a quarter of – 2012 collection

when i was little, we visited scotland every few years to spend a month or so with my mum’s family. & although i have a lot of memories from my travels, there’s one thing that has stuck with me more than anything else.
we didn’t get a lot of treats when i was growing up, but on a saturday morning, we would all be handed our pocket money, and would make the weekly pilgrimage to spend our little pile of coins in the most amazing place i’d ever seen. you didn’t see shops like this in canada – the high shelves with their rows of tall glass jars, filled with every gleaming colour you could imagine; the amazing smell; the stack of little paper bags next to the shining metal scales, just waiting for you to step up to the counter & say the magic words…

…“a quarter of”….

whatever you wanted, it was there. it was like something out of a book – sugar mice, mixed boilings, lemon sherberts, the possibilities were endless.
like all childhood memories, this memory is far more intense than the reality ever was. the colourways in this collection are all inspired by traditional british sweets – rather than being an exact replica of the sweet’s colour, they are inspired by my memories of the intensity of my childhood trips to the sweet shop – the colours, the smells, and most importantly the taste. i hope, like i always did when i was little, that you find something you like….

aniseed
these hard sweets are flavoured with aniseed oil & are a shiny burgundy-red. the colourway they inspired is handpainted in layers of deep red/purple/black.








army & navy
these lozenges are black & liquorice-flavoured, and are covered with a layer of powdered sugar. the colourway they inspired is handpainted in layers of gray.








buttermint
these hard sweets have a chewy centre, and are as minty & buttery as the name suggests! the colourway they inspired is handpainted in layers of golden butter-yellow with a hint of chestnut.








cherry lips
these chewy jelly sweets are cherry-flavoured & shaped like tiny smiles (hence the name!). the colourway they inspired is handpainted in layers of vivid cherry-red touched with black.








granny sooker
these hard sweets are slightly herbal, slightly sweet, and very much something that your granny might keep in her handbag. the colourway they inspired is handpainted in layers of green touched with red/chestnut.








treacle toffee
this rich, treacly treat is so chewy it can easily glue your mouth shut if you’re not careful (which is possibly why our parents didn’t mind if we bought some…). the colourway it inspired is handpainted in layers of rich toffee-brown.








all of these colourways will be available in several different bases in the Old Maiden Aunt shop, but depending on demand, they may not all be available all at once!

(please note that the photos on this page are all taken using the 100% superwash bluefaced leicester 4ply base, and that the different fibre content of the other base yarns will mean that the colourways will come out slightly differently – please refer to the individual photo for each item listing to see an accurate photo of that particular base & dyelot).