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Easter Celebrations The date of Easter can fall anytime between March 22 and April 25. It’s calculated by a very ancient formula dating back nearly seventeen hundred years. Easter Day is always the first Sunday after the first Full Moon on or after March 21st (the spring or vernal equinox). If the Full Moon is on a Sunday, Easter Day is on the next Sunday. Whenever Easter falls, we love to celebrate the final ending of winter, in much the same way as our pagan ancestors who would
light great bonfires to mark the return of the sun after a long cold winter. Today our Easter celebrations are the most glorious muddle of ancient pagan traditions and Christian customs. The symbolism of fire is still used in Christian worship at Easter. In Catholic churches on Easter Eve, all candles are extinguished, then the great Paschal candle is lit and from its flame all the other candles are rekindled. The custom of decorating churches with spring flowers and greenery owes more
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than a little to the ancient Celtic practice of tree worship. At the original feast of Eostre, the goddess of spring, eggs were used to represent renewal and new life. Centuries later the Christian church adopted the egg, using it as a potent symbol for the Resurrection. Ancient games like egg-rolling (originally performed to ensure good crops and large families) were reinterpreted so that the egg came to symbolize the rolling away of the stone from the door of Christ’s tomb.
This year Easter is quite late, falling on Sunday 16 April. The date can fall anytime between March 22 and April 25. It’s calculated by a very ancient formula dating back nearly seventeen hundred years. Easter Day is always the first Sunday after the first Full Moon on or after March 21st (the spring or vernal equinox). If the Full Moon is on a Sunday,
Easter Day is on the next Sunday. Whenever Easter falls, we love to celebrate the final ending of winter, in much the same way as our pagan ancestors who would light great bonfires to mark the return of the sun after a long cold winter. Today our Easter celebrations are the most glorious muddle of
ancient pagan traditions and Christian customs. The symbolism of fire is still used in Christian worship at Easter. In Catholic churches on Easter Eve, all candles are extinguished, then the great Paschal candle is lit and from its flame all the other candles are rekindled. The custom of decorating churches with spring flowers and greenery
Some ideas for family fun this Easter Egg & Spoon Race
Egg Hunts
Egg Tapping
Use hard boiled eggs to avoid messy accidents! For extra fun, children might enjoy decorating their eggs first. Balance the eggs on spoons and everybody tries to keep their hard-boiled egg on their spoon until they reach the finishing line a few metres away. Concentrate hard on balancing your egg as whoever reaches the finish first without dropping it is the winner.
Children of all ages (including my own daughter Rosie who at the age of 28 still insists on an egg hunt every year!) adore Easter egg hunts. If you have very young children do make sure to hide some where they’ll be sure to find them to avoid any tears of frustration! According to tradition the Easter Bunny hides the eggs - not mum, dad or other family members!
This game is played by two participants, each of whom holds a hard-boiled egg in their hand. One player taps the top of their egg against the top of their opponent’s egg to try and break the egg shell. You can try with the bottom of the egg too. The winner is the person whose egg best survives the impact!
Egg Rolling Eggs are rolled down a slope or bank, and at the end of each round any damaged eggs are eliminated. The winner is the person whose egg remains intact or rolls the furthest. To increase the challenge eggs can also be rolled down long thin planks of wood or tossed into a hole (padded with something soft) with the aim of hitting those previously thrown by others. For another variation, try rolling eggs across a table as fast as possible whilst your opponent tries to catch them in an empty bowl.
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Hens’ eggs can be painted in a naturalistic way to copy the colouring of different species of birds’ eggs. Display them in a basket, on straw or simply in a humble egg box for a lovely rustic effect. But remember eggs coloured with paints rather than edible food dyes should be used for decorative purposes only.
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Processions and parades are traditional at Easter time across the world and provide the perfect excuse for dressing up. When hats used to be worn every day rather than reserved for special occasions, then it would have been natural to want to decorate your ordinary bonnet for special occasions. At Easter real spring flowers ribbons and carefully crafted paper flowers were all used to decorate normal headwear. In
parades large and small, at national or village level, prizes were awarded to the best or most highly decorated Easter bonnets. It’s a custom that’s still popular today with everyone from schoolchildren in classroom competitions to adults taking part in the vast Easter parades that take place all over the world. Parades are especially popular in Spain, particularly in Seville or fair ,where the Easter lasts for days on end, and also in Spanish speaking Latin 5
American countries such as Mexico. As well as flowers all sorts of other decorations may be added to bonnets, such as rabbits or chicks. Rabbits have a special significance at Easter, representing the Easter hare who was the sacred companion of Eostre, the ancient goddess of spring. All over Europe children get up early on Easter Sunday to search for eggs supposedly left by the Easter Hare or Bunny.
Spring is in the Air Hoop Spring has to be the most looked-forward-to season of them all as we eagerly anticipate bidding farewell to grey winter days, and look for the appearance of fresh green leaves and early blossom to reassure ourselves that sunny days really are on the way! This little hoop is very easy to stitch, as the different colours of flowers are achieved by using variations floss. Hoop measures 9” x 5”
Materials ● 12” x 8” rectangle background fabric. Choose a medium weight fabric to support your stitching. A discreet pattern adds extra interest - I used Clarke & Clarke dotty fabric ● 5” x 9” wooden oval hoop ● DMC stranded cotton floss in colours 310, 905, 906, 4100, 4180 and 4250
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Method ● Transfer the pattern to the centre of your background fabric. ● Work the design using two strands of floss throughout. Follow the colour guide below. ● The flowers are simply irregular straight stitches radiating around a centre point. ● The leaves are straight stitches worked on an angle, the stems are back stitch. I used feather stitch for some stems, but you can just use straight stitches worked at an angle to a line of back stitch if you prefer.
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● I haven’t specified colours for each individual stem, just mix up the different greens randomly. ● The text is split stitch. ● The little bee is worked in satin stitch with two detached chain stitches for wings. A line of running stitch connects the bee with the top of the letter ‘I’ The running stitch and her wings are worked in 4100 and I chose a strong yellow part of 4100 to work the stripes on her body. ● When your work is finished press lightly on the reverse - it’s a good idea to press it on a soft towel to avoid flattening your stitches.
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A Childhood Favourite: Growing Cress Indoors snacks never imagined by my grandma, such as hummus and baba ganoush.
I remember that when I was a child in the seventies our family would head off to my grandma’s for Sunday tea at least twice a month. The menu never seemed to vary and always included tinned fruit salad with Coronation Evaporated milk poured over the top, her best caraway seed cake, beloved of my dad, tinned ham salad and, for the little ones, egg and cress sandwiches made with best Mother’s Pride sliced white loaf and each round lovingly cut into triangles.
Although I grow my cress on shallow dishes, it’s fun at this time of year to grow in eggshells. Save from your baking and carefully wash them out (you don’t want any stale eggy smells remaining!). If you have little ones in the family, then let them add faces to the eggshells with felt tip pen (beware of hot little hands squeezing those shells too tightly!) So they can watch their eggs’ “hair” grow.
Today, l wouldn’t want to bring back the tinned fruit salad and ham, but would argue that in some ways perhaps my grandma was being quite modern by serving her grandchildren what we might today term “micro-leaves” in the form of the cress in those long-ago sandwiches. And at this time of year, when there aren’t very many home-grown fresh greens available to use in the kitchen, it’s fun to grow cress indoors on the windowsill.
Then fill your eggshells with a few torn up pieces of kitchen towel - four to five layers placed inside fairly loosely is about right - dont’ press them down too much or they won’t absorb the water. Soak with water and generously sprinkle your cress seeds on top. Be sure not to let the kitchen roll dry out check it daily if possible, and your seeds will soon be sprouting. Harvest (or cut the eggs’ hair!) Once the leaves appear and then discard the remains the stalks won’t sprout again.
Indeed cress can be surprisingly versatile - use to add a crunchy, slightly tart, texture to salads and sandwiches, as well as sprinkling onto homemade
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Happy Easter Banner When I was a child, we didn’t really decorate our house at Easter time perhaps a basket of painted eggs and a vase of spring flowers … but I love that today we’re happy to decorate our homes with all kinds of prettiness to celebrate this very special season. This banner is simply stitched from felt with a fusible interface backing. The embroidery and applique design provides a great opportunity to use up scraps of fabric and all your odds and ends of floss - I think I used around 6 different greens to stitch the leaves (!) which makes it a very economical make. Finished banner measures 10 ½” long x 8” wide.
● Scraps of pastel fabric for applique
Materials
● Assorted colours of stranded cotton floss for embroidery.
● 12”x 8” white felt ● 10 ½” 8” fusible medium or heavy weight white interfacing ● 24” ric rac braid ● 9 ½” wooden dowelling ● 18” cord for hanging
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● Bondaweb ● Temporary fabric marker pen
● When your embroidery is finished press your work lightly on the reverse.
Method ● Transfer the design to your felt, positioning it centrally vertically and with the bottom centre point of the middle egg 2 ½” up from the bottom edge of the felt.
● Fuse the interfacing to the reverse of your work, aligning the bottom edges. It will be shorter than the felt. Trim the top corners. (2).
● Using the reversed template trace the egg shapes onto the paper side of your bondaweb and cut out roughly. Fuse to the reverse of your fabric and cut out carefully.
● With your temporary fabric marker pen mark a point 3” up from the bottom edge on both side edges of your pennant. Then join the bottom centre point to these side points with your marker pen to create the point at the bottom of the pennant. Cut out.
● Peel off the paper backing and position the egg shapes on your felt background fabric using your transferred design as a guide. When you’re happy with their positioning fuse into place with a hot iron protecting your work with a cloth.
● Stitch the ric rac braid around the reverse edge of your pennant, beginning at the top edge of the interfacing. Position it so that the top points of the ric rac braid are visible on the right side.
● Secure the applique shapes to your background fabric with short straight stitches worked in 2 strands of floss at right angles to the edges of the shapes. Use a colour that matches your fabric choices.
● Fold over 1 ½” at the top edge of the banner to create a pocket for your dowelling rod. Machine stitch (3). ● Insert rod into pocket.
● Now stitch the rest of the design using the photo (1) as a guide. Use two strands of floss throughout and choose colours that work with your fabric choices - I used up lots of odds and ends of floss when stitching this design.
● Tie cord to both ends of rod, adjusting length as you prefer. ● Your pennant is now finished.
1. The text is worked in chain stitch 2. The flowers are worked in radiating straight stitch. To keep my stitches radiating evenly I like to work the first stitches at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock and then fill in between them. The centres of the flowers are French knots. 3. The leaves are satin stitch worked at an angle to an imaginary central vein. 4. The stems are stem stitch.
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Tea Time Chocolatey Treats!
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We have so many lovely chocolatey recipes in our family I thought I’dshare a couple of teatime treats with you - lovely for sharing over a cup of tea and a chat at Easter - or any other time!
Florentines Ingredients
Method
● 2 tablespoons golden syrup
● Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
● 55 g butter
● Line three baking trays with baking parchment or silicon sheets.
● 55 g soft brown sugar ● 55 g chopped almonds ● 30 g chopped glace cherries ● 30 g raisins ● Zest of an orange, grated ● 45 g plain flour ● 170g good quality plain chocolate
● Put the syrup butter and sugar in a heavy-based pan over a low heat. When it has melted and the sugar dissolved remove from the heat and add all the other ingredients stirring well to mix. ● Make 18 Florentines by spooning six teaspoonfuls of the mixture on to each of the prepared baking trays, leaving plenty of room for them to spread during cooking. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden-brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. ● Melt the chocolate over a pan of hot water. Spread a little melted chocolate over the flat underside of each biscuit and leave to cool slightly before marking a zigzag pattern in the chocolate with a fork. Leave to set with the chocolate side uppermost. Store in an airtight container.
Chocolate Flapjacks Ingredients
Method
● 110 g butter
● Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
● 55 g plain chocolate
● Generously grease the Swiss Roll tin.
● 1 tablespoon golden syrup ● 85 g soft brown sugar ● 85 g cornflakes ● 55 g self-raising flour ● 55 g rolled oats You will need a Swiss Roll tin
● Chop the butter into a heavy-based pan over a low heat. Break the chocolate into pieces and add it to the butter. Add the golden syrup and sugar. ● Place the cornflakes into a strong plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. ● When the butter and chocolate have melted and the sugar is dissolved, stir thoroughly and remove the mixture from the heat. ● Put the cornflakes, flour and oats into a large basin. Mix, then make a well in the centre. Pour in the melted ingredients and blend thoroughly. ● Press the mixture into your Swiss Roll tin and bake for 15-20 minutes. ● Cut into fingers while still warm in the tin. Leave to cool, then remove and cool fully on a wire rack.
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Bunny Napkin Rings Whether you celebrate Easter or just love spring bunnies these little napkin rings will make a fun addition to your dining table this month! I adore projects like this that create something both pretty and useful out of next to nothing - the materials needed are minimal as they’re all handstitched from scraps of felt with a little jute ribbon to form the napkin ring itself. Jute ribbon is readily available from craft shops, and also on eBay as it’s really popular for weddings. Each bunny face measures just over 2 ½” tall.
Method
Materials
● Using the full size template and your temporary fabric marker trace around the rabbit head shape onto your white felt. (1) Don’t cut the shapes out yet as it’s easier to work on them all in one piece.
● 12” square white felt ● Scraps of pale blue, brown and pale pink felt ● Stranded cotton floss in white, pale pink brown, pale blue and black ● 24” x 1” wide jute ribbon
● Using the reverse template trace the markings onto the paper side of your Bondaweb. Cut out roughly and fuse to your blue or brown felt. Peel off paper backing, position on rabbit head shapes and fuse into place with a hot iron using a cloth to protect your work. ● Using the template as a guide draw the rabbit features onto the head shapes. ● Secure the applique to the head with two strands of matching floss and short straight stitches worked at right angles to the edge of the shape. ● Add features using 2 strands of floss. The eyes, nose and cheeks are satin stitch, while the mouth is back stitch. Work tiny stitches in black to represent whiskers. ● Cut out heads, and also cut out second head shape from white felt for each face
● Toy stuffing
● Join the two head shapes together with blanket stitch and 2 strands of floss. Stuff lightly as you go to give the head a nice rounded shape.
● Temporary fabric marker pen
● Cut your jute ribbon into 6” lengths and join the ends to form a circle. ● Sew the rabbit head to the circle to cover the join in the ribbon.
● Bondaweb
● FINISHED!
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● Add features using 2 strands of floss. The eyes, nose and cheeks are satin stitch, while the mouth is back stitch. Work tiny stitches in black to represent whiskers.
Method ● Using the full size template and your temporary fabric marker trace around the rabbit head shape onto your white felt. (1) Don’t cut the shapes out yet as it’s easier to work on them all in one piece.
● Cut out heads, and also cut out second head shape from white felt for each face ● Join the two head shapes together with blanket stitch and 2 strands of floss. Stuff lightly as you go to give the head a nice rounded shape.
● Using the reverse template trace the markings onto the paper side of your Bondaweb. Cut out roughly and fuse to your blue or brown felt. Peel off paper backing, position on rabbit head shapes and fuse into place with a hot iron using a cloth to protect your work.
● Cut your jute ribbon into 6” lengths and join the ends to form a circle. ● Sew the rabbit head to the circle to cover the join in the ribbon.
● Using the template as a guide draw the rabbit features onto the head shapes.
● FINISHED!
● Secure the applique to the head with two strands of matching floss and short straight stitches worked at right angles to the edge of the shape.
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Saffron Yeasted Buns makes about 20
Ingredients
● 20 g fresh yeast or 1 dried yeast sachet
● 350 g butter
● 100 g caster sugar
● 900 g plain flour
● 300 ml lukewarm milk
● 450 g currants
● Pinch saffron
● 75 g chopped mixed peel ● Pinch grated nutmeg
Method ● Pre heat your oven to 200C, 400F gas mark 6.
● Mix the yeast with the sugar and stir into the milk. Leave for 20 mins or so until it begins to froth. ● Rub the butter into the flour then stir in the currants, mixed peel and nutmeg (adjust amount to suit your own taste). ● Make a hollow in the centre of the flour mixture, pour in the yeast and milk and add enough saffron to give a good colour. ● Mix to a soft dough, adding a little more milk if the mixture seems a bit stiff. ● Turn onto a floured board and knead well. ● Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp cloth or with cling film and leaf in a warm place to prove until it has doubled in size. ● Turn out and knead again until smooth. ● Shape the mixture into small buns. ● Place on a greased baking sheet. ● Let the buns stand in a warm place for a further 15 minutes proving time then bake for 15 to 20 minutes. ● Glaze with a mixture of sugar and hot milk immediately you remove them from the oven and then cool on a wire rack.
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Miss Matilda Gosling I first designed a pattern called “Little Geese” six years ago now. Miss Matilda Gosling is a revised and updated version of that original pattern. I like to think that my softie making skills have developed a lot over this time, and think the alterations I’ve made to my original pattern reflect this. You don’t need a pebble to keep your geese standing firm and tall any more (now I don’t live by the beach I appreciate it can be hard to get hold of pebbles!) and I’ve added some pretty - but very simple embroidery to her neck. Her legs are wired, but if you’ve never tried this technique before then Matilda is a good project to begin with as her wiring is very simple indeed. Matilda stands 9” tall (approx)
● White and yellow stranded floss or cotton pearl thread
Materials ● 12” square white felt
● Black thread
● 7” x 5” printed fabric (I used a Tilda printed quilting cotton)
● 2 small black spherical beads for eyes
● 4” square yellow felt ● 7” galvanised garden wire (not too thick as you need to be able to bend it fairly easily)
● DMC stranded floss colour 4500 (optional for embroidery on neck) ● Temporary fabric adhesive spray ● Temporary fabric marker pen ● Toy stuffing
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Method ● Cut out all pieces as directed on the full size templates. The gusset and wings are cut from felt and fabric together. To do this spray your felt piece with temporary fabric adhesive and place your cotton on top. Pat down firmly. Now cut as a single fabric, remembering to reverse the wing template. ● With your temporary fabric marker pen mark the gusset position on the chest and also the point on the side body edges where you will insert the leg wire. It’s best to do this now as the smooth shapes mean you won’t be certain where to join and insert when you’re stitching your goose. ● All pieces are joined with wrong sides together and using a decorative cross stitch. To make the stitch use two strands of floss and whip over the edge in one direction, then return the other way to complete the stitch.
Tip: Decorative cross stitch makes a very strong seam as even if one thread is broken the other will not unravel.
● First make the legs. Take your wire and fold over ¾” at each end to make a loop. Bend your wire in half, with the loop at the top having a 1 ½” diameter (see diagram) ● Stitch the pairs of leg pieces together and push the wire inside as shown in diagram. ● Now catch the sides of the felt leg and stitch them together at the back. This has the effect of narrowing the leg. ● Join the two body sides together down the top from the beak opening to the tail. ● Join the head from under the beak to X. Stuff the head lightly. ● Insert the gusset from X to the tail, inserting the legs where marked on the template. (Note: treat the gusset/fabric sandwich as a single piece of fabric making your stitches through both felt and cotton). Insert stuffing as you go, so that the loop of wire at the top of the legs is held in place firmly by the stuffing. This is what will keep your legs from wobbling. ● Stitch the beak seam and stuff beak. Attach beak to head with the seam at the bottom inserting more stuffing as you go so everything is nice and firm. ● Bend legs and feet into shape so your geese stands nice and firm without wobbling. ● Cross stitch around the edges of the wings and stitch into place on the body using the photographs as a guide. ● Mark the position of the eyes with glassheaded pins. Take your time over this and make sure they’re absolutely level from all sides and your goose has a nice expression. When you’re happy stitch beads into place with black thread.
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● Remove all temporary fabric marker lines.
● Now add the embroidery. Use two strands of floss and simply randomly add straight stitches, perhaps loosely placing them as if they were flowers and leaves depending on how the floss colours work out as you stitch.
● Miss Matilda Gosling is now finished!
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Daffy-down-Dilly: Golden Spring Sunshine! 21
Brave, bold and above all beautiful, daffodils bring a splash of very welcome colour to gardens and countryside in spring Drifts of cheerful yellow daffodils spread across parks, gardens and roadsides at this time of year, their massed blooms a bright reminder that spring is now most definitely on its way. Beautiful and often fragrant too, daffodils
have a long flowering season and, if you choose your varieties carefully you can enjoy them in your garden from late winter until well into April. Most are very hard, surviving even the harshest weather to bring us their message of hope and cheer. Daffodils naturalise easily in grass or beneath deciduous trees that, without their leaves in the colder months, allow even the weakest winter sunshine to warm the ground where the bulbs are awaiting their moment of triumph. Daffodils belong to the large narcissus family that numbers approximately 150 species, mainly originating from north
Africa and Europe. Their name comes from the ancient Greek legend of Narcissus. He was an exceptionally handsome young man who became so infatuated with his own reflection in a pool that he pined away and was turned into a flower by the gods. The daffodil’s nodding head is said to represent Narcissus leaning over the pond to gaze adoringly at his reflection. Here in Britain daffodils have been loved for centuries perhaps the most famous are those growing alongside Ullswater in the Lake District immortalised by William Wordsworth in his famous poem. We can’t be certain however if the daffodil is actually native to these shores, and one theory is that it was introduced by the Romans (along with stinging nettles and rabbits!) and became naturalised over time. The oldest varieties of daffodil still cultivated date back to the 16th century, though it wasn’t until Victorian times that increasing numbers of hybrids were bred from species daffodils collected in Europe. Over the last two hundred years an amazing 156,000 different cultivars have been developed from the original species.
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Despite the vast number of varieties available, all daffodils have much in common, including being mildly toxic if eaten. All develop from bulbs that spend most of the year in a dormant state beneath ground. They awaken in the autumn to produce their roots (this is why autumn is planting time for daffodils and narcissi) and then, during late winter and early spring they begin to send up their leaves. The flowers follow, borne singly or in clusters of up to six on the leafless stems. Daffodils can be grown from seed, but it takes years before they flower and even more time while new varieties
are trialled and proven to be good reliable plants for the garden. This is the reason why so many of today’s most popular daffodils are old varieties that have stood the test of time. One of the best known of these is “Tete-a-tete” which was first registed in 1949. It’s a miniature early flowering and long-lasting species whose bright yellow blooms are guaranteed to brighten even the dullest of spring days. Undemanding and easy to grow, these are a great choice for borders, rockeries and containers on a sunny windowsill, or grow them in drifts naturalised in
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grass (but don’t mow your grass until the leaves have died back or you won’t have any blooms to enjoy the following spring!) Wherever you are in the UK, there’s sure to be some wonderful daffodil displays near to you - check out these websites for details: National Trust Places to see Daffodils Great British Gardens; Daffodils and Spring Gardens Wildlife Trusts: Places to see Wild Daffodils
Signs of Spring Muscari Bulbs I love this time of year when spring bulbs begin to appear and I know that the darkest days of winter are behind us. I’ve created a couple of spring bulb designs already - and this year I decided to stitch a Cornishware “Dreadnought” jug absolutely stuffed with beautiful blue Muscari (or grape hyacinth). The flowers are hand embroidered, whilst the jug is machine applique onto a background of natural coloured linen and vintage blanket. Shown in 12” x 8” oval hoop. ● DMC stranded cotton floss in colours 472, 581, 907, 937 and 4240
Materials ● 11” square natural coloured medium weight fabric ● 11” x 5” check fabric (I used a vintage blanket scrap) ● 5” square white felt ● Scraps of dark blue cotton fabric ● 8” x 12” hoop
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● Bondaweb ● Embroidery foot for your sewing machine
● Using two strands of cotton throughout work the whole design in satin stitch following the colour chart below. Change the angles of the satin stitch on the leaves (1) as this will make the stitches reflect light in different ways and make your work seem livelier.
Method ● First work the hand embroidery. Transfer the pattern to your natural coloured fabric centred widthways and with the bottom of the design 3” up from the bottom edge of your fabric.
● Trace, cut and fuse the blue stripes in the same way. (2)
● When your work is finished press lightly on the reverse being careful not to flatten your stitches.
● Fit the embroidery foot to your sewing machine and with black thread in your needle and a pale colour in your bobbin go around the edge of your pieces twice. Don’t be too neat, you’re aiming for a sort of scribbled effect.
● Join bottom of the embroidered panel to the check fabric. Use a ¼” seam allowance and press the seam open to minimise bulk at the reverse of your design that could prevent it sitting properly in the hoop.
● When finished, press on the reverse and mount in hoop, trimming away excess fabric.
● Trace the jug shape onto the paper side of your bondaweb, fuse to white felt, cut out, peel off backing paper and position on your design. Fuse into place (1)
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Home Comforts Mixed spice is the traditional - and totally perfect - ingredient for Easter bakes. To make your own blend 1 tablespoon each of allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg, 2 tablespoons mace and 1 teaspoon each of ground coriander, cloves and ginger and store in an airtight jar. A lovely alternative to giving chocolate at this time of year is to add mixed spice, grated lemon rind and raisins or other dried fruit to your biscuit dough, bake and then bundle in a stack tied with a pretty pastel ribbon as a gift.
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Bunny Love Cushion Cover I know I’ve said it before and I’m repeating myself, but I really do think one of the easiest, quickest and probably least expensive ways to change your décor to reflect the seasons is to switch around your cushions. I’m ready for some new spring arrivals and I think this little rabbit cushion cover definitely fits the bill! It’s mainly machine applique, with a few hand embroidered details and while it isn’t a beginner’s make it certainly isn’t particularly difficult, the key is to keep track of all your pieces and the order in which to apply them! Sized to fit 16” pad
● Scraps of felt and fabric for the remainder of the applique design including, if possible, a scrap of faux fur for the bunny’s tail
Materials ● 16” square natural coloured fabric for front of cushion and two 12” x 18” rectangles of the same fabric for the reverse
● Stranded cotton floss in green, yellow and pink and black or other colours of your choice that will work well with your fabric and felt scraps
● 2 yards x 2 ½” wide floral fabric for the border (I used a Cath Kidston cotton duck fabric)
● Bondaweb ● Embroidery foot for your sewing machine
● 10” x 6” rectangle brown felt
● Temporary fabric marker pen ● 16” cushion pad
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Tip: when assembling complex designs lay them all out on your fabric BEFORE you fuse them into place. Only fuse the shapes to the main fabric when you’re completely happy with their positioning.
Method ● First work on your front applique panel. Trace the rabbit, small hearts and tree shapes onto the paper side of your bondaweb (1). Cut out roughly and fuse to the reverse of your felt or fabric.
● Draw in the embroidered elements with your temporary fabric marker pen (6) Stitch with three strands of embroidery floss. The fronds are back stitch, the cluster of daisies are lazy daisy stitch with a French knot in the centre and the flower buds at the bottom are satin stitch, the stalks are chain stitch. Add the bunny’s eye.
Tip: If you make a cut into the centre of your Bondaweb shape before fusing it to your fabric it will be much easier to peel the paper backing away from this cut than trying to separate it from the edge of the shape.
● When finished remove all temporary fabric marker pen lines and press on the reverse.(7)
● When cutting the pots and soil allow a little extra at the bottom of the soil for the pot to overlap (2)
● Take your 2 ½” wide strip of fabric and join it to one edge of the panel with a ¼” seam allowance. Cut level with the panel edge. Then do the same across the next side, taking in the 2 ½” strip as well as the panel - rather as though you were stitching a log cabin design quilt block. (8) It’s hard to explain but hopefully the diagram below will show what I mean.
● Position the rabbit centrally and with the top of his haunches approx 5 ½” down from the top edge of your fabric. ● Fuse into place. With your temporary fabric marker pen draw in the stems of the trees (3) ● Fit the embroidery foot to your sewing machine and drop the feed dogs. With dark thread in your needle and a paler colour in your bobbin (to avoid a heavy dark line) go around the edge of each shape twice. Don’t be too neat, you’re aiming for a sort of scribbled effect. Go up and down the tree trunks several times. ● Now begin to build up your flower garland. The overlapping is from right to left on the finished cushion. Take especial care when cutting out the leaf fronds so you have nice curvy shapes without any jagged edges. Fuse and machine stitch to your panel in the same way as before (5).
● Press seams open. ● Hem one long side of each of the back panels.
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● Place your front panel right side up on a clean flat surface. Place your back panels right side down on top overlapping the seamed edges at the centre. This will form your envelope closure.
● Clip corners and turn right side out. ● Press firmly around the edges. ● Stitch in the ditch all the way around the edge of the main panel (9). This creates the pretty floral edge trimming for your cushion.
● Pin or baste in place.
● Insert pad.
● Stitch around the edge of the cushion with a ¼” seam allowance.
● FINISHED!
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Spring is in the Air Hoop Template is full size and also reversed to suit your preferred method of transfer.
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Happy Easter Banner Template is full size and also reversed to suit your preferred method of transfer/tracing onto Bondaweb
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Bunny Napkin Rings Template is full size and also reversed for tracing onto the paper side of your Bondaweb
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Insert leg wire through seam here, making sure the top 1/8� felt is also contained wtihin the seam
Miss Matilda Gosling Templates are full size and include seam allowance 37
Signs of Spring: Grape Hyacinths Template is full size and the jug is reversed for tracing onto the paper side of your Bondaweb
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Spring Bunny Cushion Template is actual size and reversed for tracing onto the paper side of your bondaweb. The two pieces overlap for easy joining together.
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Discover more lovely patterns on the Bustle & Sew website www.bustleandsew.com 41