Welcome to my blog! My name is Karen and I am the owner and designer at The Hawthorn Tree. You can find my patterns on Etsy and Payhip and here on my blog you'll get a look behind the scenes with inspirations and tutorials.
We've been enjoying beautiful weather here in the Amber Valley for the last few days so I've been working with the window open. As I write there are swifts, swallows and house martins flying over and the roses are in full bloom.
It's that time of year when we can enjoy crafting outside for a change. I have just added my latest pattern to my Etsy and Payhip stores: meet Gallia, Goddess of Gaul.
This design is based on an image found on a Roman coin dating from the middle of the first century. The region that the Romans called Gaul covered much of central Europe from France to Switzerland and parts of Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. You may also have heard of it as the home of Asterix and his friends!
There are a number of variations on this image on different coins. Some are described as being a captive Gaulish woman but others are said to show the land of Gaul represented as a goddess. There is a reference to Gallia in an inscription on the remains of a Roman garrison near Hadrian's Wall called Vindolanda but very little is known about her. It may be that she was more of a symbol, like Britannia or Marianne.
Whatever she may have meant to the people of Gaul, she is a strong image of ancient womanhood. Rather than being made to look pretty, she has dishevelled hair and a defiant gaze which speaks to women in the 21st century.
You can buy the pattern by clicking on the Etsy listing at the top of the page or by clicking here to go to my Payhip shop.
I have just reached a little milestone on Instagram by gaining my 100th follower. I am very grateful to everyone who has supported me and my work so far and I now have a little treat for you all.
Last year, I bought some cute little owl buttons from Pocket and Pin, an online haberdashery full of exciting things. As soon as saw the little owls I knew I wanted to use them - but how?
Looking through a magazine, I found an article on antique samplers and one of them, made by Sarah Doggett in 1815, featured many motifs of plants and birds. One of them was of a bird perched in the branches of a tree. I knew then how to use the owl buttons!
I have adapted the motif so that it fits neatly into a 4-inch (10cm) hoop and there is a little space for the owl to perch.
As a thank you for all the support I've had so far, you can download this pattern for free from my Payhip Shop.
If you'd like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me as @HawthornTree_xs
I am very happy and excited to announce that I have been asked to be part of a very special local project. The Pentrich and South Wingfield Revolution Group are planning a series of commemorative events to mark the bicentenary of the Pentrich Revoution in 2017.
The Pentrich Revolution was the last armed uprising to occur in England and it happened right here in the area where I was born and raised. In the early nineteenth century, the main industries in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire were lacemaking, coal mining and stocking knitting. Industry had boomed during the Napoleonic Wars but when they came to and end, the economy fell into recession and unemployment soared. To compound matters, natural disaster brought further hardship. Just months before the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted. It was one of the most powerful eruptions ever recorded and in the months that followed, clouds of volcanic ash drifted across the Northern Hemisphere. Asia, Europe and North America endured long spells of cold, wet weather. Crops failed, animals died and famine ensued. Prices rose sharply and people who were already struggling began to fear for their very survival.
It was at this time the song Hard Times of Old England was written. It perfectly describes the plight of the working poor during this period. One such person was Jeremiah Brandreth, an unemployed stocking knitter from Sutton-in-Ashfield. Unemployed, disenfranchised and facing destitution, he joined with other men in the same predicament and they marched through the district calling in at various public houses, hoping to raise an army big enough to overthrow the government.
The men were arrested by a band of Hussars from Nottingham. Some were imprisoned, some were transported to Australia and the three leaders - Jeremiah Brandreth, Isaac Ludlam and William Turner were hanged and beheaded after being found guilty of treason. There was a certain amount of sympathy towards the men, as shown in historical accounts. People recognised that not only had the men acted out of desperation but they had been set up by a government agent provocateur known as Oliver the Spy.
This story is an important part of my local area's history, and indeed national history, so I was very pleased when I heard that a group were organising commemorations. I was even more pleased when I was asked to help design a large embroidery piece that will tell the story of the revolt. I will be working from pictures painted by local artists to produce mini scenes for local WI members to embroider.
This is the biggest project I have ever worked on and I am really relishing the chance to be part of these exciting endeavours. If you would like to find out more about the group, their plans and the wonderful artwork, you can find them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. There is also this excellent website put together by Sylvia Mason, featuring family trees and other information about those involved in the revolt.
Here is Steeleye Span's version of Hard Times of Old England.
Images (c) Karen Eley, taken from Bulmer's Directory of Derbyshire, 1895.
