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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 January Magazine Hello everyone! Wishing you all a very happy new year 2022! Let’s hope that this year is the year we can finally put the pandemic behind us. Meanwhile there’s lots to enjoy in this month’s edition - pandemic or no pandemic! 2022 brings the Chinese Year of the Tiger and I was all up for stitching a majestic and ferocious beast. Unfortunately I’m not very good at these qualities and my little tiger looks ready to curl up for a long winter’s sleep by the fire! And thinking about snuggling up (one of my favourite things to do in the colder months), I hope you’ll like the first pattern in this issue that features not only a mug of cocoa, but some lovely woolly socks too! We chat to Nollaig Ryan, a very talented maker, enjoy some lovely winter recipes and much more besides in this issue. I do hope you enjoy it and the February Magazine will be published on Thursday 27 January. Until then I hope you have a lovely month, with lots of time for stitching! Very best wishes
Helen xx
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Between this month’s covers … January Almanac
Page 5
Nature Notes
Page 55
Snuggle Up Hoop
Page 8
Little Stitching Bear Tutorial
Page 56
Tip for Stitchers
Page 12
Time to Hibernate
Page 63
Winter Hyacinths
Page 13
Lovely Idea: Pompom Mouse
Page 64
A Winter’s Sky
Page 15
Two Pirate Pals
Page 65
You’re a Super Stitcher
Page 16
Poetry Corner
Page 69
Lovely Idea: Terrarium
Page 18
Home Comforts
Page 70
Vintage Nostalgia Tea Cosy
Page 19
Embroidery Stitch Guide
Page 71
Meet the Maker: Nollaig Ryan
Page 23
In the Kitchen: Conversion Tables
Page 72
A Little Look at English Samplers
Page 27
Templates
Page 73
Farewell to Christmas
Page 30
Florentina Ballerina
Page 32
A Long Winter’s Sleep
Page 35
Dreaming Daisies Hoop
Page 40
Cold Winter’s Comfort
Page 43
Year of the Tiger Hoop
Page 52
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Hand Embroidery Hint When you’re stitching with a hoop always stab your needle up and down through the fabric, never try to “sew” by running it through horizontally. Professionally trained embroiderers (and other clever folk) work with one hand above and one beneath the hoop. This takes practice, but does speed up your work once you’ve mastered the technique.
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In January we’re loving fragrant winter flowering Hyacinths
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A (very) Little Look at Samplers 10
Clearing up after Christmas In previous times it was important to be careful when discarding your Christmas decorations. Although the decorations themselves were intrinsically lucky, one mistake in their disposal could bring bad luck on the family for the rest of the year. Decorations in the house had to stay up until Epiphany, whilst those in the church would remain in place until Candlemas at the beginning of February. The mistletoe bough, a remedy against poison, was kept until the new one was cut the following year. Holly had to be burned or buried, left to wither away or fed to the cows, according to local custom. Sometimes a sprig was kept for good luck. It was considered extremely unlucky to drop a piece of holly while removing it from the house. Charcoal from the Yule log was also carefully preserved as it was believed to prevent lightning from
striking the house and guarded people and animals from various diseases. It could also be fed to the cows or dug into the soil to encourage fertility. Spring-sown seeds benefited if charcoal was ploughed into the field. Although few of us nowadays would go to these lengths when we take down our decorations, it’s still a good idea to pack up carefully once the Christmas holidays are over.
The Christmas Tree If you chose a real tree, then you’ll probably discover a pile of needles underneath it when you take it out of the house. These can be swept up and dug into the garden where they will benefit other plants. You can take your tree to the local council centre for disposal, but if you have an open fire or wood
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burning stove, then it will make a lovely useful addition to your supplies. Small twigs and branches can be used for kindling wood and the trunk can be sawn into sections to provide aromatic logs. If you purchased a rooted tree, planning to keep it for future years, then you may well already have planted it into a suitable tub or other container. If so, carry it into the garden, water well and place in a sheltered spot until the tree has had time to acclimatise to the cooler temperatures outdoors. If you wish to replant the tree into the garden itself, then be sure that the hole you dig is plenty deep enough to allow the roots room to spread, and be sure to loosen them if they’ve become cramped in the tub. Fork some peat into the earth and make sure the tree is firmly bedded in and well watered.
Christmas Lights
paper, and in today’s eco-conscious world, perhaps this is something we should all be doing again.
Check the lights are in good working order before you put them away, and if they’re battery operated then be sure to remove the existing batteries to guard against damage from corrosion.
Wrapping paper can often be damaged beyond reuse when sticky tape is ripped off in the excitement of presentopening. However, there will often be parts that do survive. Cut these out, iron on the wrong side with a warm iron and then wrap around a cardboard tube. Theses small pieces will come in useful next year to wrap tree presents or little packages and will save cutting into a large expensive sheet.
If you have the type with separate bulbs (less common these days) then be sure to tighten the bulbs. To avoid the frustration of tangled bulbs next year, it’s a good idea to wrap the string of bulbs carefully around a strong piece of cardboard. Put the lights in a box with a layer of sponge or cotton wool on either side to protect them from knocks.
Tree Decorations To ensure their safe survival over the coming year, it’s worth taking the time to wrap each one separately in soft kitchen paper and then pack them into a strong cardboard box.
Wrapping Paper I remember my mum, a member of the thrifty wartime generation used to carefully save all reusable wrapping
Christmas Cards Though less are sent these days, plenty still arrive through the letterbox, and you will often find people make a note of any changes of address on their cards, so when you take them down do be sure to check through for any messages or notes. If you don’t want to keep the cards, some charities will take them or they’re great for crafting next year - gift tags are the obvious choice, or what about helping any children in your life to recycle them into new cards for the festive season?
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A long winter’s sleep?
You may be forgiven for imagining that beneath its winter blanket of frost and snow your garden is sleeping peacefully awaiting the warmth of spring but this is an illusion as all winter long there are vital changes taking place both above and below the soil. During the colder months your garden can appear dead and bare. If you’re lucky - and have carefully planned your planting - you may have some brave splashes of colour from witch hazels, viburnums and dogwoods, but all the other plants seem to be sleeping waiting for the warmer weather and longer daylight hours before bursting into life when spring finally arrives. But although you may not be aware of them, across the garden vital changes are occurring. Beneath the soil the low temperatures are working a subtle magic on seeds, roots and bulbs while even the chilly winds have a role to play in ensuring flowers and fruit will appear later in the year. If we didn’t have a cold period in winter then our gardens would be less beautiful in the summer months. It’s essential for many plants that they experience a period of cold weather, including our orchard trees such as apples, plums and pears. If temperatures remained high then these trees wouldn’t produce new growth in the spring, nor flower buds that develop into fruit. In a process known as vernalisation the shorter daylight hours initially causes deciduous trees to shed their leaves and become
dormant. Once this has happened they need to experience a certain number of days at a minimum temperature, usually below 7 degrees centigrade. Only once this has happened will they be ready to burst into growth and bloom once temperatures rise once more. This process is designed to ensure that new growth occurs during the spring months, not too early while it’s still only autumn.
Spring blooms need chilling to force them to sprout. This makes them naturally tolerant of frost and snow. Hardy bulbs - those we leave in the ground all year round such as daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops - need different weather conditions at different times of the year to be able to grow and produce flowers. The bulbs are formed in the heat of summer, whilst root growth is stimulated by the colder and wetter weather of autumn. But it’s the cold of winter that’s needed to stimulate even growth. Temperatures of 10 degrees centigrade trigger the elongation of the flower stem. If you’ve ever tried to grow hyacinths or daffodils indoors and have ended up with a clump of flowers crowded on
the neck of the bulb or very short stems then you’ve experienced what happens if the bulbs don’t spend at least ten weeks in cool conditions. There are exceptions to this such as Narcissi Paperwhite which doesn’t need this cold period, being native to Mediterranean regions. In the winter herbaceous plants stop growing and the foliage dies back. But the plant isn’t dead of course, the root system survives and is used to store the carbohydrates the plant made during the summer months. This gives them a reserve of energy, perfect for getting ahead in the spring.
Storing energy over the winter gives a great start in the spring race for light. The colder weather triggers the plant to move these stored energy reserves to its growing tips, ready for an early surge of growth in the spring. Once conditions are favourable they’ll be able to push their shoots into the sunlight ahead of surrounding plants such as annuals. This stops their new growth from being smothered by the hundreds of annual seedlings germinating at the same time. Peonies and dahlias are two plants that use this technique.
Beneath the blanket of snow, life continues apace throughout the winter months ….
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Cold Winter’s Comfort
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There must be hundreds of recipes for Yorkshire pudding, with each version being traditional to a family and handed down through the generations. This is our family version - and the most important thing is to get the oven and the fat really hot. Toad in the hole is a development of the theme! dripping or oil into a 18 cm (7”) square baking tin and heat in the oven at 220 C 425 F until the fat is really hot and showing a haze. Pour in the batter and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
Yorkshire Pudding ● 4 oz (125 g) plain flour ● Pinch salt
Toad in the Hole
● 1 egg
● Ingredients for the batter are the same as for Yorkshire pudding.
● ½ pint (300 ml) milk ● Oil or dripping.
● In addition you will need 1 lb (450 g) good quality sausages
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, make a well in the middle and break the egg into it. Add half the liquid and gradually work in the flour with a wooden spoon, beating until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the rest of the liquid slowly until the whole is well mixed, then beat until the surface is covered with little bubbles. Leave to stand if time allows, but can be used immediately. Put the
Make the batter and heat the fat as before. When the fat is hot enough arrange the sausages in the tin, pour the batter over and bake near the top of the oven for about 45 minutes. Don’t open the oven door during baking or the batter might sink.
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A lovely steamed pudding….
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Nature Notes St Paul’s Day, or Conversion of St. Paul, falls on January 25th. About this day we may expect the breaking of the severe frost of winter in snowy and cold years, and in general some change in the seasons; the days too, are now perceptibly lengthened. A proverb says, - If St. Paul's day be fair and clear, It doth betide a happy year; But if it should be wind and rain, Then will be dear all kinds of grain. The winter Hellebore, the white Butterbur, and the Snowdrop, have been sometimes found to flower as early as this day.
The Pocket Encyclopaedia of Natural Phenomena,
Little Stitching Bear A hand embroidery tutorial
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Time to Hibernate… My dear Mrs Beecroft, There are animals that sleep all the winter; - I am, I believe, creep into holes during the same become one of them: season; have confined myself to the fireside of a snug parlour. If, indeed, a warm sunshiny day occurs, sometimes creep out of their holes; - so, now and then, have . exist in a state of torpor; so have done; the only difference being, that have all the while continued the habit of eating and drinking, which, to their advantage can dispense with. But my has certainly been asleep all the while; an whenever I have attempted to employ it, I have felt an oppression in my head which has obliged me to desist. Stoke Newington, Jan 1814
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Winter Sweet blackbird is silenced with chaffinch and thrush, Only waist-coated robin still chirps in the bush: Soft sun-loving swallows have mustered in force, And winged to the spice-teeming south lands their course. Plump housekeeper dormouse has tucked himself neat, Just a brown ball in moss with a morsel to eat: Armed hedgehog has huddled him into the hedge, While frogs scarce miss freezing deep down in the sedge. Soft swallows have left us alone in the lurch, But robin sits whistling to us from his perch: If I were red robin, I’d pipe you a tune, Would make you despise all the beauties of June. But since that can’t be, let us draw round the fire, Munch chestnuts, tell stories and stir the blaze higher: We’ll comfort the robin with crumbs, little man, Till he’ll sing us the very best song that he can.
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Home Comforts Snowdrops are beginning to appear in woodlands and gardens across the country and by the end of this month many will be in bloom. There are more than 500 varieties of snowdrop and it’s nearly time to plant them. They’re best planted in the green (as plants rather than bulbs that is) at the beginning of February so now is the time to sit down with a nice cup of tea and browse the gardening websites and catalogues to choose the prettiest for your own patch. Meanwhile, when they bloom, bring a few indoors to enjoy - they last for nearly a week when placed in water in a cool place.
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