what katie did next...

What's in a name? Memories of a time gone by...

People often ask me why I called my business 'What Katie did next..." so I thought I would let you all know the background behind it.

When I was a little girl my passion for reading was ignited. I loved to read, and read, and read. I loved fiction, always wondering what would happen next, my favourites included Enid Blyton stories, Nancy Drew, Little Women and many more.

However, when I came across What Katy did and What Katie did next by Susan Coolidge these soon became my firm favourites. I read them time and time again, never tiring of Katy's exploits.

I have moved house many times throughout my life, subsequently losing my copies of these books, so imagine my delight when I happened to come across this the other day in a vintage shop:

 
This copy was published in 1918, beautiful isn't it? I love the fact it's been handled by so many people, it's aged beautifully.

 
This whole page was dedicated to the publisher's plate, beautifully illustrated isn't it?

 

So, why did I choose "What Katie did next..."?

Simply because, for me, it was the name that conjures up memories of a time gone by, an expectation of what would happen in the future, and the next chapter of my life!

Have a great day!

A little inspiration...

People often ask me where I get my ideas from. It's a very hard question to answer, it can be a colour combination or a texture, a piece of fabric or something someone says. However, one of the consistent places I get ideas from is nature, and often in our little back garden.

My favourite flowers are Peonies, I love the way they start as very tight buds that literally blossom into billowing beauties (try saying that after a few G&T's!)

So this year I decided to capture the glory of our peonies with my camera.

That was two weeks ago, and this was today...

Beautiful isn't it? What a shame they don't last for long.

Whilst in the garden, I came across an Allium that I don't remember planting, a very happy suprise as I love their sculptural forms. I did have one in another area of the garden but my husband accidentally trod on it last year whilst trying to trim our very tall hedge. So when I found this today I was extremely happy - it's not out in full bloom yet, but I can tell it's going to be a beauty!

The last picture I am showing you has very emotional connotations, as it's a rose that was from my husbands late Nan's garden.  She very sadly passed away just before we were married, almost six years ago, and is very missed. I feel by having this rose in our garden, we still have a little part of her with us. 

Each winter I pray it will be ok, and so far, touch wood it has! I love the colours, they are so clean and work so well together, particularly with variety of green foliage and the french lavender in the background.

So often I find myself sitting on the decking of our summerhouse, or looking out of our french windows, and see a set of colours that make me want to capture them in a drawing, painting, photograph or textile picture. Sometimes, that's all it takes and I can come up with ideas for weeks on end. This is just one of my many inspirations...

I'd love to know what inspires others, what does it for you? If you're feeling brave, please let me know...
 
Have a great day!
 

Poetry in motion - a poetic and personal gift for a best friend

It was one of my best friends birthday yesterday, her (ssshhh) 40th! So I have been secretly making this piece for her birthday.

It's a poem she has always loved, and she had no idea I was making it. I used colours that remind me of her, and picked buttons that resemble her too. It was a very personal piece for me to make, and she was very choked when she opened it!

New Baby Boy Twins gift - another finished commission

I have finished a lovely commission for brand new baby twin boys, who arrived recently.  They were long awaited, and very much wanted, and I was asked to reflect this in the piece.

I've been trying some new ideas out on canvases, and I think this one has worked rather well. I like the clean lines and space around the piece.  I also think it works well because the pieces are so tactile.

I was asked to use neutral tones, but I wanted to use little elements of blue, so when I embroidered their names I used one layer of blue on top of the taupe.  
  And of course, who could forget the buttons... chosen very carefully to complement the colours and textures, and little hearts to tell them how much they are cherished.

I'm forever making badges, pretty badges everywhere...

So, I've been adding to the designs.  It seems there is no point making just one badge at a time, you need to make a few.  So each time I select the fabrics, thread the machine up, decide what to applique, trim them and then make them into badges, I have a group of them.

I love seeing them like this, I think they look really cute.  They measure 25mm (about an inch), so they are very small in real life.

I need to thin k about how I'm going to present them for sale;

I shall have some cards printed for them to go on, once my Logo has been decided upon, which should be the end of this coming week.  The card needs to be able to be displayed clearly within a shop, perhaps they will 'hang'?

For a badge this small, the designs need to be very simple, due to the nature of applique.  I have got some larger sizes, so I can make more complicated designs on those.  I can't wait to try!

Have a great weekend, the weather looks excellent! 

The Lovebirds

As I was reading a book about birds to my son the other day, we came across a picture of a couple of lovebirds.  I hadn't realised how tactile they are with each other, the way they lean in for a cuddle.  So I decided to use them as inspiration for one of my pictures.

It was really difficult to photograph this one as the sun has been so bright today, and the light was flooding into our house from all directions.

 
I love the colours, they make me feel really summery!

I deliberately placed the emphasis on the left, leaving enough space on the right if someone wanted to put names or dates...  perhaps for a very personal Engagement / Wedding / Anniversary gift?   

Young at Heart - fabric applique button badges

My new badge making machine is my new best friend! I love it!

It's taken a while to get the hang of making them because they are really fiddly when using fabric, especially because they are only 2.5cm in diameter. 

 
I know hearts are obvious, but I wanted to start with something that would be relatively simple to sew, and I think they look quite cute!

I thought these would be great if you were getting married, but didn't want to get dressed up for your Hen night.  All of the Hen's could wear a badge, and they would get to keep it as a keepsake.

This is a great way of recycling fabrics that would otherwise be thrown away because they are too small.  I've bought a badge-making machine that makes various sizes, so I will be trialling a range of things over the forthcoming weeks.

 

Love is in the air...

 
So, the season of Weddings has begun! I love a good wedding, but it hasn't always been that way. I wasn't the type of little girl who planned what I might wear, in fact I didn't contemplate marriage seriously until I met my husband.  Before I began planning my our wedding, I didn't realise the emotion you pour into your planning, the hopes and dreams that are tied up in the colours, the flowers, the dress, the invitations...   

In the years that have followed I have often reflected on the promises we made, and one of my favourite parts of the service is this.

This is another of the smaller sized pictures, and again, I've used another piece of antique lace needle felted onto a cream felt background.  I've tried to create a balance between the pearls, the silk hearts and the buttons, and added a bit of glitz with the silver thread that I used to stitch the hearts.

 
Have a good day!