Welsh Love Spoons Today

Today Welsh lovespoons may be given as they were originally, to declare a suitor’s intent, to commemorate a Wedding Day, an Engagement, the birth of a child, a wedding anniversary, a birthday, a Christening or Baptism, Valentine’s Day or the Welsh equivalent, Dydd Santes Dwynwen, a graduation and as “favours” for the guests at a wedding.

Wood carvers have traditionally used a variety of timbers for their work; the timber chosen being most suited to the item being fashioned. Lovespoons have been made from timbers most readily available and from those that are easily worked; softwoods such as sycamore and lime.

Ken uses lime wood for his spoons and lime has been one of the materials most commonly used to make large wooden sculptures in Europe. It was used particularly in 15th and 16th century Germany to make large altarpieces found in churches there to this day.

Lime wood comes from the Lime tree Tilia vulgaris or the Linden tree as it is known in Europe. Lime trees are tall long-lived trees that were planted to provide shade along roadsides in the summer and to prevent snowdrifts along the roads in the winter.

Lime wood is a creamy colour, and is very suitable for carving as it is easily worked, and polishes to a good natural or stained finish.
( )