The Listeners

I want to share with you something very special to me.
I was recently given as a gift from my mother, the original design for an embroidery of the Walter De La Mare poem 'The Listeners'.

It's an incredibly haunting poem of a traveller returning to a house deliver a message and finding nobody to receive it. However he is heard by something within the house...

I've framed it because it means so much to me. It was done by my late aunty Kathryn 23 years ago. She put so much work into it, designing the border so it flows and reflects perfectly around the edge - notice the W and M at the top and bottom - so it couldn't be more unique. One of my cousins has the completed embroidery somewhere which I've never seen but would love to.

My mum gave this to me seeing as it was made in 1991 when I was born. I'm so grateful that it's been passed down to me and that I've been trusted to take care of it. I absolutely will, as you can see I've displayed it proudly on the wall.

It may not seem like much to some people, but for me, to have a piece of art, the only one in existence that's been created by someone who's no longer in the world is amazing. Someone of my own family too, and having been so close to my mother - they were identical twins, makes it very special to me. She's still being appreciated!

A Fine Hand

Of all the job titles I'd like to be able to apply to myself, Freelance Calligrapher sounds like a pretty fun one. I can't however claim to be one, my mother Sharon Ellor, on the other hand is exactly that! This skill, copperplate script calligraphy, is one she's perfected over the past five decades. I personally consider her to be perfect at it and I've been improving my own attempts in the last five years but compared to my mum....well I'm sure you'll be able to tell which photos are of my writing! She just never makes a mistake, even in the slightest. I hope with more practice I'll be as precise as her one day.

My poetry journal with quotes written by Sharon

 
 We usually refer to it as Victorian Copperplate Script but I think the terms are quite specific and are determined by things like the type and thickness of the nib. So really she has just an old fashioned, English handwriting.

'Mother' by E. A Allen written by Sharon

I have a journal that she gave me for Christmas a few years ago that I write all my favourite poems in. Not half full yet but I plan to hand it down to my children when I'm old! The first few in it are quite badly written but I can see as I go through that I'm improving with time!

some of my writing

Monograms are another thing she does really well. She's done a lot for different people and this one is the combination of B and C for Ben and Charlotte. I'd like to use it somehow in our wedding, maybe as a border for the invites?

 Lord knows I love curls and swirls!

xoxo