Nov
02
Posted by dodo
Men, who probably long to be given Samantha Fox in a grass skirt and a lawn mower, tend to get black silk pyjamas as the ultimate in sophistication. Invariably they also get something to do with drink: bottle-openers, glasses, wine-coolers. Noel would prefer a wife-cooler over Christmas. A friend says that one of her uncles got fourteen bottles of various kinds of booze one year, and nothing else. He was terribly upset because, he said, anyone would think he was an alcoholic — which in fact he was. Read the rest of this entry »
Sep
14
Posted by dodo
Quilt-making has nearly as many traditions and patterns as there are stitches in a quilt.
There are examples of quilt-work, from cot-size to grand wedding quilts, dating back through centuries and from such diverse countries as the USA, France, Britain, India and Japan.
Currently popular and collectable are the quilts of the American Amish, a conservative religious sect which shuns adornment and does not use floral or patterned fabrics in sewing. Designs on Amish quilts are made up from the shapes of the fabric pieces and the order in which they are assembled. The quality of the handiwork is especially important, as the stitches stand out clearly on the plain fabric. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
31
Posted by dodo
Makes 30 buns
Fruit Mixture
(Prepare a day in advance)
140ml(1/4pt) water
40g (1′/20z) mixed peel
15g (1/20z) cinnamon
15g (1/2oz) mixed spice
15g (1/2oz) ground ginger
50g (2oz) soft brown sugar
85g (3oz) currants
85g (3oz) sultanas Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
23
Posted by dodo
The custom of a bridewearing ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in your shoe’ is a chance for friends and family to give the bride an appropriate gift.
The garter is another traditional item, worn by the bride on the day of the wedding. Another custom is for the newly wed bride, on leaving the reception, to throw her posy of flowers to her unmarried girlfriends and her garter to the bachelors, those who catch the flowers and garter are said to be the next couple to announce their marriage. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
21
Posted by dodo
Padded Coathanger
MATERIALS
Wooden coathanger
Strips of thin foam sheeting
Narrow ribbon to cover the hook of the
hanger
A length of satin or other luxury fabric
for hanger covering, approximately
15cm (6in) wide and three times the
length of the hanger
Trimmings of lace and satin bows Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
21
Posted by dodo
Materials
A small open-top wicker or raffia basket
A small pot of emulsion paint in the
colour of your choice
Fabric to line inside of the basket
Fabric to create the upper covering (plus
an equal amount of material for the
lining— approximately one and three
quarter times the circumference of the
basket)
A double length of cord or ribbon to
gather closed the basket top
A narrow strip of fabric, same length as
top covering and wide enough to take
double thickness of cord
Paint the outside of the basket in a colour of your choice and allow to dry. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
21
Posted by dodo
Needlework samplers make gifts that may be treasured for years to come. Dates, names or initials personalize a sampler and add historical interest.
Samplers have a long and important history as chronicles of the social and domestic times in which they were made, and as records of family names and dates. They were so named because they were sewn by young girls who made up patterns from samples of different types of stitches they had learned. Popular sampler decorations included the maker’s name, the date on which the sampler was Completed, a religious or moral motto and a patterned border. Read the rest of this entry »
Aug
14
Posted by dodo
Roses
Roses are usually accepted as being the universal symbol of love, but there are a multitude of varieties of the flower, and many of them have other meanings. The red rose, for example, has been attributed with a number of symbolic meanings. As a bud, it is straightforwardly a sign of purity and love. The deep redflower, however, alludes to bashfulness and shame but is also, as a result of its use as the emblem for the House of Lancaster during the English `War of the Roses’, a symbol of war. This, of course, is equally true of the House of York’s white rose, although the bud again has a different meaning of youth and innocence. Read the rest of this entry »
