Nutcracker Sampler: the magical Land of Sweets...
- Nicola
- 19 hours ago
- 4 min read
In the last of my 'Christmas in July' posts - read the first here and the second here - I'm introducing a new cast of Petit FOUR sampler patterns: the Nutcracker blocks.
Tchaikovsky's enchanting ballet was inspired by ETA Hoffman's fantastical Christmas tale of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King and, a century later, a family outing to see the Nutcracker became a cherished Christmas tradition for children and adults alike.
For the past nine months Andrea from the Willow Cottage Quilt Company and I have been keeping the spirit of Christmas alive as we posted parcels of Tilda-filled goodness to our Nutcracker Block of the Month participants.
For our finale we'll be meeting the otherworldly characters in Act II of the ballet, including the most famous of them all...
The Magic Sleigh
At the end of Act I, Clara and her Prince are transported through a fairytale forest to the Land of Sweets on a magic sleigh as snowflakes dance around them.
In Hoffman’s tale they journeyed to the Land of Sweets in a more unconventional manner, by clambering up a fur travelling cloak hanging in a large hall cupboard. Sound familiar? I wonder, did that magic cupboard find its way to an English country house for a little girl called Lucy to discover in C S Lewis's The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe and make her way to Narnia?
Tchaikovsky clearly found a magic cloak a step too far - and let's be honest, difficult to stage - so he settled on a sleigh, which would have been a common sight on the snowy streets of northern Europe. Flying sleighs are usually reserved for Father Christmas, but it's also interesting to note that he didn't actually acquire it until the early C19, when an American poet wrote The Night Before Christmas for his children. It caught on - so you may have read it to your own children - and we'll be revisiting it later in this post.
A PDF Pattern for the Magic Sleigh block are available here.
The Prince
Having vanquished the Mouse King, and broken the spell that had turned him into a Nutcracker, our hero is transformed into a handsome Prince, ready to accompany Clara on new adventures in the Land of Sweets.
The Prince is entirely Tchaikovsky's invention. In Hoffman's original story, it's the Nutcracker who accompanies her, but this is a ballet after all and don't we want a handsome Prince to dance a delightful Pas de Deux with Clara?
Tchaikovsky also dispensed with the complicated back story of the Nutcracker's curse, which was a key part of both Hoffman's tale and Alexander Dumas' translation, fifty years later. Instead he focused on the whimsy and wonder that the Land of Sweets offered. He turned a small interlude at the end of the story into the entirety of Act II and created the memorable music and magical scenes that have enchanted us ever since.
A PDF Pattern for the Prince block is available here.
The Sugar Plum Fairy
Arriving in the magical Land of Sweets, Clara and her prince meet the ballet’s second most famous character - after the Nutcracker, of course - the Sugar Plum Fairy.
She is another of Tchaikovsky’s confections and his music for the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy has become synonymous with Christmas. Those familiar, twinkling chimes in the score are made by a celesta keyboard. Tchaikovsky first heard one in Paris, two years before he wrote the ballet in 1892, and they add to the dream-like quality of the Land of Sweets.
But what exactly is a sugar plum? Essentially it was any fruit soaked in sugar syrup and was recommended in Sir Hugh Platt’s 1609 book, Delightes for Ladies as “the most kindely way to preserve plums”. As costly sugar became cheaper and more accessible, the fruit element diminished to mere flavouring for the boiled sweets, or hard candy, that we’re familiar with today. In The Night Before Christmas – which I mentioned earlier - you’ll recall that “the children were nestled all snug in their beds; While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads”. Sweet treats are as essential as new toys at Christmas.
But you’ll be thrilled to know that Fortnum & Mason still sell authentic sugar plums, hand-made in Portugal from greengages. They’ve been a firm favourite with customers for hundreds of years and were so sought-after for the Christmas table that, in 1815, Fortnum’s started placing an announcement of their arrival in the Times newspaper.
A PDF Pattern for the Sugar Plum Fairy block is available here.
You can find all of the Nutcracker PDF blocks patterns collected together in a PDF book, along with their companion blocks and the Land of Sweets setting, here. If you'd prefer a printed Pattern book, they'll be available on Amazon and in the shop in a couple of weeks.
Thank you for joining me to meet the charismatic cast of the Nutcracker. Whether you make them all, or maybe just one Sugar Plum Fairy for your favourite ballerina, I hope they'll bring a sprinkle of Christmas magic to your sewing rooms this July.
with love from the studio,
