March 12th, 2010
Festivals celebrating motherhood have been around for thousands of years. The Romans had a festival to celebrate Cybele, the Earth Mother. The Greeks also honoured Gaia who was also the mother of the earth and can be viewed as the equivalent of Mother Nature.
So the concept of an earth mother is thousands of years old, but by the time Christianity had swept across Europe the attention switched to the Virgin Mary. Thus the celebration centred on the Christian festival of Lent and Mothering Sunday is now celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent. There is also the concept of the mother church where parishioners of the smaller village churches would visit the main church or cathedral. This would require a day off work especially for the servant girls and so the tradition of a day of rest for mothers evolved.
Other names for this day are Simnel Sunday or Rose Sunday. Simnel Sunday was named after the practice of baking simnel cakes and Rose Sunday refers to the tradition of posies of flowers being distributed to mothers on this day.
Posted in British Customs and Traditions, High Days and Holidays | Comments Off
March 8th, 2010
Carol R has very kindly allowed us to use comments and photos from her blog pages showing her first attempt at miniature knitting using Knitting Kit 4 – Victorian coverlet.
Carol said on her blog:
The postman delivered the miniature knitting kit that I ordered a few days ago from Buttercup Miniatures. I have not tried miniature knitting before so I have no idea how I will get on with it. I have a pattern for knitting miniature Quaker Pin Balls so I will probably give these a go at some point but I will start with knitting up the Victorian Coverlet as per the kit. Now that my hands are relatively pain free, I have decided to try both knitting and crocheting again.
A quick snap of my miniature knitting with a US25c coin for scale. It’s actually easier to do than I thought it would be and, so far, I have only had a little trouble with pain and stiffness in my right index finger otherwise my hands have been fine.
You can read the full comments about Carol’s miniature knitting and her other needlecrafts on Carols blog pages.
Posted in Customer Gallery | Comments Off
March 5th, 2010
Today pewter is a lesser-used metal around the home. Made from a mixture of tin, copper, antimony, bismuth and lead it is a malleable metal alloy that has a relatively low melting point compared to other metals. By far the highest base metal content in pewter is tin (in excess of 91% to achieve the quality standard set by the Association of British Pewter Craftsmen) and part of the decline in popularity of pewter is due to the cost of tin. Modern day pewter contains no lead, due to the associated health risks.
The relatively low melting point of the metal of around 250 degrees C meant that casting of items from it were relatively easy. Thus early casting of pewter can found from the Bronze Age and Egyptian tomb relics of around 3,500 years ago have been found. The large deposits of tin ore found in the Far East centred production in this area but the versatility of the metal saw it become popular across Europe too.
By the 12th century pewter had become popular in northern Europe and town guilds established to control the purity of manufacture. It was around this time that ecclesiastical uses for pewter were recognised. But pewter, at least for the wealthier, also served as tableware until replaced by china. Pewter teapots, sugar bowls and cream jugs combined with plates to be a complete dinner service in the 17th & 18th centuries. For drinking purposes pewter tankards were, and still are, popular.
However, mass production of china, glass and steel from the industrial revolution saw the decline of the more expensive crafted pewter. So today pewter is used mainly for quality decorative pieces. We have a selection of miniature pewter items for your dolls house available on our web shop in 1/12th scale and 1/24th scale.
Posted in General Interest/seasons | Comments Off
March 3rd, 2010
Nina has very kindly sent us her interpretation of the 2009 Advent Calendar cot cover. Nina said:
I did enjoy doing it, it made me sit for an hour at nights and that’s always a good thing and it will look nice in the nursery. I hope you’ll do something similar in the future?
As commented in our reply to Nina, we said that we are already working on ideas for this years Advent Calendar……
Posted in Advent calendar December 2009, Customer Gallery | Comments Off
March 1st, 2010
St David is the patron of Wales and his feast day is celebrated on 1st March. David lived in Wales from around 500 to 589 and was a church official. There is some doubt about his birth date but much is known about his life and date of death.
David was the son of ‘sanctus rex ceredigionis’ which can translate from Latin as either ‘Sandde, King of Ceredigion’ or ‘holy king of Ceredigion’, Ceredigion being a mid costal area of Wales. He was born, according to legend, during a violent storm on a cliff top. David became known for his founding of monasteries and his Christian teaching that spread beyond Wales to Cornwall and northern France. He travelled to Jerusalem and Rome, was known as Abbot of Menevia and was appointed to the role of bishop. He was officially recognised as a saint in 1190 by Pope Callixtus II.
The City of St David’s in Pembrokeshire that derives its name, and that of its cathedral from David, is the smallest city in the UK. The present cathedral, which is the burial place of St David, was much restored in 1793, but its origins go back to St David’s time and were an important part in maintaining law and order in early medieval times.
The anniversary of his death on 1st March was declared a national day of celebration in the 18th century and the national symbols of Wales, the leek or the daffodil, are proudly worn. The daffodil became symbolic as it is in flower during the spring
celebrations of St David. The leek is said to have been adopted after King Cadwaladir ordered his soldiers to wear a leek on their helmets during battle as a means of identification. Indeed, Shakespeare refers to the leek as a Welsh symbol in his play Henry V.
So we wish you a happy St David’s day this year wherever you celebrate it.
Posted in British Customs and Traditions, High Days and Holidays | Comments Off
February 24th, 2010
Pat Wareing very kindly sent us this photo of her completed Advent cot cover complete with these comments:
I thought you might like to see my Advent blanket, as I wanted it for a cot I didn’t use all the squares, but the ones left over made pot holders and a little bag.
Posted in Advent calendar December 2009, Customer Gallery | Comments Off
February 22nd, 2010
We have recently introduced two new 1/12th scale-knitting patterns for dolls house male dolls. The latest knitting patterns consist of a new Norwegian style sweater (suitable for Intermediate miniature knitters) and an Aran sweater (suitable for experienced miniature knitters).
These can be purchased from our web shop
Posted in Web shop news | Comments Off
February 17th, 2010
The English word confetti comes from the Italian word which describes sweets (candy) given to guests at weddings. Modern paper confetti dates from the last decade of the 19th century. Prior to paper rice or rose petal were used.
The tradition of throwing confetti probably goes back to pagan fertility rites where petals were seen as a connection to nature. By this the throwers were conferring good luck and fertility on the couple.
But today it is not just the wedding ceremony that sees the use of confetti as a means of celebration. Many sporting events see confetti showers on a hugh scale as special cannon fire the paper into the air. Also, where would the game show be when the star prize is won without the confetti celebration?!
For your dolls house we suggest you stick to the lower key wedding or celebration scene that can be enhanced with 1/12th scale confetti in a box available from our web shop or you can purchase a kit to make the box of confetti yourself.
Posted in General Interest/seasons | Comments Off
February 12th, 2010
The term hobby is thought to be from the 14th century Middle English word hobyn, meaning a small or middle sized type of horse, or a pony. It became a common practice to name cart horses “Hobin” in the 17th century and this evolved into the name Dobbin, now associated with large powerful cart horses. Also around this time the Hobler was a horseman who used a fast light weight horse to spy on enemies and to bring news of imminent attack.
Naturally, as of today young boys liked to emulate their fathers and therefore used the toy hobby horse to be like their hero. Their construction was simple: a long straight stick and a wooden head with reins attached. In some cases a cloth stuffed head would be used and to aid mobility a small wheel would be added to the end of the staff. But the hobby horse was more than just a child’s toy. They became part of village pageants especially on May Day. Here they are much more than a simple stick having a wooden frame as a body and elaborate heads and even tails. Morris dancers and clowns or jesters would add to the atmosphere of fun.
The simple hobby horse although less popular is still around today. So if you want a 1/12th scale hobby horse for your dolls house why not visit our web shop, where we have them ready made or as kits, although you may prefer to knit one yourself from our pattern.
Posted in British Customs and Traditions | Comments Off
February 9th, 2010
If you, like us, remember bringing home your school report, then you may also remember the trepidation that went with it. If your experience was similar it began by being given an envelope with your name on it. Strict instructions were handed out to all that the report must be delivered safely, promptly and unopened to your parent or guardian. It was never known if the school would be alerted to non-delivery as no one had the courage to test the system!
The younger the child the tighter the envelope would be clutched on the way home lest a gust of wind should blow it away. Rain was another hazard to be avoided, as a soggy envelope with streaky ink was not good.
Then the fateful moment, handing over your school report. If you were lucky it would be best to pass it onto to your mother, if there was anything untoward in there she was a better option than your father. Then the long silence as the contents of the report is read and digested. With a bit of luck you would get a “well, that’s not too bad!” Any talk of waiting until your father got home was bad news! Often there would be a comparison with your strong and weak subjects with those of your parents. Your less than glowing report in geography for example, may be excused as your mother was “never very good at that either.”
With the ordeal hopefully over it was then time to meet up with friends to find out if others had passed the test too. If anyone of your circle of friends was missing it could mean bad news on the school report and they could be out of circulation for a while!
So that was it, over with. Well almost, there was still the parents’ evening where your report would be discussed, but that is another story.
We have school reports for your dolls house dolls in both 1/12th scale and 1/24th scale available on our web shop
Posted in General Interest/seasons | Comments Off