31st October 2016
Happy Halloween everyone!
Today, people are known to watch scary films, get dressed up in costumes and go ‘Trick or Treat’ around their neighbourhood, and go to scare nights. But it’s always interesting to look into why exactly we do these things- where did Halloween come from, and how become what it is today?
The Celts used to celebrate All Hallows Evening, which marked the ending of Harvest and their official beginning of winter. The change between the seasons built a bridge between the living world, and the world of the dead. The spirits came alive this night as the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. Their new year was marked as November 1st, so Halloween night was the last night of the year before winter which was a season many died due to the long cold nights- so the 31st was named Samhaim. Samhaim was a very important date in the Pagan calendar as it marked their ‘Feast of the Dead.’
Today, we buy pumpkins and carve these, placing candles inside. These Jack O’Lanterns were carried round the streets in Pagan times to ward off evil spirits. In places such as England and Ireland, we didn’t have pumpkins yet, and so it’s believed the Irish would carve turnips instead. When they emigrated to the USA, they discovered the pumpkin which served as better to this ritual, so the tradition of using a pumpkin was born from this time.
In the 1950s, the holiday became more orientated towards the young, and instead of tricking the neighbourhood with pranks and mischief, the Trick or Treat became more ‘treat’ orientated, with children dressing up in costumes and receiving chocolate and sweets from their neighbours. This tradition began in America and has gradually spread to the UK and Europe, creating the most successful commercially successful holiday, second only to Christmas.
A holiday always surrounded by superstition, the tradition for dressing up has European and Celtic roots. Winter was a frightening time for many with food supplies that couldn’t always be relied upon, and cold dark nights bringing many deaths and worry. Due to the fact they believed the ghosts came back to earth, they thought that if they left their homes on this night, they would encounter ghosts. To avoid being recognised, they would wear masks so that the ghosts would recognise them as fellow spirits and leave them alone. To keep the ghosts from entering their homes, they left bowls of food outside their homes to satisfy the ghosts.
Today some of us avoid crossing paths with black cats as in the Middle Ages many believed that witches avoided being detected by transforming themselves into cats. We don’t walk under ladders; perhaps due to the Ancient Egyptians who believed triangles to be sacred, or due to the fact it seems unsafe, and on a day where the lines are blurred between the living and the dead, we’d better not risk it.
Posted in News by Laura
Is it just us or does anyone else come across an old photo and get upset that the cake is now gone? 🍰
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Lay the table with us for Easter dinner 🐰 These rabbit napkin folds are so simple yet effective, will you give them a go this weekend? 🐣
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Us 🤝 simple napkin folding 🎀
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A really simple napkin fold for your Easter table! 🐣 We used a napkin ring but you could use ribbon or twine, whatever you’ve got! 🐰
Just fold the napkin into a triangle and roll up from the point until you can fold it in half to make the ears 🐇 You could put a little creme egg in there as an extra treat 🤎
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#napkinart #napkinfolding #napkinfolding #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #eastertable #eastertablescape #fabrics #easter2025🐰🐥☀️🍹
Hopping into Easter week with a fab 10% off our website, just use code: EASTER on our website 🐣
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Have you seen our new remnants and bundle section on our website? 🪡 Perfect for quilting, sewing and crafting, they’re all in varying sizes and we’ll keep it constantly updated 🧵
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Layering florals on florals this Spring 🪻🌷
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The start of the Easter tablescapes this weekend 🐣 We cant resist a little rabbit napkin, so easy and so effective we can post a reel on how to do the napkin fold! 🐰 This is our pvc fabric in William Morris Brother Rabbit red which is perfect for on the table as it simply wipes clean so isn’t an issue for any spills 🧼
We know that seasonal tablescapes whilst looking amazing can often seem really expensive on Instagram so we wanted to prove that with a simple napkin fold and a few little inexpensive decor bits it can be wonderfully seasonal yet affordable and used every year - the carrots are from @poundland and the cute little sheep are from @sainsburys 🐑
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A gorgeous spring day today spent in the garden, anyone else unable to spend a day without a pot of mini eggs nearby? 🐣 Our pvc fabric is perfect for garden tables, a simple wipe clean and it’s ready for outdoor meals - just make sure to not leave it outside in the rain! ☔️☀️ On the table today is our William Morris Compton pvc, a year- round fave of ours 🤎
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Spring has truly sprung this week and we’re looking forward to Easter 🐣 Our William Morris Daisy was looking gorgeous on the table with a little Easter treat 🐰
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One of the crafters among us couldn’t help but steal some of our new designs from work to create a gorgeous quilted bag from all our original designs to take to Chicago with them on holiday 🤍 For all of us back home in Yorkshire we’re a little jealous seeing all the holiday snaps of the bag round the city! ✨ All these designs are now available on our website 🥰
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It’s back in stock!! 🍓 Our cotton Strawberry Thief blue licensed William Morris design is now back in stock - and digitally printed 🌿 We hope you can tell how crisp the design is from this video, the details within the design are so clear in the digital print which is fabulous becuase there’s so many beautiful details within all Morris designs 🎨
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The colours of Compton 😍 did you know some of our designs are now digitally printed? 🤎 digital print gives top quality printing design with a really crisp finish that brings to life the whole design and its details, of course, we’re still printing in the UK 🇬🇧
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Pack an order with us of our new quilting fabrics 🌿 These are all our exclusive designs that are now available on our website, and each beautiful design has been faithfully resorted from our French archive, we wonder what they’ll be made into 🤍
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A tea towel hanging in the kitchen, bringing floral magic easily into the home 🌿 Can you believe William Morris designed Willow Bough in 1887? It’s such a timeless design we love imagining how many people throughout the years have chosen to have it decorating their homes 🤍
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Use code: birthday for 20% off our entire website 🌿 Includes our fabulous fabric by the half metre, tablewear & kitchenware 🤍
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We’re excited to announce our new range of fabrics, perfect for quilting 🪡 they are all from our exclusive French archive which dates from the late 1800s-early 1900s ⚜️ With a new range we were chatting about what to name each design, so as a female founded and run business, we decided to name them after some important women in our lives 🤍 We’re digitally printing this fabric so it’s amazing quality, but there’s limited stock of each design so let us know which designs you love ☺️
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Waiting patiently for peony season… 🫶🏻
On the table; our William Morris Willow Bough 🌿
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Why wouldn’t we celebrate William Morris’ birthday with one of our biggest sales of the year! Hurry, it’s tonight and tomorrow only, take 20% off everything on our website with code; BIRTHDAY 🌿
Born on this day in 1834, William Morris was an incredible talent. His designs are as timeless and popular today as ever, so long after they were designed 🎨 He also was a poet, writer and socialist activist who was involved in the arts and crafts movement and worked hard to keep traditional British textiles, he opened his own mill, Merton Abbey Mills 🌿 there’s so many interesting aspects of his life that he seemed to live many lives at once, when you’re that talented it must be hard to pick just one passion! 🌿 Happy Birthday William, thank you for all the stunning designs we print here in the UK just as he was passionate about all those years ago! 🇬🇧
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Happy first day of Spring 🌷what’s your favourite thing about spring? 🌱 Ours is of course all the stunning flowers blooming all around us 🪴 To get 15% off our website to bring some florals indoors, use code; SPRING at checkout on our website 🤍
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