Coming Up Roses

This post was inspired by the last of the climbing roses that managed to bloom in my garden until a week ago...the longest they have flowered, and probably something to do with the warm November we had.

Sadly the weather has become bitter, and the roses have gone, but I realised they were the theme that connected a few new things around Daviot House that I wanted to show you.

Some bright red climbing roses at the front of the house help to break up the white facade.

This is a portrait of Lady Rose MacGillivray, lady of Daviot House, painted about 1640.  She was the daughter of Flora MacGillivray, who had the current wing of Daviot House built in 1615.

I have been painting a few family portraits recently, documenting the inhabitants of Daviot House, and Lady Rose is my latest work.  

Lady Rose hangs above the wonderful 17th century casket from Tony. 

 I think the black frame of the painting, though a bit austere, goes well with the casket.  

And then, because I never manage to go to any miniature fairs, a few new items... a tiny rose teacup and box of rose Turkish Delight from Small Wonders, and a stunning bonbon dish from Glasscraft. 

You can just about make out a tiny crochet doily, made by MiniGio, who makes the most perfect crochet items.

And that's not all...  For the longest time I have been stalking Kris Compas's portfolio page waiting for a replacement sofa for the parlour.  Kris made the original dark blue Chippendale sofa that was in the parlour, but I found that the parlour was getting a little too dark.  I wanted to make the parlour slightly more light an feminine, to balance the serious green of the library.  

I was very pleased when she put up this sofa for sale, along with a perfect 'crapaud' style armchair... and lo and behold, on the fabric are tiny little rose buds... perfect!

And who is this looking very proprietorial on the new sofa?!  A new addition to Daviot House, a beautiful ginger moggie, just like my RL cat, Edgar.  He is a creation of Kumi, who makes delightful needlefelted cats and dogs. 

 I had tried to make a needlefelted cat before, as I believe in trying to make things first.  How hard could it be? Well, it was a complete disaster, glue and fluff everywhere!  So I admire Kumi's work very much, so beautifully detailed, and perfect in scale.

I love the lighter sofa, it draws the room together without being too heavy, AND, best of all, it goes with the rug I have been sewing forever, and was worried about having to do again.  Hooray!

Sadly, the lighting is terrible for this photo, as we have just had horrible gloomy weather, so the blues look a bit too strident under the daylight lamp.  The colours are much softer in natural light.  You can see the armchair in the corner, so wonderfully made by Kris, and topped off with one of my embroidered cushions.

  ...And there is a hole right in the middle, just waiting to be filled by a rug....  (New Year's Resolution 2016)!

The shelving looks a little bare, now that the books have been moved to the library, but that is no bad thing, just an opportunity to fill them up with more miniatures!

I hope you are keeping warm and cozy in the Northern hemisphere, and enjoying Spring in the Southern,

                                            Jonquil