's purpose?

Were they happy with their life or was it filled with drudgery and sewing took them away from it all?

Did they ever share their skills with their friends?

Did they sit and put the world to rights whils stitching like so many of us do today?

When were they stitching...last thing at night by the gas light or during the day in a factory?

I love reading around the history of our stitching; a love affair that started when I had to research the type of stitching used for Victorian Christening gowns for my Needlework 'A' level (many moons ago now!)

An everyday visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum introduced me to heirloom sewing and a whole new world of embroidery...

Oh boy! Was I smitten!!!!

I have to say it really wasn't the done thing to be embroidering at the age of 17 when all my friends would be off partying to Duran Duran!

I perservered none the less and I am very thankful for that because I still have that love affair today.

For me though, sewing is SO much more than just technique and accuracy.

it's the little extra that is added in each stitch...

We stitch a little piece of our heart in every new project and create our own social stories for our own future generations..

How many times are you taken back to a certain time when you see an snippet of fabric or pattern especially if it has some embroidery on it?

History is often recorded on fabric in more ways than you think is possible and over the next few posts I want to share some of my finds with you all...

Often embroidery was the only thing to hand to record snippets of gossip, detail historical events or even capture someone's thoughts as they worked.

~~~~~~

In the meantime I will leave you some snippets of my own textile work capturing some of my happy memories...

All of the pieces use a variety of vintage lines, antique lace and old threads and fabrics..

Off to grab a cuppa now...

Toodle-ooh for now my lovelies!

Be back soon 

Tilly

 x x x