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

Happiness is simply stitching from the heart....

Hello my lovelies!

How are we this lovely Monday?

I hope you all had a fab weekend...

Let me tell you about my mine...

Why this weekend in particular?

Well my lovelies, this one was a little extra special.

You see because of my lovely hubby being ill this past year, I haven't really done

any workshops.

I've had to prioritise my time of late, but with hubby now having been given the all clear so far I feel a little happier returning to doing some workshops again...

So, on Saturday I did my first workshop in a very long time but not in my little Vintage Workshop. Oh no indeedy, I was asked by my lovely friend Julie to do a workshop at Bee Crafty based in Ellington, Cambs.

The theme for the day were these little gems....

'Patchwork Hexies'

So what were we making?

....An envelope cushion full of gorgeous vintage loveliness Tilly Rose style!

Many of the ladies had never encountered English Paper Piecing before, so it was lovely to be able to introduce them to this calming traditional craft.

I'm a firm believer in calming your soul and for me simple stitching is always a winner.

Every stitch adds a little love to any project and always reminds the owner of a piece of work just how much time and effort has been put in.

Hand stitching transports you back in time to a much simpler and quieter way of living.

No IPads and internet to disturb you, no flashing images in front of you but more importantly, a time when life seemed a little slower in pace.

Like many of you I value all of the modern technology that our Mothers & Grandmothers were never able to access as we do today, but I do think there is a time and place for everything and that includes modern technology also.

There is nothing more important than well being and for me that means quiet time, stitching, procrastinating over ideas and enjoying the process of actually making something albeit useful or not.

Saturday's workshop was very much centred around this ethos of enjoying the processes...

The ladies started making their hexie pieces then decided on their designs...

Sewing machines cane into action as the whole project came together...

By the afternoon we were on to some gorgeous lazy daisies to embellish our designs...

again more simple stitching to soothe the soul :)

By the end of our day of vintage sewing, we had some very happy bunnies filled to the brim with tea and cake, loads of happy smiles and some beautiful designs incorporating loads of traditional stitching...

As for me...

Well what can I say?

I left beaming like a Chesire cat, may just sum it up a little!

I have SO missed offering workshops and Saturday had only reminded just exactly how much...

A BIG thank you to Josie, Joy, Sue, Anne, Peggy & Allie for joining me and making my day so lovely.

Hopefully life will deal a better card than of late so I can start offering more workshops soon...

Only Father Time will be able to tell me that one.

I will be back at Bee Crafty in the New Year for some more Tilly Rose workshops, so if you do fancy joining me on one simply click here for more details.

In the meantime, I will simply carry on stitching at home or on TV and make my heart smile and keep my soul happy...

I do hope it does the same to you when you stitch every time?

have a lovely week folks....

Toodle-ooh for now my lovelies!

Tilly

x x x