Fabric Friday

#FabricFriday is back!

My first/last Fabric Friday post was back in January, so I thought it's about time I did another.

As is often the case, one afternoon I was looking for some stitchy inspiration (it may even have been initially for my still-ongoing possible-quilt/quilting project) and had a gander at what Pinterest had to offer. As usual, it did not disappoint.

I love the idea of using something entirely non-traditional as a "canvas" or "fabric" to stich on or embellish a project with and found this really gorgeous mixed media piece (below) by Claudia Orengo, aka Stitch the World. It's such a beautiful way of using a lovely vintage postcard whilst simultaneously breathing new life into it.

During the same search for fabric and textile-related ideas, I also came across the work of Hella van 't Hof. She operates at a fascinating intersection between traditional sampler-style embroidery and old photographs imbued with wistful memories.

Her works have an added tactile element as the images have been printed onto canvas, providing the ideal surface to stitch onto.

I like the way these embellishments add a three dimensional aspect and often take an organic form, complementing the original photograph and giving the evoked memories a feeling of tangibility.

Day Two: It’s All About You - KCBWDAY2

Well, today I'm writing about myself - which for some reason always feels a bit strange. I can't tell you how long it took me to compose and publish the "Bio" page on my blog, for example!

When I'm not crafting, I can often be found doing other creative things. I have been working as a Web and Graphic Designer for a few years now - you can even take a look at my online portfolio at www.catcodes.co.uk if you like. I also love drawing and painting in one of my sketchbooks or writing letters when I have time - yep, good old snail mail. I suppose you could say I like being creative in the kitchen too, as I do like to cook and bake if I have the energy and ingredients handy!

Some of my readers may already be familiar with WildCat Designs, the knitwear accessories label I started after finishing my degree in Textile Design - I run an Etsy shop under that name and a "sister" label, WildKittens, too.

When I'm out and about (I like to walk or cycle around Edinburgh, the city I live in - it's good excercise, especially as it's not at all flat!), I enjoy taking my camera or my cameraphone and recording things which catch my eye. I confess to being somewhat addicted to Instagram!

I'm a big fan of traditional old-school "analogue" film-based photography too, and have been known to mess about in darkrooms, not to mention experiment with my vintage Cosina or Diana F+ toy camera (hello, double exposures!).

When I was younger I spent some time living in Europe so I got to see lots of wonderful places as a child, something which has fuelled my love of travel and learning about different cultures. I even learned to speak fluent German, pretty good French and even a wee bit of Flemish!

To see more posts on today's theme, just search for #6KCBWDAY2 on twitter or google 6KCBWDAY2.

Memories of the City of Light

A few days in Paris...what would you do?

We saw many of the famous sights such as the Musée du Louvre (above), 

l'arc de Triomphe (below) at the top of the Champs-Elysées...   

We walked and walked and I took loads of pictures...

thankfully my patient boyfriend didn't seem to mind!

Paris is such a photogenic city and the beautiful light coming through the clouds 

on most days we were there gave some of my photographs quite a magical quality.

We were lucky enough to be able to watch the Tour Eiffel do its twinkly 

sparkling at night from our hotel window too!

As my boyfriend had never been to Paris before, we opted to ascend 

the Eiffel Tower at night, which was pretty cool.

It's a great way to see the lights of the city.

We also managed to enjoy some of the café culture 

that France is so well known for...

I also enjoyed seeing some of the pretty Parisian architecture.

I noticed rather a lot of prehistoric creatures about the place 

(no complaints here though!)...

...Jurassic Paris!

So long, oh City of Light...I am certain we shall meet again!

P.S. If you click on any of the pictures, you can view the photographs at a larger size in a slideshow!

Dreaming of Paris

I am off to Paris on Tuesday! I can't quite put into words how happy and excited this makes me. It's truly one of my favourite cities to visit, for so many reasons.

I will be glad of a little change of scenery, time away from work and some precious quality time with my other half - it will be the first time I've actually been there with a romantic partner, and he has never visited the city before so I'm looking forward to showing him the sights.

If you've never been, I heartily recommend it - it's a place I would describe as having an almost magical quality about it. I recently watched the Tour de France's final foray up the Champs-Élysées... enough to send me off into a little daydream! As a child I visited the famous avenue and will always remember it because the trees which line the street were beautifully lit for Christmas.

It helps that I speak fairly good French, I suppose - well... at least I do when I'm not rusty! I am tempted to watch Amelie again (one of my favourite films of all time so I hardly need an excuse to watch it) to get my "French brain" in gear.

I have a sketchbook and some photographs from previous trips (including the ones featured in this blog post - they are from 2001 and shot on 35mm film so I had to *scan* my prints!) that I really love and treasure, so here's hoping I come back with a few new memories to cherish.

I'm only going for a handful of days but you can be sure I'll be aiming to make the most of it! Things I am looking forward to include: visiting a proper boulangerie, eating fresh crepes and lovely croque madame/monsieur(s), buying macarons, browsing the Parisian markets, checking out foodie treats "dans le supermarche," going for a wander along the river Seine and seeing the Tour d'Eiffel sparkling at night. I also dearly love the Musee d'Orsay and will be thrilled if I manage to return to the Orangerie to immerse myself in Monet.

I also hope to visit a couple of crafty/woolly shops while I'm there - 

so if you have any good recommendations for me, 

I'd love to hear them!

Curating Loveliness

I've been thinking about ways to present interesting, engaging content lately. Not just for my blog, but in general...including things I might share via various social media platforms and so on.

Source: epherielldesigns.com via Cat on Pinterest

The conclusion I have reached is to curate carefully - so in other words, looking out for lovely things, that which inspires, informs and pleases; to mindfully choose the best possible sources, references and artefacts.

I think William Morris put it best when he said,

"If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: 

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful 

or believe to be beautiful."

Source: etsy.com via Cat on Pinterest

One way I love keeping track of inspiration and ideas, particularly in a visual way, is through Pinterest - if you're not familiar with it, I would describe it as a kind of interactive moodboard where you can keep track of interesting content from the web, with a direct link, or bookmark, back to it.

As someone who is excited about colours and pattern, I find it incredibly stimulating when looking for ideas, and a great way to keep track of the loveliness I come across whilst traversing the web. (You can find my Pinterest boards here)

Source: whatpossessedme.com via Cat on Pinterest

So...do you use Pinterest? Or do you have another favourite way of "curating" content?

A Fresh Start

The beginning of a new year is always a time for reflection, as well as a time filled with promise. Perfect for the planning of adventures ahead in the coming months.

I'm trying not to make too many resolutions this year (less to break!), to keep things a bit more focussed. One I have made, which definitely relates to craft-based activities, amongst other things, is to try and finish more things that I start (or have previously started).

It's very easy to start a project, when you're filled with enthusiasm, but soon enough (if you're like me) then along comes another thing which diverts your attention from it, and it gets left in a knitting bag or buried under a pile of other things and often ends up somewhat forgotten!

Anyway, I do like the feeling of accomplishment of finishing pieces, especially ones which took a while to complete - for whatever reason (hmmm... lack of enthusiasm about sewing up seams/darning final ends seems a likely culprit, more often than not!) - and being able to allow that piece to fulfill its intended purpose. So here's to completing more this year!

On a side note, you might remember that back in June last year, I mentioned the photo a day project - I took part in almost every other month last year and enjoyed the daily challenge. So I am at it again this January (see some of my previous photo a day pics sprinkled around this post)! If you feel like having a go too, check out this blog post about how to get involved.

Also, stay tuned for a little DIY tutorial and a giveaway later this month!

A Confession...

Truth to tell, I've been going through a lot lately. I don't often talk about details of my personal life, as the blog is intended to be more creativity and inspiration focussed but I think it's worth mentioning in this case because I've been evaluating many aspects of my life recently. This has meant I have been dealing with a greater quantity of "stuff," both emotionally and physically, so I have had much less energy to devote to my blog. In all honesty I've also felt quite overwhelmed with some of the amazing, inspiring blogs out there and it's been really rather counter-productive...

Anyway, dear reader, I hope you'll understand if my posts are perhaps less forthcoming at the moment than they usually would be. I am definitely planning to continue with my blog though, as I do enjoy hearing from you all (I love reading your comments on my posts, just for the record!) and I like to be able to look back on posts and reminisce about what was whirling around in my brain at that moment in time.

One thing I seem to return to time & time again when I need some inspiration is photography, be it digital or old school {I adore both!} - so this month I've been taking part in the Photo a Day project created by Chantelle of FatMumSlim. The list of daily inspiration for June is here, in case you're interested. I've been doing roughly every other month so far this year and it's fun, I recommend having a go :) Some of my daily pics are sprinkled around this blog post!

I've been taking part via Instagram - if you want to follow me there my username is Catameringue & just search the tags for #photoadayjune to see all the different contributions!

3KCBWDAY2 - Snap Happy

Day Two: Photography Challenge Day!

Today is about getting creative with craft and a camera, so I thought I'd share this pic which I took a while back. I'd had this rough concept idea for such an image for a while & experimented with different yarns to achieve what I had in mind.

The idea was to create something eye-catching to use as a flyer for that year's Etsy craft party, as you can see below :)

Oh...and just for fun, here's another snap - the rock chick in me couldn't resist :)

Analogue Love

Q: What is Lomography?
A: It's analogue, baby!!! Cameras, Photography...the old school way.


"Dreamer" - an apt name, I'm sure you'll agree, for such a dreamy-looking camera. It's a special edition Diana F+ camera in pretty pastels, nicely tied in with the current sartorial trend for bleached out, watered-down, soft summery colours.

Images above from Urban Outfitters
This is a cool little camera, and it takes medium-format (120) film, which is a bit bigger than ordinary 35mm film. You get funky square shaped prints from it - a little bit retro :)


Nothing beats the thrill of waiting to get your prints back...and I do like digital photography, believe me, but I enjoy the more hands-on approach so much. This is my Diana F+ Hong Meow (phoenetic translation of the Cantonese for 'Panda'):


The "Golden Rules" of Lomography:

1. Take your camera everywhere you go
2. Use it any time – day and night
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it
4. Try the shot from the hip
5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible
6. Don’t think
7. Be fast
8. You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film
9. Afterwards either
10. Don’t worry about any rules


Find out more about Lomography here and here.

P.S. If you're looking for the Dreamer camera, it's on the Urban Outfitters .com or .co.uk sites :)