With all the rain we’ve had these last few days, it was quite cozy being cooped up in the house and working on my latest design, Chapter House Tiles. It’s the first in a series of patterns inspired by the magnificent York Minster. Last week I paid a visit again and took my camera with me, to capture some of the magic for you all!
One of my favourite parts of the Minster is the Chapter House, built in the 13th century. This beautiful octagonal room has amazing acoustics, and such a fantastic contemplative atmosphere. It’s just great sitting there in quiet and looking at all the stunning carved stones all around. The Chapter House has undergone some drastic restorations in the 19th century. Victorians had a funny way of restoring, where they would sometimes alter buildings rather drastically, to match the personal tastes of the times. It was at that time that the cast iron heating grills were installed, a new ceiling decoration was designed, and a beautiful tiled floor was laid by the Minton company.
It was these tiles that inspired the new pattern, with their running vine leaves and intricate patterns. The new pattern contains two tile designs, which would work great as a cushion. I’m stitching mine currently on dirty linen, which I only now realised matches the sandstone used on York Minster. I hope that the design catches a little bit of the magic of this fantastic place!
