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A Bustle & Sew Publication Copyright Š Bustle & Sew Limited 2020 The right of Helen Challenor 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 2020 by: Bustle & Sew Station House West Cranmore Shepton Mallet BA4 4QP www.bustleandsew.com
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Welcome to the July Magazine Hello everyone! At last the lockdown is beginning to lift and we will soon be able to get out and about again - though things are unlikely to return to normal for a very long time I fear. But nonetheless, there is good news here at Bustle & Sew HQ - our wedding, postponed from April, is now confirmed to take place in July though it will be a very much quieter and smaller affair than originally planed, we will finally be able to make our vows to each other. Holidays are also set to resume, and whether you’re visiting the beach here in the UK, or heading off to foreign climes, you might like to try our vintage beach wrap pattern - it’s so easy to make, and great for enveloping salty children before they begin to shiver! But whatever you’re doing this month, please do be sure to stay safe and well, and hopefully I’ll have a few wedding photos to share next time. Best wishes
Helen xx
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Between this month’s covers … July Almanac
Page 5
Freya’s Little Lamb
Page 55
Picnic Time
Page 7
Building your own Den
Page 57
Rainbow Hoop
Page 8
Making a Vintage Style Bathrobe
Page 58
You’ve Been Framed!
Page 10
Making a Windbreak
Page 61
Organising Your Workspace
Page 12
Embroidered Forest Hoop
Page 62
Summer in the Garden
Page 14
Home Comforts
Page 67
Swimming Fishes
Page 16
Embroidery Stitch Guide
Page 68
A (very) Little Guide to Fusible Interfacing
Page 19
In the Kitchen: Conversion Tables
Page 69
An Old Fashioned Holiday
Page 21
Templates
Page 70
A Little Look at Working with Colour
Page 22
Poetry Corner
Page 26
Plant a Garden Hoop
Page 28
Summer in the Herb Garden
Page 34
Simple Leaf Forms: A Sampler
Page 44
Writing Product Descriptions
Page 48
The Countryside in July
Page 50
Lovely Idea: DIY Plant Pots
Page 54
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July The countryside is transformed once again this month as crops begin to ripen and fields turn slowly from green to gold. Soft fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries and black currants are available in abundance - on garden bushes, in shops and supermarkets and at pick your own fruit farms, and enthusiastic jam makers can sometimes be spotted slaving over their hot preserving pans late into the evening to make the most of this summer bounty. July brings the beginning of the holiday season and though it’s one of the hottest months of the year, weather lore seems to be preoccupied with rain - most famously on St Swithin’s Day which falls on the fifteenth of the month. Everyone knows the folklore of this day, which falls on the fifteenth of the month - and in particular that it never ever comes true! If it rains on that day then we’re not going to experience a forty day deluge and if it’s sunny then we are by no
means guaranteed a barbeque summer. But there is a small kernel of truth that may have inspired the legend, which is that summer weather patterns established by mid-July will often
“In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light. In summer quite the other way, I have to go to bed by day. I have to go to bed and see The birds still hopping on the tree, Or hear the grown-up people's feet Still going past me in the street. And does it not seem hard to you, When all the sky is clear and blue, And I should like so much to play, To have to go to bed by day?"
persist well into August. So the day itself won’t tell you a great deal about the weather ahead, but a
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look at the general trend might give you more idea of what’s to come. July is also the month in which the most crop circles appear - that is to say stems of wheat, barley or other cereal crops trampled or bent into beautiful geometric patterns within golden fields. Amazingly the earliest known report of a crop circle was in 1678 in Hertfordshire, but it was during the 1970’s that they began to appear more frequently with up to fifty appearing every year. Most crop circles appear in the southern English county of Wiltshire - which as well as large flat arable fields - has a plethora of mysterious prehistoric monuments. The circles are often found in the vicinity of Stonehenge and Avebury and the smaller prehistoric sites around them. Although many circles are without doubt the work of hoaxers, still a small kernel of doubt and awe remains.
Trees now take on a deep green colour as chlorophyll levels change in their leaves whilst in towns the common lime tree becomes festooned with dropping heads of blossom. Its sweet perfume is designed to attract the bees and hoverflies needed for pollination and so intoxicating is its nectar that bumblebees can fall helpless to the ground. Later in the season these limes become infested with aphids which exude a mist of sticky honeydew onto cars parked beneath. Watering your garden can be a problem at this time of year, especially if it’s a long dry summer and hosepipe bans are in force. One of the best ways to get around this problem is to purchase a water butt. This can then sit discreetly tucked away beneath the downpipe of a gutter giving you lovely fresh water for your garden - hopefully all year round. Henley Royal Regatta takes place in the first week of July on a stretch of the River Thames at Henley on Thames in Oxfordshire. The Regatta began in 1839 with a single afternoon of rowing races, and has grown over the years to become a five-day event and one of the highlights of the British social and sporting calendar. Further afield, the first of July is Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, commemorating the Canadian Confederation of 1867; the union of Ontario,
Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the Dominion of Canada. It is celebrated throughout the country with parades, fireworks and other festivities. Canada’s nearest neighbour also celebrates in early July - the fourth is of course
seven prisoners held there were released and the prison governor was captured and killed. This event is generally regarded as the beginning of the French Revolution which led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the birth of the republic.
“July is what our old poets loved to call “sweet summer time, when the leaves are green and long,” for in such brief word-painting did they picture this pleasant season of the year; and, during this hot month, we sigh and pine to get away to some place where we can hear the murmur of the sea, or what is nearest the sound - the rustle of the summer leaves.”
In the countryside at the end of July, the corn fields are beginning to ripen and turn golden edged with blue scabious and purple knapweed, while the hedgerows bloom with willowherb, yarrow and other wild flowers. Having raised their young birds such as robins, thrushes and blackbirds are falling quiet and going into moult, while the first breathtaking blooming of roses in June has passed, there has been a lull and now the new buds of the second flowering are waiting to burst into new bloom.
Chambers Book of Days (1864) Independence Day commemorating the formal adoption by the Continental Congress of the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776. July 14th brings Bastille Day in France. On this day in 1789 the people of Paris stormed the Bastille, the state prison, which was regarded as a symbol of the hated Bourbon monarchy. The
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Across the land midsummer flower and produce shows have been held in countless marquees and village halls, where there is often keen competition to win the prize for the best dahlia or largest marrow. The triumphant gardeners have carried home their trophies and rosettes whilst the less fortunate may already be planning next year’s campaign. Summer is here and it seems for a few short weeks that it will stay for ever - but that’s not true, so we must make the most of it while it lasts.
“There’s cold chicken inside it,” replied the Rat briefly; “coldtonguecoldhamcoldbeefpickledgherkinssaladfrenchrolls cresssandwichespottedmeatgingerbeerlemonadesodawater -” “O stop, stop,” cried the Mole in ecstasies: “This is too much!” Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
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You’ve Been Framed! Displaying your Special Fabrics
It’s not unusual to find a pile of unloved frames - maybe containing some dusty, faded prints - at the rear of charity shops, jumble sales and car boot displays. You may think they’re just clutter, but in fact they can easily be repurposed to display some of your precious fabrics - the pieces that you can never bring yourself to cut and use perhaps! Any solid wooden frame is good for this purpose, but do be sure that whatever frame you choose is strong, not coming unglued at the corners (unless of course it can be easily fixed) and not full of woodworm. If you don’t already have the perfect piece of fabric in mind to frame, then keep your eyes open for a piece of the right size or scale to fill it. There are masses of wonderful vintage fabrics out there - barkcloths seem to have the largest most vibrant prints if that’s your taste - or hunt down fabulous botanicals, geometric prints or whatever you prefer.
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Summer in the Garden Your treasured plants may need a little extra help during these long hot days ‌.
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A (very)Little Look at Working with Colour Colour is a hugely important part of our day-to-day lives, exerting enormous influence on our mood, feelings and even has the power to suggest hidden messages – whose interpretation may vary depending upon the viewer. We all react to colours in different ways, depending a great deal upon our background and culture. Most of us have the opportunity to travel more than ever before, and we are surrounded by images of the world around us, so we have plenty of colour combinations, both the familiar and more exotic to choose from, from the hot colours of India and the icy blues of the polar regions, to the hues of nature that surround our homes.
is the colour of mourning whilst Indian wives wearing white are considered to be inviting widowhood and unhappiness. We also divide colours into “warm” and “cool” – reds, oranges and yellows as opposed to blues and greens. Our prehistoric ancestors viewed red as the colour of fire and blood, whilst we continue to view it as the colour of love, seduction and passion. Nobody can be indifferent to red. Indeed, red is one of the top two favourite colours of all people, and is regarded as the colour of good luck in Asia. In English (and most languages), there are separate words for “green” and “blue” that we learn from our earliest days. But - did you know there are a number of cultures with a completely different system of grouping and naming colours - whose members do not see the (to us obvious) different colours that are blue and green. It’s interesting to think that different
In the west we associate green with fertility, red with anger, whilst white is the colour of purity and innocence used for brides’ dresses and babies’ Christening robes. However in China white, not black,
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A Smuggler’s Song Rudyard Kipling
It is believed that Rudyard Kipling was inspired to write this poem after hearing stories of smugglers during a holiday spent in Cornwall. 11
If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse’s feet, Don’t go drawing back the blind, or looking in the street, Them that ask no questions isn’t told a like. Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by! Five and twenty ponies, Trotting through the dark Brandy for the Parson, ‘Baccy for the Clerk; Laces for a lady; letters for a spy, And watch the wall, my darling, while the Gentlemen go by! Running round the woodlump if you chance to find Little barrels, roped and tarred, all full of brandy-wine, Don’t you shout to come and look, nor use ‘em for your play. Put the brishwood back again - and they’ll be gone next day! If you see the stable-door setting open wide; If you see a tired horse lying down inside; If your mother mends a coat cut about and tore; If the lining's wet and warm - don't you ask no more ! If you meet King George's men, dressed in blue and red, You be careful what you say, and mindful what is said. If they call you " pretty maid," and chuck you 'neath the chin, Don't you tell where no one is, nor yet where no one's been ! Knocks and footsteps round the house - whistles after dark You've no call for running out till the house-dogs bark. Trusty's here, and Pincher's here, and see how dumb they lie They don't fret to follow when the Gentlemen go by ! 'If You do as you've been told, 'likely there's a chance, You'll be give a dainty doll, all the way from France, With a cap of Valenciennes, and a velvet hood A present from the Gentlemen, along 'o being good ! Five and twenty ponies, Trotting through the dark Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk. Them that asks no questions isn't told a lie Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by !
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Whipped Spider Wheel Stitch
Detached Wheat Ear Stitch
I tried to think of the best way to describe this stitch but to be honest I think this is one of those occasions when a picture works best. Begin by working a some radiating straight stitches with ends meeting at a centre point. Make sure they’re not too closely packed together. Then bring your thread up towards the centre of the wheel you’ve created and weave your thread as shown below:
Work two short straight stitches at right angles to each other, meeting at the point of the right angle. Then bring your needle up again through the fabric and pass it through both stitches at the base of the angle.
French Knot
Stop before the ends of your straight stitches so your wheel has little “legs.” Woven Wheel Stitch Again I think a picture works best. Begin by working an odd number radiating straight stitches with ends meeting at a centre point. Make sure they’re not too closely packed together. Then bring your thread up towards the centre of the wheel as before and weave your thread as shown below:
Weave as many turns as you can to make a nice fat flower.
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Bring your thread through to the front of your fabric at the place you want to place your knot. Hold it down firmly with your left thumb and first finger and twist your needle two or three times around the held thread as shown by the upper needle in the diagram above. Then, with your twists pulled fairly tightly around your needle and the thread still held firmly in your left hand, turn your needle around and push it back through your fabric very close to where it first emerged, still keeping your thread tight with your left thumb.
Pull your thread through firmly and the knot will be left on top. If you’re having problems check that you’re twisting the thread around the needle in the same direction as the diagram above and keeping your thread nice and taut. The secret of successful French knots is in the correct twist of the needle and the tautness of your thread.
From the Herb Garden
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Tastes of the Season: Raspberries For some reason the raspberry doesn’t seem to be nearly as popular as that other summer berry, the strawberry. Yet these delightfully tart, luscious and juicy fruits deserve to be loved just as much as their larger cousins. The reasons for their comparative lack of popularity may be that they are just to soft and delicate to transport easily when ripe, and also be cause they spoil to quickly. These two factors combined make them a supply and distribution nightmare for supermarkets and greengrocers. There is a way around this problem though - you could visit a pick your own farm and gather your own punnet of berries on the day you’re planning to eat them. Or why not try growing your own? They’re relatively easy to grow in any sized garden as they work well in containers if you only have a limited space. Pick your raspberries on a dry day if possible when they’ll be at their fragrant best. Wash them as little as they need, and only ever under a very gentle trickle of water. Eat in various ways - including very simply with just a little sugar and cream to mellow their tartness - the perfect taste
Herringbone Stitch
You can closely work this stitch to provide coverage or it can be more widely spaced and it achieves very quick results. Working from right to left along an imaginary double line, bring your thread out at A. Insert your needle a little to the right on the upper line at
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B and then bring it to the front again at C. Now return to the lower line and insert your needle at D, bringing it to the front again at E. Then simply repeat these steps. It’s really important to keep this stitch evenly spaced as otherwise it will look very messy.
Making a Den Children especially love outdoor dens for the sense these give of having a little child-sized space of their own where they can hide away - no grown ups allowed! Building them one of their own using natural materials add extra enchantment - whether you use driftwood washed ashore on the beach from far away places, or perhaps living foliage where the leaves will spread day by day to make it more secret and then begin to change colour at the end of the summer. An easy way to create a den is to make a wigwam of tall poles thrust into the ground in a a circle and tied together at the top. It’s best to start off with five or so poles to establish the shape and then fill in the gaps between them with more. Attaching two or three horizontal poles between two of them will give you a structure on which to tie up stems so that you can leave a clear doorway. Planting a fast growing vine to cover the poles will give the children luxuriant cover - or why not choose living willow stakes? These are easy to find online if you don’t have a supplier nearby. They should be planted between November and March in a trench about 30 cm (one foot) deep, with plenty of organic matter added. Water them well and watch the bare stems burst into growth in the spring.
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Make your own Windbreak Let’s be honest - the weather here in the UK means you can’t be guaranteed perfect beach weather all summer long. Often when the sun’s shining, the wind is blowing too, and a windbreak can make all the difference to your enjoyment of a day by the sea. If you’re setting off to the beach and don’t already have one, then they’re quick and easy to make - and a great way to use up some surplus yardage from your stash too! You will need approximately 4 yards of medium or heavy weight fabric and five sturdy garden canes, each around 12” taller than the width of your fabric. Turn each short end of the yardage under by ½” and then by the required width of the casing (you need to be able to insert your cane easily) plus ¼”. Machine stitch 1/4” from the turned under edge, forming a casing at either end of the fabric. Now mark vertical lines on the wrong side of your fabric dividing the fabric length into quarters. For each casing fold along one line with right sides facing and machine stitch parallel to the line the required width of the casing away from it. Insert canes, roll up the windbreak (tie with a scrap of fabric or tape) and you’re good to go!
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● Stitch design in accordance with guide below.
Method
● When finished press lightly on the reverse and mount in hoop for display.
● Iron your background fabric well before beginning.
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Home Comforts Make the most of supermarket herbs by avoiding the packets of fresh precut herbs (they’re often imported with high food miles) and instead choose pots which are much more likely to have been grown in this country. The main reason these plants die after around a week to ten days in your kitchen is because too many plants have been stuffed into one pot and there simply isn’t enough room for them to grow. If you take the time to split them, not only will they live longer but there will be more for you to harvest over the weeks ahead. To split these herbs, gently remove them from the pot (you may need to turn it upside down and tap the rim sharply - don’t try to pull them out by the leaves) then push your thumbs into the roots and ease the plants apart. Splitting into two is good, but three or four clumps is even better. Repot these smaller sections into individual containers using fresh compost.
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