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A Bustle & Sew Publication Copyright Š Bustle & Sew Limited 2019 The right of Helen Challenor to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Every effort has been made to ensure that all the information in this book is accurate. However, due to differing conditions, tools and individual skills, the publisher cannot be responsible for any injuries, losses and other damages that may result from the use of the information in this book.
First published 2019 by: Bustle & Sew The Cottage Oakhill Radstock BA3 5HT UK www.bustleandsew.com
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Welcome to the July Magazine Hello everyone! And welcome to the July Magazine. Such a lot has happened here at Bustle & Sew HQ over the last month - the most exciting event being, of course, the arrival of my new little baby granddaughter Florence who inspired the first and last patterns in this edition. Next month promises to be exciting too as I leave my little cottage here on the hill and set off for a new adventure, and we welcome another new arrival (canine this time!) onto our team. If you’d like to learn more about all of this then please do check out our blog where I’ll be keeping up to date with all our news. Meanwhile, there’s lots to enjoy between the covers, including our new-style recipe feature where I plan to take us around the year with recipes using the best of seasonal produce. I do hope you’ll enjoy this issue, and if you’re a subscriber then please look out for the August Magazine arriving in your inbox on Thursday 25 July.
Helen xx
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Tips for Stitchers When you’ve finished your embroidery you’ll need to press it. But do be careful - it’s so easy to ruin a piece that you’ve spent hours on by careless or hasty pressing. Use a clean, soft white towel or other cloth to cover your ironing board as it may have some residue from its normal everyday life. Place your piece of embroidery on the cloth covering your ironing board. Put the a second cloth over it. Do not move your iron backwards and forwards when pressing your work, but position it, weight a few seconds, then lift it, then position it on again. This way, you avoid displacing any stitching. If you have a highly textured embroidered surface (lots of French knots, etc.), you may wish to omit ironing the front altogether.
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Between this month’s covers … Tips for Stitchers
Page 4
The Importance of Mending Clothes
Page 41
Little Dreamer Hoop
Page 8
Lovely Idea: Sea Glass Supply Jars
Page 46
Meet the Maker: Manuska
Page 10
Hot Lips Hoop
Page 47
Lovely Idea: Driftwood Succulent Planter
Page 12
Victorian Tea Garden
Page 48
A Well Balanced Fabric Collection
Page 13
Meet the Maker; Intellectual & Rotten
Page 49
Making a Den
Page 15
Time and Tide
Page 51
The Countryside in July
Page 16
Rainbow Cushion Cover
Page 52
Toucan Softie
Page 17
An Old Fashioned Holiday
Page 55
Identifying Fibres
Page 20
Embroidery Stitch Guide
Page 57
Lavender’s Blue Dilly Dilly
Page 21
In the Kitchen: Conversion Tables
Page 58
Poetry Corner, Now Welcom Somer
Page 24
Templates
Page 59
Lavender Sachet
Page 25
Fennel
Page 28
Tastes of the Season: July
Page 29
Lettuce
Page 36
Cornish Daisies Picture
Page 37
Nature Notes: First Flight
Page 40
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July July is the bumper harvest time in our market and kitchen gardens and our shops and Farmers’ Markets are overflowing with fresh, locally grown produce. We’re spoiled for choice this month and it’s easy to dine like lords (and ladies too of course!) on local, home grown or foraged seasonal produce. But it’s not all easy living on the allotment as weeds and pests also like to smother and make the most of our harvest. Aggressive bindweed tries to strangle our beans and courgettes, whilst marauding greenflly flock to our chilli plants in huge numbers. But still, horticultural challenges aside, July usually brings the very best of British summer in all its hazy sunny glory, so whether you’re off to the beach for sand castles and paddling, enjoying a picnic, and may be some live music in the park or just lazing around your own garden, it’s time to get outside and make the most of summer!
Do keep an eye on the calendar though, as the fifteenth of July brings St Swithun’s Day. Folklore tells us that whatever the weather
“St Swithun’s Day if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain; St Swithun’s Day if thou be fair, For forty days ‘twill rain nae mair.”
on this day, it will continue in the same way for the next forty days. But if it does rain on the fifteenth, try not to be too downcast - this myth is a long way off being meteorological fact. According to records, on almost every occasion it has rained on St Swithun’s Day, forty days of rain did follow. But having said that, it does
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happen occasionally. The longest number of consecutive rainy days recorded in Britain is 89, a record set on the Scottish island of Islay in 1923. The Welsh village of Eglwyswrw came close to equalling this soggy record between October 2015 and January 2016 but fell short by just five days. The dog days of summer begin on July 3 and last until August 14. They were given this name by the Roman soldiers who, almost two thousand years ago, occupied much of England and Wales. In the time of their occupation British summers became much hotter as the world’s climate generally warmed. Far from enjoying the clear blue skies and sunshine of their Mediterranean homes however, the occupying legions were subjected to sultry sticky heat punctuated by thunderstorms. They believed these were caused by the effect of Sirius the Dog Star who rose at dawn in July adding,
“I’m so grateful to be able to do what I love the most and call it my profession” talks to us about how she got started, where she finds inspiration and how she started her business, Based in Budapest, Hungary, Orsi Farkasvolgyi makes gorgeous crochet dolls and wall hangings from her home that she shares with her husband and two children. As well as physical items, Orsi also sells PDF patterns in her Etsy shop.
I’ve been a crafty person my whole life - I used to sew and knit and then started crocheting about 10 years ago. I learned from blogs and Japanese crochet books as there were no Youtube videos back then. I turned to amigurumis when my daughter was born 7 years ago and have never looked back! Very soon I started to come up with my own designs. In the beginning, I sold the finished dolls and later realized that selling the patterns is much more fun for me. I enjoy the creative part the most when a new idea comes into life.
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I find inspiration almost everywhere. When I go to a yarn store and see those beautiful yarns next to each other, I immediately start to design in my head. I also find inspiration just watching the nature around me, or other talented designers in any craft. But ultimately, my children are my most important source of inspiration.
That I can do it! I was so unsure in myself and I didn’t believe that I could turn this amazing hobby into a career. Luckily, I have an amazing and supportive husband who’s always encouraged me to believe in myself and go after my dreams. The only thing I regret is that I should have started it earlier but when my second child was born, and I actually started my own business, I was pretty determined. Here in Hungary, we’re lucky enough to stay at home with our babies for 2 or 3 years. I was very aware of where I wanted to be in 2 years and
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A (very) Little Guide to identifying Fibres (using the Flame Test) If you’ve purchased vintage fabric – whether in the form of clothing, or as a bolt of cloth – that doesn’t have a label identifying the fibres it contains, then the easiest way to find out is through a simple flame test. Cut a small piece about an inch (2.5cm) square from your fabric and hold it with tweezers (not plastic ones!). Ignite the fabric over a non-flammable surface in a well-ventilated room, or outside if your smoke alarm is quite sensitive. The way that your fabric reacts when you set fire to it will help you to identify its fibre content.
Linen and Cotton both smell of burning paper and produce a grey ash filament. They burn slowly and linen takes longer than cotton to ignite.
Wool and Cashmere will smolder rather than burn brightly. You will experience a strong smell of burning hair or feathers and the flame will go out by itself. The ash is blackish and turns to powder when crushed.
Acrylic gives off a pungent, acrid smell. It continues to burn even after the source of the flame has been removed and it melts to a hard black lump.
Rayon burns in a similar way to linen and cotton, but will continue to burn after the flame is removed. Unlike cotton it does not have an afterglow. Polyester has a sweetish smell when burning. It produces black smoke and rolls up into a hard, shiny black ball.
Additional test: If you unravel a clump of threads from a small piece of linen or cotton fabric and slowly move a flame towards them you will see that they ignite as the flames draw near. Synthetic fibres will curl back from the heat and tend to melt rather than ignite and burn.
Silk is another natural fibre so also burns slowly with a pungent smell of hair or feathers. Again, the flame will go out by itself. The ash is greyish and turns to powder when crushed.
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Lavender’s Blue….
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One of my favourite sights of summer is that of the fields of lavender that surround a specialist farm in a nearby village. Once in full bloom they are spectacular to see with slender stems holding a sea of delicate purple blooms above the plants’ spiky silvery leaves. As the wind blows the flowers ripple, almost as though they really were the water’s surface, ebbing and flowing in waves of colour. Then of course there’s their wonderful fragrance, the scent of summer sunshine and balmy evenings to save and enjoy again on winter afternoons. Lavender has been valued since ancient times for both its therapeutic and decorative qualities. It’s believed to originate from the Mediterranean, Middle East and India and can be traced
back some 2,500 years to the ancient Egyptians who used it for embalming. Amazingly its fragrance still lingered when Tutankahmen’s tomb was first opened in 1922. Its name probably derives from the Latin verb meaning to wash. The Romans used it for bathing and also as an antiseptic. Since then it has been used as a natural remedy for mind and body. It’s simple to make a soothing lavender bath essence. Add your lavender flowers by volume rather than by weight as they are so light and weigh practically nothing. You don’t need to be too precise either for this recipe. It’s a simple 2:1 ratio, so for every single teacup of flowers use two teacups of water.
To enjoy your soothing lavender bath, put your measured quantity of lavender flowers in a large wide mouthed jug. Pour boiling water over the lavender flowers and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain, then add the solution to the warm bath water. Soak in your bath for 15 minutes, then go to bed straight away and you’re likely to drop straight off to sleep due to the relaxing and soothing essential oils within the lavender flowers. Warm water helps your skin absorb these oils and you’ll also be inhaling them through the steamy bath water. Lavender is easy to grow though it does require free draining soil and a sunny site. There are approximately 39 species of lavender whose flowers vary from conical to cylindrical in shape, with the florets either densely
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Fennel Like Marmite, fennel is something that you either love or hate, its strong aniseed flavour leaves no room for the middle ground. It has a pale bulb and long green stalks. It can grow almost anywhere and all parts of the plant, including the bulb, stalk, leaves and seeds are edible. The young tender leaves will add delicate flavour to salads whilst the bulb-like base formed by the swollen leaf bases can be fried, stewed, braised or grilled. It can also be eaten raw, the texture is crisp and it has a very strong flavour. Once cooked it becomes softer and more mellow in flavour. Smaller, young bulbs are the most tender. They should be white with no blemishes and feel heavy for their size. The feathery green tops should be a fresh bright green with now yellowing. Prepare the bulb by washing, removing the shoots and root and peeling the outer layer. The central core should be removed if the fennel is to be eaten raw. You can leave it in if the bulb is cut into wedges before cooking but it may be tough. Wrapped in damp kitchen roll, fresh cut fennel can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
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Tastes of the Season: July
“The dog days of summer” 14
Nature Notes: First Flight At this time of year you may often spot fledgling birds hopping around the garden in a bewildered fashion, or hiding under plants and bushes looking rather alarmed and more than a little scruffy. Most of our garden birds leave the safety of their nests once they have most of their adult feathers, but aren’t yet able to fly. They spend a few days at ground level waiting for their flight feathers to grow in whilst their parents remain nearby keeping a watchful eye on their brood. Swallows, house martins and swifts are the exception to this rule and are generally able to fly as soon as they leave the nest (though they are often a bit wobbly!). It’s recommended that you leave any fledglings on the ground wherever they may be. Although they may seem to have been abandoned their parents are almost certainly nearby.
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The Importance of Repairing Clothes There was once a time when the art of repairing your clothes was an almost universal skill (among women at least) - my Mum was a prime example of this, having grown up during the wartime era of “Make do and Mend” she never discarded anything that could be salvaged and spent many evenings darning socks and sewing tears in her children’s clothing. Rationing of clothes here in the UK was introduced in June 1941. This was a necessary measure as the clothing factories were turned over to the war effort and instead of making dresses, jackets and suits, put their efforts into producing uniforms, parachutes and other such items. Each person was allocated 66 clothing coupons per year, which may sound a lot, but when a coat required
16 coupons, a jacket 13 and underwear 8, were quickly used. In 1945 the number of coupons allocated was reduced to 24. Parents were asked to buy larger sizes for their children so the clothes would last longer. As it became harder and harder to purchase new clothes, the “Make do and Mend” campaign became increasingly important, helping to teach people how to cut, sew and reuse materials. Caring for your clothes was a key element of the message. Today we live in the era of so-called “cheap or throwaway fashion” but we are slowly realising that these clothes aren’t cheap as chips but in fact carry an enormous cost both in terms of
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exploitation of people in poor countries and environmental damage. It isn’t really worth attempting to do more than sew a button on these cheap garments in terms of mending, but if you own a better quality garment that needs a little TLC, then why not consider having a go at fixing it yourself? Today as we are becoming more aware of the hidden costs of cheap clothing so any stigma attached to wearing repaired clothes (previously associated with poverty) is disappearing. Over the next few pages we’ll be looking at both the reasons why it’s a good idea to try to repair your clothes, and then some of the techniques you might employ to do so.
An Old Fashioned Holiday Time In the heat of the summer, there is a familiar, tired air about our city streets as though, for a week or two, they seem to carry a multitude slightly out of step, for thousands are strangers which tread them in the casual, dawdling footsteps of holiday; whole thousands of their workaday families have forsaken them for the mainline termini where the “Holiday Specials� await, their engines pointing north, south, east or westwards to the sea. Holiday time upon the beaches of Britain, beaches of all kinds, from the horizonless sand-flats of Norfolk to the rosy, rocksheltered covers of Cornwall, Devon and western Wales. Wherever the tides run within touch of human habitation there come the holidaymakers to shake hands with the sea. Sometimes in crowds, sometimes in discriminating ones and twos to those wild and lonely parts of the coast where the big Atlantic bursts, chocking at the feet of the tall cliffs. Here are no donkey rides, concert parties, Punch and Judy shows - just the boiling of the surf, the wind among the dead-heads of the thrift, the calling of the kittiwakes in the spray.
C Gordon-Glover Extract from
1953
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