Monday 27 August 2012

Poetry in Pictures


Me and Nina spent the weekend at our other sister's flat, and we had great fun making the place messy while we did a photo shoot together. Nina took photo's of all the embroideries that she's selling in her shop, and I ripped some of my poems out of my notebook and took pictures of them around Louise's flat. Alas, we didn't have enough time do the whole shoot, so there will be more photo's being posted at a later date :)













-Katie xx

Thursday 23 August 2012

Doilies, Deer Antlers and Ectopic Heartbeats


Ectopic Heartbeats, my new Etsy shop, is now open! It's right down here on the right-hand side of this blog, if you fancy taking a peek. Full of whimsy oddities and embroidered ditties, it's still a yearling online store that I will gradually be adding more things onto. I have plans for patchwork canvases and mini quilts, wall hangings and even clothing and vintage accessories.



I'm currently embroidering a poem that will encompass two small wooden frames that will be in my shop, but after that I plan on working straight into my lovely new scrapbook for a while, pages of which will eventually feature in mine and Katie's magazine that we hope to get off the ground soon.



The scrapbook will be far more tattier and playful. As much as I love making items with the potential of selling, I feel more relaxed and free when embroidering for myself. My work is more experimental and I don't mind making more mistakes - I won't unstitch them.  



I also love the idea of creating an heirloom. A dusty old book of stitched poetry and photography that was created by a great great grandmother, found over a hundred years down the line in an old trunk in the attic, sounds really appealing to me! I'm so in love with nostalgia and old stuff, and the idea of leaving a relic of oneself behind after you're gone - an item that becomes a history of and a repository for the person you once were. A legacy; that sounds nice. Something that gives you permanence and immortality. 
I hope someone treasures it one day. 





Katie and I stayed at Lubix's flat for the weekend. Her walls are a perfect for a neutral background and lets in a lot of natural light, so we were able to take some lovely photos for the shop. It was great to spend some time with my sisters...we all needed it. I was sad when I realised I hadn't taken a photo of all three of us together! Sorry Lubix :(



We had some yum sunshiny moments on her balcony...







Lubix did however take some lovely photos of me and Katie, which I am eternally grateful for, like these two, above and below...


We made her laugh, because whilst me and Katie were holding an antler each, we argued over what angle we needed to hold them up in. Like we had locked antlers in a rut! This cheered her up.




I couldn't've done it without my sisters' wisdom and advice. And Lubix's flat. 
Thank you both.


Nina x

Sunday 12 August 2012

Tyneham...'Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet'


I was apprehensive about doing a post about our travels to the abandoned village of Tyneham, mainly because of the profusion of pictures Katie and I had taken. But it had to be done; this place is such a vital source of inspiration for me at the moment, and I want to share one of my favourite places in the world with you, on this sweet li'l part of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, near where we live.
Hope you enjoy our photo-travelogue! 




Warbarrow Tout




Katie - dancing with the butterflies on the edge of the world






The Purbeck Hills out yonder









I'm fascinated by this Violet Cake! In the book that I plan to write soon, set in Tyneham (the one about the twins Florence & Frida I've told you about in this previous post) there's a character I've called Violet Lake after a misprint on the poster of the door of the schoolhouse. 



Katie - not a bit pleased about being in a classroom during her summer holidays
























'Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet'   Gerard Manley Hopkins

Nina x