Regular readers I apologise for not being around as frequently as usual over the last few weeks. I have been assisting my husband’s aunt, Edith, move into a nursing home and get settled in…. it’s along story and one I won’t detail here as it is her story and not mine but it has been complicated and has taken up a lot of time and will continue to do so but hopefully to a more manageable extent over the coming weeks and months. …….
There have been a few positives attached to the move, the best of these is the improvement in her health now she is having good regular food, constant company and stimulation and expert care. On a very selfish note there is now a gift she has given me – her miniature collection. I have loved mini things for many years and have several room boxes and four dolls houses and I write fairly frequent features for The Dolls House Magazine. This passion is share by Edith who loves to see anything new I have made. Over the next few weeks her collection will be brought to my home and added into my collection where each item will be loving cared for over the coming years.
Miniature fans will like to hear the she attended the first Miniatura show and was a regular visitor for over two decades, I now visit the show and give her a full report afterwards.
This room box would have been made over 30 or years ago at least, and some of the contents would have been collected over 60 years ago.
Edith’s kitchen room box
I love the little details in this small scene which now sits on the window ledge in my living room……
I adore the horse brasses on this detailed kitchen range.
The plates on the wall hung rack are hand-made from painted card, the food is made from clay and you can see a photo of one of the characters from Last of the Summer wine – one of Edith’s favourite comedy shows.
Edith made a large collection of mini hats, some of which had already made their way into my collection over the years!
There are too many details that relate to the maker’s life for me to list here but each time I walk past this small scene I am reminded of something else that she liked!
On the back of the box is a label giving the maker’s name but no date – I shall now go around and write the year on the back of my scenes; as in the future one of my relatives or friends may want to know when I made them 
This little sleeping kitten has been up to no good before he had a snooze and has had a fun game with the wool ball from the knitting basket on the shelf. This fun detail shows Edith’s constant sense of humour.
As they find their way into new spots in my home I will photo and share more of Edith’s work, which also includes an impressive collection of embroidery. She was very skilled in textile art and taught for many years in Leicester as well as having several exhibitions. I am very much looking forward to working on the collection of UFO’s and intend to complete them in my own style – keen crafters will know UFO means “Un Finished Object” and there are several of these all of which have been beautifully designed, expertly crafted and now are begging to be completed!
