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 2025 by: Bustle & Sew Station House West Cranmore Shepton Mallet BA4 4QP
www.bustleandsew.com
WelcometotheSeptemberMagazine
Summer is behind us now, but I must admit that as I grow older, autumn has become my favourite season. I love the gentle fading of the season, leaves changing hue from the dark dusty green of late summer to the golds, ochres, crimsons and rusts of autumn. September is a month of change, as the evenings draw in and the schools return, activities begin again in our village hall after the long summer holidays. We have all kinds of activities, from yoga and table tennis to the history and gardening societies and of course that mainstay of village halls across the land - the W.I.
There are all kinds of goodies in this month’s edition too, as we discover the life of Annie Garnett, one of the first female entrepreneurs of the Lake District, learn a little about chikankari, an Indian form of whitework, and spend some time cooking up a feast in the kitchen too.
I do hope you’ll enjoy this month’s magazine and the October edition will be published on Thursday 2 October in 5 weeks time. This is a little later than usual as I will be on holiday in Corfu for a couple of weeks in September so will need a little extra time upon my return to gather everything together and put the finishing touches to the magazine.
So until then…
Very best wishes
The colours of the countryside begin to change this month. Blackberries are ripening and birds prepare to migrate. We cling to the last hints of summer that linger on through the early part of the month at least, knowing all too well that the season of “mists and mellow fruitfulness” heralds the cold dark days of winter ahead. In London, the Albert Hall is packed for the last night of “The Proms” - that rousing blend of nostalgia and patriotism that marks then end of the season. As the promenaders leave the hall and mingle with the crowds in Hyde Park, there is an unspoken melancholy, a lament for the all too brief days of summer. But statistically September has more sunshine than August, and October can bring us an Indian Summer. Autumn in this country can be a very beautiful time of year.
In the hedgerows September is most definitely the month of berries - bramble, rowan, hawthorn, elder and spindle to name but a few, a hedgerow harvest that attracts both human forages and, later in the year, flocks of winter birds. Wilding, scrab, gribble and scrogg could be names chosen by Tolkein perhaps for a quartet of orcs, but in fact they are all old country names for the wild crab apple tree, named perhaps as it is an ungainly tree that bears unrewarding fruit (though crab apple jelly is delicious), whose only redeeming features as its lovely spring blossom and the fact that it so often plays host to the magical mistletoe.
Best known of the hedgerow’s autumn fruits is of course the blackberry. Generations of my own family (and innumerable others across the country) have set out on August and September afternoons to gather dark purple, plump and juicy brambles to make jams and jellies, to fill pies, with the addition of apples, or simply to enjoy fresh from the hedge.
September is a sweep of dusky, purple asters, a sumac branch swinging a fringe of scarlet leaves, and the bittersweet scene of wild grapes when I walk down the lane to the mailbox. September is a golden month of mellow sunlight and still clear days. ... Small creatures in the grass, as if realizing their days are numbered, cram the night air with sound. Everywhere goldenrod is full out.
Threads and flosses are available in a rainbow of colours and a wide variety of weights and textures, each suitable for a different task. You can choose from cotton, silk, wool, metallic, hand-dyed, variegated and invisible … it’s can all be a little overwhelming.
If you are a sensible, well-organised stitcher, you will organise your floss (and thread), keep it handy and know which is best for the task in hand. If, on the other hand you are untidy, disorganised and generally muddled (that’ll be me), when you have a project in hand, you’ll rummage around, make do with what you can find that’s not irretrievably tangled and still enjoy yourself.
Part of the stitching adventure is realising that your project may well not turn out how you had originally intended (which can be a wonderful surprise or a bitter disappointment). But understanding the materials you’re working with is a great way to increase your chances of getting a good result.
Most embroidery patterns will suggest colours to you –identified by the number on the thread band or the label. There isn’t room here to describe all the different kinds you can obtain so I’ve just included the most commonly used. The two most widely available brands here in the UK are DMC and Anchor. You can substitute one for the other when selecting flosses for a project, but be very careful as the substitution will not be exact.
This is a twisted, slightly glossy cotton yarn that has six strands loosely twisted together. It untwists easily so you can use as few or as many strands as you require for your project. This floss is suitable for most types of embroidery and is washable at 95 degrees.
This is a twisted thread with a lovely sheen. It cannot be divided and must be used as a single thread. It is available in skeins or balls in up to four weights – 3, 5, 8 and 12. The higher the number the finer the thread.
These can be really tricky to work with (at least I find them so!) – and when you are using them always stitch slowly and carefully to avoid damaging the delicate filaments. Use shorter lengths to avoid tangling as well as the breaking and splitting caused by pulling the thread through the fabric many times.
Remember to always stitch with a “stabbing” motion when using metallic thread – up through the underside and down through the top in two separate movements. Pushing the needle into the fabric and out again – all in one movement – as if you were sewing – can damage metallic threads.
ASeptemberEvening
“Itsuddenlygetscold. Thesunseemstogivelessheat,”shesaid, lookingabouther,foritwasbrightenough,thegrassstilla deep green,thehousestarredinitsgreenerywithpurplepassionflowrs, androoksdroppingcoolcriesfromthehighblue. Butsomething moved,flashed,turnedasilverwingintheair.
It’s that time of year again - the garden is beginning to close down for its long winter sleep and though some flowers do remain and will continue to bloom until the first frosts, most are beginning to run to seed - a natural bounty that’s well worth the (relatively little) trouble of collecting.
The prices of commercially grown packets of seed can add up in a hurry, even if you have only a small bed to fill. A few minutes of shaking ripe seed into an envelope in the early fall can produce a summer garden next year that is filled with poppies, petunias, marigolds, and other favourites—all grown for free. There’s a little home-grown magic in saving seeds from your own plants as well, since every time you save your own seeds, you’re saving from plants that have done well enough to grow, flower and set seed in your own garden - plants that have the right genetic mix to do well in your specific conditions, so each season you save and replant you should find that they just grow better and better for you.
You can save seeds from all kinds of plants. Annuals are the easiest because they’re the most prolific at producing seeds, but perennials and biennials are entirely possible. However, some plants aren’t worth gathering seed from because they reproduce much faster by division.
There are a few scientific facts to consider though - if you’ve grown F1 hybrid cultivars they have specific parentage and can’t be reproduced from seeds, whilst other species will cross-pollinate (poppies for example) and throw up some interesting combinations. So saving your seed can be a step into the unknown, but who knows, you might be very pleasantly surprised by the results of the genetic mixing that goes on in your borders and flower beds! Easy seeds to save from your garden include nasturtiums, marigolds, honesty, hollyhocks, sunflowers and nigella.
When you collect your seeds is crucial to your success. Most flowers will produce seeds at the end of their blooming cycle, after the petals have faded and the flower heads have dried out. However, different flowers have different timelines for seed maturation. Here’s how to know when it’s the right time:
Once the blooms have faded, you’ll notice seed pods forming. These may be small capsules, fluffy heads, or seed pods depending on the
Chikankari:Delicate WhiteworkfromIndia
Aharvest festival…
IrishSodaBread Ingredients
● 250g plain white flour
● 250g plain wholemeal flour
● 100g porridge oats
● 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
● 1 tsp salt
● 25g butter, cut in pieces
● 500ml buttermilk
Method
● Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C and dust a baking sheet with flour. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then rub in the butter. Pour in the buttermilk and mix it in quickly with a table knife, then bring the dough together very lightly with your fingertips (handle it very, very gently). Now shape it into a flat, round loaf measuring 20cm/8in in diameter.
● Put the loaf on the baking sheet and score a deep cross in the top. (Traditionally, this lets the fairies out, but it also helps the bread to cook through.) Bake for 30-35 minutes until the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. If it isn’t ready after this time, turn it upside down on the baking sheet and bake for a few minutes more.
● Transfer to a wire rack, cover with a clean tea towel (this keeps the crust nice and soft) and leave to cool. To serve, break into quarters, then break or cut each quarter in half to make 8 wedges or slices – or simply slice across. Eat very fresh.
Ingredients
● 500g blackberries
● 3 tbsp of lemon juice
● 1 tsp vanilla extract
● 175g icing sugar
● 250ml double cream
BlackberryIceCream
Method
● Place blackberries, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a pan. Cook on medium heat until the berries are soft. Transfer to a blender and whizz until smooth.
● Push mixture through a sieve to remove seeds and make ice cream smooth.
● Return the mixture to the pan and whisk in the icing sugar, followed by the double cream.
● Mix until well blended. Then transfer to an ice cream maker, if using.
● Alternatively, pour the mixture into a container. Place in the freezer and churn every 30 mins until set. It should take 2 to 3hrs in total.
When you’ve spent a lot of time and effort creating a beautiful piece of work that is unique to you then you shouldn’t be afraid to use and enjoy it. If you’ve secured all the ends well, and chosen the right fabric for your project then there shouldn’t be any reason for it to be damaged through normal everyday use.
Dust and strong sunlight are the main enemies that may attack your work. These days good quality threads such as DMC or Anchor are colourfast, and may be machine washed at high temperatures, but nevertheless strong sunlight will eventually bleach out some of the colour whilst dust will rot the threads. It’s really important therefore that you keep your embroidered work clean.
If you’re washing your embroidered item - clothing, napkins or removing any marks that occurred during the stitching process of course - then don’t tumble dry it as the crinkles may never come out - just smooth it out and hang it up to dry. Press your work while it’s still just damp, placing it face down on a folded towel to prevent the stitches from flattening. You may find that the embroidery threads don’t dry as quickly as the fabric, so lay it flat after pressing and leave until completely dry.
The best way to store embroidered items that aren’t being used is to lay it flat in a drawer, wrapped in acid-free tissue paper. Don’t use plastic bags as they attract dust and the textiles won’t be able to “breathe.”
