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.
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First published 2024 by: Bustle & Sew Station House West Cranmore Shepton Mallet BA4 4QP
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WelcometotheJulyMagazine
Hello everyone!
As I write this we are enjoying the first real summer weather of the year. The skies are blue, the sun is shining and, instead of a howling gale, there is a gentle breeze across the patio, cooling and refreshing rather than an arctic blast! Summer has arrived between the pages of this month’s edition too as we visit Sicily (limoncello anyone?), take a dip in the lido and attach a pair of beautiful bug tags to our suitcases, ready for the annual getaway. There are summer recipes a-plenty too as well as a look at the history of the zipper and grandma’s ironing day.
Of course July is traditionally the month when the well-organised stitcher begins their Christmas projects so, with this in mind, you’ll also find the first of this year’s Christmas designs between the covers, with more to come over the next few months.
Meanwhile I hope you have a wonderful month, with lots of time for stitching of course!
Very best wishes
July
The month of July is of course named in honour of Julius Caesar. Until the middle of the eighteenth century July was pronounced to rhyme with “truly”. It is the height of summer now, though the month is characterised by thunderstorms. For some country folk, such as eel gatherers, the thunder was welcome as it stirred up their prey, making the eels easier to catch. But for most however, the thunder was a fearsomely destructive threat.
In 1808 the month of July was so hot that the Gentleman’s Magazine reported that at least seven people died from the extreme temperatures. The heatwave finally came to an end on the fifteenth with thunderstorms of such ferocity that one of the pinnacles of Gloucester Cathedral was destroyed and violent hailstorms devastated the south-west of England with jagged fragments of ice up to a foot long falling from the sky.
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. Unlike the clear blue skies and sunshine of their Mediterranean homes however, the occupying legions experienced 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, the soldiers believed, to the uncomfortable effects of the sun’s heat.
In the village of Grove, the custom of “duck-racing” was traditionally carried out on the first Saturday after the sixth as the culmination of traditional village festivities. The village brook was dammed and a series of ducks were released onto the water, one at a time. Contestants had to catch the duck with their bare hands, and the winner kept it as a prize. But it wasn’t easy as reported in 1955….
Keeping your work space well-organised and clutterfree is the key to creativity. If your space becomes untidy and disorganised this will definitely have a negative impact on your creativity as dealing with a horrid mess of tangled tapes and ribbons, oddments of fabric and stabbing your fingers on pins that aren’t where they ought to be will make you lose valuable sewing time, and sap your creative energy too. But don’t despair, speaking as one who finds her workroom only to quickly descends into chaos if she doesn’t impose a little self-discipline, I have a few tips that will help you take control of your work area, giving you more time for the activities you love.
Firstly, it’s important to choose a location that can serve as a permanent space to keep all your supplies, equipment and materials together.
If you’re lucky enough to have an entire room at your disposal then that’s great. But if you’re short of space then don’t despair, even a corner of a room or a roomy cupboard can serve this purpose. Consider natural light sources where possible as you won’t want to work under artificial lighting unless you have to (at least I prefer not to).
Next take an inventory of your supplies and start organising them into categories. The most important principle here is to group them together in a way that makes sense to, and works for, you. Keep everything you use on a regular basis handy so you don’t have to rummage around to put your hand on,say, your fabric shears - items like these should be very easy to retrieve. (And replace after using!)
Once you’ve sorted your supplies then it’s time to consider the available storage options. The right containers will make such a difference when it comes to locating and using materials. Don’t limit yourself to plastic bins (useful though they are) but get creative.
I store a lot of my fabric pieces in old apple crates, carefully varnished and lined with oilcloth, whilst my buttons live in tall glass jars so I can see the contents at a glance. Using slightly off-beat storage works for me as visually I gain a lot more pleasure from my slightly wonky and eccentric containers than I would from serried rows of neat plastic boxes - but that’s just my personal opinion of course.
But whatever storage solution you choose, do make sure that it’s versatile and can easily be adapted to your changing needs. Consider what items are pleasing to the eye and have them on show for
inspiration. Why not create one or more mood boards filled with pretty scraps, images and special notions that will help inspire you as you work?
A sturdy chair is vital of course and again - as we crafters and stitchers tend to be visual people - it’s nice if it can be stylish too. I have a nice solid pine chair without arms (they’d only get in the way) but I must admit I would love a chair with wheels as I’m always up and down from my seat when working. And finally, thinking of moving around your space, try to avoid carpets and rugs if possible. Chair legs can easily become caught up in rugs which can then become rucked up and possibly a trip hazard. Hard flooring is much easier to sweep clean of fluff and thread ends, so you don’t have to keep getting out the vacuum cleaner.
Dashingawaywiththe smoothingiron…..
“The Presser” by Russian artist Konstantin Makovsky (1839-1915)
C Gordon-Glover, extract from “Book of the Countryside” 1953
HighDaysand Holidays….
July is high, high summer here in the UK and we can (hopefully) look forward to some long, hot, sunny days and balmy evenings to sit outside and enjoy the warm summer air. The perfect month for beaches, barbeques and all kinds of outdoor activities. Although the longest day of the year is already behind us, the best of the summer is yet to come.
The Anglo-Saxons called July or hay month, when the grass was cut to feed cattle later in the year, and it’s certainly bumper harvest time in market gardens, allotments and for fruit and vegetable growers across the land. In towns and cities shops and markets are overflowing with fresh seasonal produce. There’s so much to choose from and for the next few months serving meals made entirely of local, home grown or foraged seasonal produce should be an entirely realistic proposition.
July is one of the hottest months of the year, so light, fresh dishes are required. Think of fish, salad, and soft fruits too - chilled or frozen deserts with the refreshing taste of raspberries, strawberries and cherries are the obvious choice to end your meal.
From June and into mid-July marsh samphire, sometimes known as sea asparagus is in season. It’s name derives from Saint Pierre (St Peter), the patron saint of fishermen. It’s often served as a seasonal accompaniment to fish and other seafood. Growing in our salt marshes and estuaries, its small shoots are succulent and crunchy, with a salty tang from growing in the sea air.
Less common is rock samphire (below) which is also in season now. This variety grows on rocky sea cliffs and Shakespeare’s King Lear famously refers to the “dreadful trade” of collecting rock samphire due to the danges that collectors faced when hanging from rock faces to collect their bounty.
Away from the sea, and back to the vegetable patch - this may be a time of harvest bounty, but we need to be vigilant as pests and weeds are at their most vigorous now, and seem determined to gobble up all the rewards of our hard work. Bindweed threatens to strangle our courgettes, caterpillars are determined to dine on our brassicas and in my own garden I shall never forget heading out to harvest my sweetcorn only to discover that the local badgers had had the same idea and had stripped all my corn cobs overnight!
CreamySpinach Soup
Ingredients
● 50g butter
● 1 medium onion, finely chopped
● 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
● 1 medium potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
● 450ml chicken or vegetable stock
● 600ml milk
● 450g fresh spinach, washed if necessary and roughly chopped
● finely grated zest of half a lemon
● freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
● 3 tbsp double cream, to serve
● Method
● Melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan, add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 5-6 minutes until softening. Stir in the potato and continue to cook gently for 1 minute. Pour in the stock and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the potato starts to cook. Pour in the milk and bring up to a simmer, then stir in half the spinach and the lemon zest. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until the spinach has completely wilted down. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
● Pour the soup into a blender (preferably) or food processor, add the remaining spinach (this will keep the soup bright green and fresh tasting) and process until silky smooth – you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your machine. (The soup may now be frozen for up to 1 month. Defrost in the microwave or overnight in the fridge. The soup may lose some of its vibrancy on freezing, but the flavour won’t be impaired.) Return to the pan and reheat. Taste and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. You may like to dilute the soup with a little extra stock if too thick. Ladle the soup into bowls and swirl in the cream
Method
WarmPeacheswith BasilandHoney
Ingredients
● 25g unsalted butter
● 2 ripe peaches or nectarines, stoned and thickly sliced
● 2 tbsp clear honey
● juice 1 orange
● 8-10 basil leaves, shredded
● vanilla or white chocolate ice cream, to serve
● Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the peaches or nectarines, then cook both sides until slightly softened, about 3 mins.
● Add the honey and stir to make a sauce, then add the orange juice and allow to bubble briefly.
● Stir in the basil and serve warm with scoops of ice cream.
Here in England, July is the hottest month of the year and very few of our garden plants will be able to survive the long warm days without extra water to supplement rainfall. Watering is hard work though, so here are a few hints and tips to help you make sure all your efforts don’t go to waste.
If at all possible, avoid watering in full sunshine on a hot day. Any droplets that splash on a plant’s leaves will act as mini magnifying glasses, focusing the sun’s rays and scorching the leaves. Additionally, most of the water will then evaporate, increasing the humidity around the plant, producing ideal conditions for fungal spores of diseases such as powdery mildew and grey mould to germinate and multiply.
The cool of the evening has always been the traditional time to water your plants, whether they’re planted in the ground, or in planters and pots, as the water is less likely to evaporate and has more chance to be taken up by the roots. But recent research has shown that these very conditions, whilst of benefit to plants, also encourage slugs and snails to come and graze on
your precious seedlings, whilst those watered at the beginning of the day suffer less damage. It’s certainly worth investigating with early morning watering, even if only when the plants are small and so less able to withstand the onslaught of slugs and snails.
When you’re watering your garden it’s all too easy to wash away the surface soil, so leaving delicate roots exposed, especially if you’re using a hose or a full watering can. When planting new specimens, prepare in advance and reduce the risk of this happening by firming the soil at the base of the plant into a shallow depression. When you water, this trough will hold the water close to the plant, letting it gradually penetrate to the roots rather than washing away the soil.
It’s always better to give your plants a good drink on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, rather than a light sprinkling everyday. Insufficient watering will encourage the roots to grow close to the surface as that’s where the water is. This will cause the plant to become stressed as the roots will then be vulnerable to being exposed or even uprooted in strong winds. To direct water down to the roots of thirsty plants such as tomatoes, bury a plant pot up to its rim in the soil next to each plant when you’re putting them in. Then pour the water into the pot rather than onto the soil. The water will go straight through the pot’s drainage holes right to where it’s needed and won’t evaporate or wash any soil away.
When water is scarce you need to keep weeding your garden because weeds will compete with your plants for precious supplies. When it’s hot the best method is to hoe the weeds off at ground level, thus severing the leaves from the roots without digging them up. Turning over the soil to pull out the roots risks losing yet more water by exposing the damp top soil to the heat of the sun’s rays.
If the weather is particularly hot you may need to water your container-grown plants more than once a day. Although terracotta pots look good, plastic pots are actually more practical as they will retain more water, whilst moisture evaporates quickly from the permeable terracotta. In a really hot spell you might want to consider moving your pots to a shadier part of the garden until the weather turns cooler again.
If a plant that has finished flowering is looking rather tatty, with scorched and damaged leaves, you might consider cutting it right back to ground level and giving it a good soaking - at least one full watering can full. Within a few weeks it should put out fresh new growth and be an attractive border specimen once more. This technique works particularly well on lungworts (pulmonaria) and hardy geraniums.
