It started with just a little thread...

Morning lovelies!

What a gem of a morning...

The birds are nattering while the bees are meandering.

A delightful day if ever there was one!

It seemed like the perfect time to share the news with you all

that soon my book Stitched Memories will be available to purchase.

I am beyond delighted to say the least.

Never in a million month of Sundays did I think that this little 'ol Fen bird who

is as as odd as the most quirkiest being about, 

would be lucky enough to write a book...

You see....coming from the Fens...well it's not something you usually do is it?

Now if you had said when I was growing up that

I would be the owner of a potato picking firm or 

a tractor driver, well you'd probably be much nearer the mark!

But as I've already mentioned I'm an odd bod.

I like to look for the unusual in the ordinary.

Someone who loves to capture those everyday stories and turn them into a treasured

marriage of cloth and thread...

So how did I get to write a book?

You may well ask...

Like everything in life, it's simply the luckiest thing of

being in the right place, at the right time,

talking to the right person indeed.

I've dreamed of writing a book since I could read and write

but this frizzy haired wild bird was rubbish at school. I got bored easily.

Science and Maths dumbfounded me and still do at times. And yet they totally fascinate me.

The only subjects that grabbed my attention were Needlework, Art and English, oh and Cooking (to which my waistline showcases very well!)

But you see, those subjects have done me proud...

As many of you know, my background was in Education.

I am a trained Visual Impairment Advisor, specialising in Early Years.

Over the years, I have been privileged to help support and teach many

beautiful children and young adults with additional needs and disabilities.

Knowing my own struggles has helped me really sympathise in understanding how a One Size Box does NOT fit all sizes.

 Alongside my teaching days, I always crafted.

It was a passion of mine from an early age

and eventually it has ended up that I am now teaching the joy of being creative through stitching full time.

What's the secret to inspire others?

It's easy....

Simply show the beauty and wonder of the world that surrounds us in every minute of every day and help others to see it's Ok to not be perfect.

Not to be precise is considered a No No in sewing and yet...

Our Mums and Grannies often didn't look at things that way.

Sewing was more often than not a necessity and so with it came the responsibility

of making things work with warped cloth, using not so perfect thread, piecing together scraps to create a whole.

I'm afraid, for me that is what sewing really entails....

When it was suggested a couple of years ago by Search Press, (the world's finest art and craft book publisher I might add) that I write down my ramblings to help inspire others in the form of a craft book, I jumped at the chance.

I was totally blown away.

The fact that someone thought I was capable of writing a book...

As I've got older and wiser, I truly believe that everyone has a gift in some way or another.

Mine is simply to share my love of cloth and thread and use my skills as a tutor

to inspire and guide you...

And so through many many stressful hours of writing, a book evolved.

Two thirds of it was left on the cutting room floor because I had written too much information due to space constraints...something that took a while getting my head around to be honest

but now I've seen the final copy I totally forgive my editor!

I've decided to write those snippets here on my blog so you don't miss out...

So, where to get hold of my book?

Well there are a variety of ways...

I shall be doing lots of book signings with Search Press at some of the big

Needlework Shows this year as well as some smaller events at some of my favourite

workshop venues which will include some scrumptious vintage tea parties...

You can find details here on my website

I will also be offering the chance to get a signed copy of the book on my website with a little extra surprise gift as well

as appearing on the Sewing Quarter Channel with a Book Launch on 30th July.

Lots going on!

I will of course be shouting from the rooftops on my Facebook page also.

So for now I will simply leave you counting down the days to Mr Postie arriving....

Thanks for dropping by and saying hello!

'Mercia' at The British Quilt & Stitch Village...

Well, good morning my lovelies...

How are you all on this grey and dreary Tuesday?

Here in the Fens I think Spring must be playing a massive mischievous joke on us all and is only pretending to stop for a while and actually has no intention whatsoever to indulge us in some warmer days despite the Springtime blooms nodding their heads to say hello!

It seems a lifetime away since I actually sat and wrote a blog post to you all.

I know many of you reading this do say hello via my Tilly Rose - Textile Artist Facebook page

but a blog post is a little different...

I can chatter and meamble so much more!

So in the spirit of The Sound of Music, where shall we start?

Well, let;s start at the very beginning... a very good place to start...

Some of you may be wondering where I've been hiding, why I've been a little quiet of late and will you see on TV again etc etc...

Last year our family was hit really hard as my husband 

was diagnosed with secondary liver cancer.

After fighting bowel cancer two years previously, then vasculitis and sepsis of his kidneys a year later, we actually thought we would have a few months to recover but sadly not.

As you can imagine or perhaps may have experienced yourselves personally, we faced a very huge uphill struggle...but at least we were given that option of a way to do so.

Sadly I know some are not so fortunate.

So...roll on a few months of very tough hardship, major surgery and intense recovery

I am pleased to say that hubby is now back at work and looking forward.

We take each day as it arrives with a massive blessing of smiles.

Whilst all this was going on I was writing my first book Stitched Memories - Search Press.

Timings really couldn't have been worse but it gave me a focus and in between hospital and clinic visits you could always find me hunched over a laptop writing instructions and explanations etc for the projects in the book.

It has now gone to print as we speak and will be available in August.

If you click on the link above you will find a little detail about what little surprises are waiting for you...

So....going back to my original sentence of where have I been, well as you can imagine

keeping that positive smile going for hubby and the rest of our family, continuing to work, writing a book and doing the dusting now and then can take it's toll.

At Christmas I faced exhaustion and so I took a few months off to recouperate.

It's that simple really.

Giving yourself time off is hard for someone like myself who likes to keep busy because 

it makes you feel guilty that you are not working!

But, how could I not be doing something at all?

Well for those of you who have been following my daily rambles and chats, you will all know that I've made the most of my time whilst lazily squidged on the sofa by doodling designs, 

planning my own range of sewing kits and gathering momentum for an exhibit

that I showed at The British Quilt & Stitch Village in Uttoxeter last weekend.

Many visitors to the event loved 'Mercia'; my version of 3D textile art depicting the Myths & Legends of the Cambridgeshire Fens over the many centuries of agricultural hardship...

Fen folk were often considered the 'odd folk living out on the marshlands', who were very independent and very suspicious of any 'foreigners'.
The term 'foreigners' simply meant anyone who didn't live amongst the Fen reeds and work the land which included anyone from everyday folk to the gentry!

Much of the Fens that we see today are a result of the reclaimed lands, drained many moons ago by the Dutch engineers who used their knowledge to create agricultural fields and land for communities to feed their families and toil the earth.

Before the drainage was developed many Fenfolk travelled from island to island via punts or rowing boats and knew the marshes like the back of their hand but more importantly they also knew that the marshlands were a law unto themselves.
Often gas escaped from the marsh and with it followed tales of 'bog spirits' and will'o'the'wisps.

 Fenland stories of  odd sightings among the Fen reeds were often passed down from generation to generation around the table of an evening over a pint of ale...

'Mercia', the anglo-Saxon name for the region, hopefully depicts two side of the story..

Her skirt, a Fenland river, is divided into two halves; one side represents the richer side of life
where women of a certain status enjoyed the luxuries that life in the Fens offered and the cotton muddied ragged edge on the other half represents the masses... the life of an Ag Lab that knew all about the hardships of living in such a wild wilderness of a Fen marshy bogland but loved it anyway.
Needless to say my family heritage comes from the rugged frayed edge of life if you didn't but guess!

Mercia's front bodice depicts the 'Tree of Life' believed by the Celts to be a very important part of their lives.
Boadicea or Boudica, the Queen of the Iceni Tribe ruled in this area, so there is a rich heritage of Celtic tradition connected to the Fens.
Many myths and tales have evolved from these times and often remain today.

The back of the bodice depicts the hard times of life on the land with embroidered stitches showcasing the famous plough lines of the patchwork fields found in this area.

Fenland heritage is in my DNA.
It has seeped into my bones over many centuries...

Not many folk give a shout out for the Fens.
They don't see the beauty of our completely flat 'boring' lands but for me
the Fens smile with a unique beauty.
Their sunsets, vasts skies, ever changing light and openess fills my little Fen heart with joy.
Someone has to make a stand for our little area of the UK!

Whilst on holiday in Cornwall a few years ago I was asked where I lived and when I mentioned the Cambs Fens, the shopkeeper said"Oh I know, you live in the damp patch then!"
Not sure what to say to that one....

On a day like today when the wild winds are a-howling through, I do think perhaps if I lived somewhere with a few hills, woods and undulating pathways my life would perhaps be a little quieter but then I change my mind as quickly as the wind calms again...

The judges seemed to like my little shout out for the Fens and awarded

me with a  'Second' rosette which although I was very happy to accept the result wasn't really that important to me.

It was never about winning really...

 I hope that doesn't sound arrogant at all because for me, 

entering the competition was so much more than a rosette...

It was about me allowing myself time to indulge in my passion for textile art, showcasing some Fenland history and having such fun designing and stitching on a mannikin which I just love doing!

 I was so over the moon to see people chatting about the Fens and asking about my little area of the UK.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and chatted about 'Mercia'

It makes it all worthwhile.

 

I think I will have to write a separate post about my workshops and the beautiful displays on offer as I don't want you all to be nodding off!

I've rambled on as usual...

I'll leave you with this last pic of the pint that quenched my thirst on the last day at the event.

The little verse on the glass totally sums up a brilliant philospohy methinks!

"A little bit of beer is divine medicine"

I will say cheery bye for now and get writing my next post.

I'd forgotten the joy writing brings...

Until I stop by and say hello again

Have a beautiful day my lovelies!

Much love

Tilly

x x x