Bustle & Sew Magazine Issue 131 December 2021 Preview

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A Bustle & Sew Publication Copyright © Bustle & Sew Limited 2021 The right of Helen Grimes 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 2021 by: Bustle & Sew Station House West Cranmore Shepton Mallet BA4 4QP www.bustleandsew.com

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Welcome to the December Magazine Hello everyone!

I can hardly believe this magazine brings the end of another year - and what a year 2021 has been! With any luck though, this Christmas will be a time for family and friends to gather together, in a way that we weren’t able to in 2020 and celebrate the joys of this very special time with our loved ones once more.

This edition is unashamedly Christmassy, including trees, reindeer, doves, candles and much more besides, as well as some delicious seasonal cooking (including some ideas for using up the inevitable leftovers) and much more besides.

I hope you enjoy this edition and the January Magazine will be published on Thursday 30 December.

Until then I hope you have a lovely month, and enjoy the most wonderful Christmas ever!

Very best wishes

Helen xx

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Between this month’s covers …

December Almanac

Page 5

Dove of Peace

Page 49

Setting the Date

Page 7

The Christmas Rose

Cage 52

Merry and Bright Hoop

Page 8

The Christmas Goose

Page 53

Bringing in the Green

Page 11

A Time for Music

Page 56

Rudolph Reindeer Hoop

Page 17

December in the Countryside

Page 60

A (very) Little History of Sequins

Page 19

Your Scissors at Christmas

Page 62

The Giving of Gifts

Page 29

The In-Between Time

Page 64

Christmas Printables

Page 22

Embroidery Stitch Guide

Page 65

Lovely Idea: Reindeer Tote

Page 24

In the Kitchen: Conversion Tables

Page 66

Christmas Apron Pocket

Page 25

Templates

Page 67

Season’s Greetings

Page 28

Festive Fayre

Page 38

Dachshund Ornament

Page 39

Poetry Corner

Page 42

A London Particular

Page 43

Working with Velvet

Page 46

Lovely Idea: Christmas Stocking

Page 48

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SETTING THE DATE Although you might think that Christmas Day has been celebrated on the same day forever this certainly isn’t the case and wee haven’t always celebrated Christmas on 25 December. During Christianity’s earliest days no date was set for Jesus’ birth and the Bible certainly didn’t offer any clues.

Indeed back then many senior priests disagreed with any idea of celebrating this anniversary, believing this to be pagan nonsense and that it was the date of martyrdom that should be remembered. But over the centuries views changed and various possible dates for Christ’s birth were proposed, with many religious scholars believing it to be in the spring, suggesting 21 March, 15 or 21 April and 20 May as possibilities.

By the fourth century though only two possible dates were under consideration although neither had featured in earlier discussions. Christians in the western Roman Empire decided to celebrate Christ’s birth on 25 December, while Christians in the eastern Roman Empire preferred 6 January. The time between these two dates spans what is now known as the Twelve Days of Christmas, beginning with what is considered to be Christmas Day in most of the Christian world and ending with Epiphany on 6 January.

birthday of the victorious sun). They could well have thought that people would be more open to the idea of converting to Christianity if they were still allowed to feast and party at the darkest point of the year.

The other possibility is connected to the Jewish festival of Passover. It was once believed that Jesus had died on the anniversary of his conception. As the date for Passover was set for 25 March, then simply counting ahead by nine months gave a birth date of 25 December.

Ultimately of course we don’t know for sure why Christmas is now celebrated on 25 December - and we certainly don’t have any idea whatsoever which day of the year is Jesus’ real birthday. It will almost certainly remain as an unsolved mystery.

But why, we might ask ourselves, did Christian scholars eventually agree to celebrate Jesus’ birth on 25 December? There are two possible reasons.

Firstly, that the Christian Church wanted to make a connection between their new feast ay and the old Roman feast of (the

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Bringing in the Green

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The Mistletoe Bough Thomas Haynes Bayley (1884) The mistletoe hung in the castle hall The holly branch shone on the old oak wall.

The Baron's retainers were blithe and gay, Keeping the Christmas holiday.

The Baron beheld with a father's pride His beautiful child, Lord Lovell's bride.

And she, with her bright eyes seemed to be The star of that goodly company.

Oh, the mistletoe bough.

Oh, the mistletoe bough.

"I'm weary of dancing, now," she cried; "Here, tarry a moment, I'll hide, I'll hide, And, Lovell, be sure you're the first to trace The clue to my secret hiding place."

Away she ran, and her friends began Each tower to search and each nook to scan.

And young Lovell cried, "Oh, where do you hide?

I'm lonesome without you, my own fair bride."

Oh, the mistletoe bough.

Oh, the mistletoe bough.

They sought her that night, they sought her next day, They sought her in vain when a week passed away.

In the highest, the lowest, the loneliest spot, Young Lovell sought wildly, but found her not.

The years passed by and their brief at last Was told as a sorrowful tale long past.

When Lovell appeared, all the children cried, "See the old man weeps for his fairy bride."

Oh, the mistletoe bough.

Oh, the mistletoe bough.

At length, an old chest that had long laid hid Was found in the castle; they raised the lid.

A skeleton form lay mouldering there In the bridal wreath of that lady fair.

The Mistletoe Bough is said to have been taken from a true story, where for a game a bride hid from her husband in a game of hide-and-seek. Her hiding place was an old oak chest which, unknown to her, locked on a hidden spring on closing.

Brockdish Hall, a 17 century manor is said to be the setting of the 'Mistletoe Bride'. On her wedding night, as part of a hide-and-seek game, a young bride hid in an old wooden chest with a heavy lid. She was sought high and low but not found. Only years later someone opened the chest by chance and found a mouldering corpse in bridal wear.

Bramwell House near Basingstoke is said to be the most haunted house in Hampshire and is also thought/claimed to be the site of the same tragedy. It is said that for 50 years the chest lay undisturbed, until one day the chest was opened and the bride was found inside a mouldering corpse.

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There’s always lots of shopping to carry home at Christmas and a good, strong bag is an absolute essential. This one definitely fits the bill and with it’s easy applique Reindeer head it will help you get into the Christmas spirit too! Pop over to our website to download your free pattern.

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Season’s The Days Grow Greetings Shorter

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Bubble and Squeak This is another great way of using up leftovers from the Big Day itself and in our family we’d traditionally serve it on Boxing Day along with cold meats, chutneys and salads. The traditional way to serve is to combine all the ingredients, form into cakes and then fry. We prefer to heap our bubble and squeak into a pie dish and heat in the oven until the top is brown and crispy as frying can make it a bit greasy - in our opinion that is!

I’ve given the ingredients I’d use if I made it from scratch, but feel free to be creative - we put all kinds of things into ours depending on what wasn’t eaten up the day before!

Ingredients ● 150 g cooked swede, chopped ● 250 g cooked cabbage or Brussels sprouts, chopped ● 150 g cooked parsnips, chooped ● 1 cooked leek, chooped ● 250 g mashed potato ● 50 g butter

Method ● Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mash roughly to bind them all together. Season if you wish. ● Heap the mixture into an ovenproof dish. Dot the top with knobs of butter to help make a delicious brown crust. ● Bake at 180C for 45 mins until the mixture is piping hot (we are reheating leftovers so this is important) and the top is brown and crispy. ● Serve hot. Yum!

Tastes of the Season: Chestnuts “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose …” chestnuts are truly a taste of the Christmas season. The tradition of roasting chestnuts at Christmas originated in southern Europe centuries ago and many chestnuts consumed in the past would have been home-grown. But today, as British chestnuts, though flavoursome, are generally much smaller than the continental variety. The tree isn’t actually native to this country - like so much else it was brought over by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago. It may live as long as 700 years, and in some cases much longer, and will begin to bear fruit after around 25 years of age.

Nuts that fall to the ground earlier than mid-October are likely to contain only shrivelled empty shells, shed by the tree as a waste of effort so it can concentrate on plumping up those that remain.

Our small British chestnuts don’t keep very well and it’s best to use them within a week of gathering. It’s a lot easier to remove the leathery skin and thin membrane while they’re fresh. They can be boiled or roasted but whichever way you choose to cook them be sure to peel while they’re still warm - cold cooked chestnuts are impossible to peel.

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A London Particular

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The Legend of the Christmas Rose On a cold December night, a very special child was born in Bethlehem. Many came to see the baby and brought Him all kinds of gifts and presents. The three Wise Men came in with their valuable gifts of myrrh, frankincense and gold and offered them to the baby Jesus. At that point, a shepherdess, Madelon, who had seen the wise men offering their gifts, came to the door of the stable, to see the child. However, as she was very poor and hadn’t been able to bring anything to offer to the child, she felt ashamed and started weeping quietly at the sight of all the wonderful gifts that the baby had received. Earlier she had searched in vain all over the countryside for flowers to give Him but there was not even a single bloom to be found as this was the depths of the bitter winter.

An angel outside the door was watching over her and knew about her fruitless search. He took pity on her and, when he saw her head drooped in sorrow, decided to help her with a little miracle. He gently brushed aside the snow at her feet and where her tears had fallen, sprang a beautiful cluster of waxen white winter roses with pink tipped petals. Then he softly whispered into the shepherdess's ear that these Christmas roses are far more valuable than any myrrh, frankincense or gold, for they are pure and made of love. Madelon was so happy when she heard those words. She joyfully gathered the flowers and offered them to the baby Jesus. Thus, the Christmas rose came to symbolize hope, love and all that is wonderful in this season.

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What ever became of the Christmas Goose?

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A Time for Music…..

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Your Scissors at Christmas!

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The In-Between Time The days between Christmas and New Year, sometimes referred to as “betwixmas” can be a blessing as they give us an opportunity to step away from our often all too busy lives, pause and take a deep breath and relax after yet another busy and demanding year. The great festival of Christmas with all its joys, traditions and, let’s be honest, stress and hard work too, is behind us, and many workplaces are closed for the holidays leaving us free to spend our time as we choose - a rare luxury these days. The fridge and larder are well stocked, there is the opportunity to read - whether an old favourite, Christmas gift or simply a novel we’ve been meaning to try for some time. There are dogs to walk across frosty fields, returning to a warm fire and a warm drink to thaw our toes afterwards.

It isn’t all rest and relaxation during this period though - especially if you’re a keen sportsperson, or follower of sport as many fixtures take place on Boxing Day. Or perhaps you’re more likely to head for the Boxing Day sales? And of course towards the end of the week there are preparations for New Year’s Eve to consider, that then blend into New Year’s Day - the last chance to enjoy some self indulgence before returning to normal daily routine once more. Twelfth Night, on the fifth of January marks the official end of the Christmas holiday and is the time by which all decorations must be taken down and safely stowed away or risk being cursed with bad luck for the rest of the year. But still, there is a real sense of peace, of the world standing still and a chance for rest in these in between days and I do hope that you are able to enjoy it too.

Edward Step, Nature Rambles: An Introduction to Country-lore, 1930 23