Holding Hands....

Hello my lovelies...

how are we all?

My weekends wouldn't be the same if I didn't say hello...

I do love hearing from you all on here. 

Since I started blogging back in 2007 I have made SO many crafty friends

and I always love hearing your comments...

Us crafty folk are such happy peeps don't you think?

We love sharing our skills, our knowledge and our creative projects.

The blogging community is vast these days; so different from when I began writing my little ramblings all that time ago and yet it is still a happy family unit.

I know many of you enjoy the inspiration I share on here so knew you will also like to know about this fun idea of sharing a little love amongst fellow bloggers....

Crafting Is My Therapy Linky

Each month at Me, You and Magoo there is a link with other bloggers to see their work in progress.

You can read all about the idea HERE

So, having decided to join in with the party I thought I would share some of my slow stitching 

this month...

Away from the cameras. away from the hustle & bustle of teaching or even away from

the nine to five of daily toil I adore being left alone with a basket of threads.

They always soothe my soul...

I get to paint with colour and texture using my doodles as inspiration.

I call it slow stitching simply because that is what is it...

nothing is rushed.

It is simply about being in the moment and enjoying the process of holding the needle and thread between your fingers; watching the stitches perform their dance in front of you and indulge in a little 'me time'.

For centuries women have held a connection with cloth and thread this way and in our modern society of hum drum business we seem to be losing that connection a little.

I am working on a design for a book cover at the moment with this beauty as my starting point...

I want to cover a boring old plain notebook that nestles in my bag everywhere I go to capture a doodle here and there on my travels.

Maybe by next month's link I will have decided how to include it into my design!

Watch this space....

In the meantime do pop over and say hello with my blog link and tell them I said Hi!

Toodle-ooh for now...

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

Women & Thread Through An Ancient Tapestry

Hello my lovelies!

I feel it's been ages since I chatted to you even though I know it's only been a week...

Yesterday I had such a fab day out...

I trundled my way back to my home town deep in the middle of the Cambridgeshire Fens for a day filled of history.

I had my bag packed with all my supplies, my trusty camera at the ready and 

tons of smiles in readiness for all the delights that awaited!

I was a woman on a mission.... 

The reason????

I am busy researching for a few textile pieces based on my roots 

that I am going to be exhibiting later in the year.

I was born in the Fens (many moons ago I might add!) and have always known I'm a true Fen girl at heart despite now living on the outskirts of a city.

My soul is always soothed when I stroll home through the patchwork of  Fenland fields.

the wrap me with a warm soothing blanket that calms my soul whenever I need a re-assuring hug.

They are in my blood and what makes me who I am today.

This year I have decided to concentrate much more on my textile art and so like everyone

starting a new venture I am filled such enthusiasm

I want to bring some of my passion for The Fens into my textile designs.

I have decided to base my designs on Women & Cloth and their connection with threads throughout time.

I want to capture those beautiful tales of everyday living...nothing special

and yet so very special.

The little snippets your Grandma used to tell you but you never really listened to..

The sort of tale Great Aunt Maud would wander off into whenever she visited for Sunday tea...

like I say, nothing special and yet SO special

The Fens are renowned for it's myths, mysteries and tales of marsh men as well as 

the ghosts of the past wandering across the flat lands.

After a beautiful day of wonderful stories, photos and memories I was reminded of the mystery of the Fens as the sweeping mists began to cover the farrowed fields

Mother Nature can be so beautiful in the harshest of times

I will share some pics with you soon....

Tilly x