As seen in The Observer's "10 of the Best Creative Breaks" 20/10/19

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Blog
28/08/21: Preparing for our first guest

We have a “trial” Textile Holiday guest arriving tomorrow, so it’s prompted us to do a few necessary jobs… I was very uncertain about the type…

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10/07/21: Sculpture in Città delle Pieve

We went to Citta della Pieve because Saturday is market day, and it’s lovely to wander around the stalls and then go for coffee in one…

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09/07/21: Linen dress

I drove over to Magione, just this side of Perugia, to buy some fabric to make a dress. I wanted linen, in a bright colour…but ended…

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07/07/21: Chicory and the pool

It’s hard to stop taking photos of the little chicory flowers that seem to be all over the track by the olive grove, and by the…

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02/07/21: Montepulciano

I wanted to take some photos of interesting doors and door knockers, to we had a drive out to Montepulciano, about 25 minutes away. Again, Montepulciano…

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26/06/21: Val d’Orcia and Sant’Antimo

On our way home we made a little detour to the Abbey of Sant’Antimo, just outside Montalcino. It’s an incredibly beautiful, peaceful place in a stunning…

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26/06/21: Montalcino and a weaving studio

Today is our Wedding Anniversary, and since it was a glorious day, with the bluest sky, we decided to have a drive out, through the Val…

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25/06/21: The (very) local area

Here are a few photos of the area very close to the house… There’s a bar in Villastrada, about 5 minutes drive away, that does great…

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24/06/21: Teasels

More photos of plants from hedgerows – there’s so much inspiration around right now! I especially love stitching teasels, and have a few ideas I want…

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18/06/21: Free Machine Poem…

I recently finished one of the Free Machine Embroideries I did during Lockdown in France last year. I added words and phrases to the image, to…

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Discover a new hobby while on holiday in Italy...

Hello... I'm Bronwen Kaja/Shepherd and I run sewing holidays and workshops in my lovely studio in the beautiful countryside of Umbria, close to Lake Trasimeno. The house is on the border between Umbria and Tuscany - so you look out onto the countryside of both regions including Monte Cetona, Lake Chiusi, Chiusi, and, in the distance, Citta della Pieve. There are olive groves, vineyards, cypress trees and pines as far as you can see - it's very inspiring for someone who likes to stitch landscapes! I've got a Textiles degree and a PGCE (post graduate teaching qualification) in Textiles, for teaching age 11 to 18 years - I've got 13 years teaching experience in UK schools, as a teacher and latterly as Head of Department, teaching mainly A level Textiles. I've also got 9 years experience of running textile classes and residential holidays/retreats in France and Italy. I gave up my teaching career especially to do that - we moved to France, renovated the house, built a textile studio, and started the business there. In 2020, we moved to Umbria, to the Trasimeno area, where I had bought a holiday home in 2007, and I re-established my creative business here. We moved again in 2024, to a larger house with (another) purpose built studio. Apart from teaching, I have 12 years experience as a designer/maker of Christening wear, something which I intend to start doing again, but I also have a few other creative ideas...