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A Bustle & Sew Publication Copyright Š Bustle & Sew Limited 2018 The right of Helen Dickson 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 2018 by: Bustle & Sew The Cottage Oakhill Radstock BA3 5HT UK www.bustleandsew.com
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Welcome to the August Magazine It’s hard to believe that we’re now past the peak of summer - and what a summer it’s turning out to be here in Somerset, England. The sun has shone nearly every day, the skies are blue and temperatures have been climbing. Rosie has often teased me about my memories of our other legendary summer that’s 1976 of course - and I’m beginning to wonder if Freddie will be doing the same to her in 40 years time! This month’s magazine has a very summery feel too as Rosie’s recipes takes a trip down memory lane with her seaside holiday recipes, there are two “Perfectly Portable” designs - just right for taking on holiday, not to mention a tropical toucan too! Then we interview two very talented makers, discover herbs that will help us get to sleep on these super-warm nights and our Nature Notes series returns with a glimpse into the life of the Tawny Owl. I do hope you’ll enjoy this month’s edition, and just a quick reminder that the September issue (with the first of this year’s Christmas patterns) will be published, as always, on the last Thursday of the month in this case Thursday 30 August. So if you’re a subscriber watch out for it arriving in your inbox then! Until then, I hope you have a wonderful month!
Helen xx
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Tip for Stitchers I’m sorry to say that I’m not one of those super-organised stitchers who always wind their floss onto neatly numbered bobbins (I wish I was though!) If you’re like me and often use your floss directly from the skein, then you will also probably have experienced the frustration of pulling the “wrong” end out of the band and so ending up with a tangled mess of floss that’s really difficult to unravel. But don’t despair - did you know that if you can see two ends of floss then you should ALWAYS pull the end that emerges from the numbered band. This is the “correct” end and your skein should unravel perfectly.
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Between this month’s covers … Tips for Stitchers
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Guide to your Sewing Machine
Page 43
August Almanac
Page 6
Lovely Idea: Crochet Pattern
Page 45
Best Friends Forever Hoop
Page 8
Embroidered Hat Band
Page 46
It’s Aestival Season
Page 12
Meet the Maker: Katjuska
Page 49
Meet the Maker: Sam Walker Ceramics
Page 13
Time and Tide
Page 51
Herbs to Help You Sleep
Page 15
Tropical Toucan Hanging
Page 53
Lovely Idea: Summer Printable
Page 17
Blast from the Past - Flamingo Hoop
Page 56
Dandelions Cushion Cover
Page 18
Home Comforts
Page 59
Poetry Corner: Poppies
Page 20
In the Kitchen: Conversion Tables
Page 60
A (very) Little History of American Quilting
Page 21
Templates
Page 61
Nature Notes: The Teasel
Page 25
Party Hamster
Page 26
Tastes of the Season: Sweetcorn
Page 29
Rosie’s Recipes: A Seaside Holiday
Page 30
Tastes of the Season: Blackberries
Page 38
Hello Giraffe! Hoop
Page 39
Nature Notes: The Tawny Owl
Page 42
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August August is the month for holidays towns and cities empty of workers, their places taken by hordes of visitors with backpacks, cameras and guidebooks to help them find their way around. If you’re staycationing and the weather is fine, then your days will seem to blend into one another in a haze of golden sunshine and nothing much happening - perhaps you’ll take a picnic into the park or countryside one day, or potter in the garden the next. August is the month for fun, for holidays by the sea, barbecues with friends and family, festivals, carnivals and day trips to all kinds of interesting places. Across gardens and countryside everything is ripening all at once and there is a sense that summer is beginning to slip quietly from our grasp. The colours are turning from green to gold and in hot weather the grass looks parched and tired. Plants are no longer growing vigorously, rather their energies are put into ripening seeds and fruits.
All of this is a sign that summer is on the wane, and won’t last forever, no matter how much we wish it could - so enjoy these golden days while they last - and they are now growing noticeably shorter - in London day length decreases over the month by 1 ¾ hours to 13 hours and 38 minutes.
“Now by the hedgerows and along the lane The berried cuckoo-pint and yellow vetch Herald the autumn, and the squirrels rob Windfalls of hazel and the Kentish cob.”
Indeed, though August is reliably warm, it is most often characterised by dramatic thunderstorms, with the heat and humidity of the hot summer days building into towering
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grey and ochre clouds that release thunder, lightening and torrential rain. Amazingly, in large parts of eastern England August can be one of the wettest months of the year! As we all know, August is the eighth month of the year, and it’s named after the Roman Emperor Augustus, perhaps because it had been his lucky month in terms of achievements and victories, or maybe because it follows the month named after his predecessor, Julius Caesar. August 1 was one of the four great pagan festivals of Britain celebrating the first fruits of the earth, and particularly the grain harvest - so vital if communities were to survive the cold months ahead. Although harvesting methods have changed, August is still the time to gather in the cereal crops and this is the time to spot massive combine harvesters carving their paths through dusty golden fields - and you may well get stuck behind one as they travel
between neighbouring farms along narrow winding country lanes! When Christianity was introduced Lammas continued to be observed as a festival, and as loaves were offered in church, the day was known as Hlaf-mass, later shortened to Lammas or “Loaf Mass.” Lammas was also the time when hay meadows, following their final shearing, were re-opened for common grazing and the day was marked by country fairs (especially sheep fairs) and other festivities. One of the customs associated with Lammas fairs was that of “handfasting” whereby a couple could embark upon a trial marriage for a year, at the end of which they were free to choose whether to remain together or apart for the rest of their days. In Ireland and Scotland, 1 August was known as Lughnadsh, a festival in honour of Lugh, the pagan god of light and wisdom. Loaves were baked using the first corn from the new year’s harvest and either presented as offerings at the celebratory feast, which also included newly dug potatoes and fresh summer fruits. The day’s festivities would also have featured games and sports, singing, dancing and story-telling, followed by general merrymaking around bonfires in the evening.
A little more recently … in 1740 … the song “Rule Britannia” was first heard, while in 1793, a by-product of the French Revolution, the first metric weight the Kilogram was introduced in France- both on 1 August. In the early hours of 8 August 1963 the Royal Mail train from Glasgow to London was stopped and raided in
“The barley’s beard is grey and wheat is brown And wakens toil betimes to leave the town The reapers leave their beds before the sun And gleaners follow when home toils are done To pick the littered ear the reaper leaves And glean in open fields among the sheaves”
what was to become known as the Great Train Robbery. The robbers, disguised as railway workers, used a false red signal light to bring the train to a halt, coshed the driver and then uncoupled the front part of the train and drove it further up the line to a bridge where their getaway train was waiting. They made off with more than two million pounds,
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mainly in the form of used notes that were scheduled for destruction. Later in the month, falls the Glorious Twelfth, the first day of the grouseshooting season. This sport is concentrated on the moors of northern England and Scotland where it makes a significant contribution to the rural economy. Like all blood-sports, grouse shooting has been the subject of controversy, but the increasing demand for the end product seems likely to ensure its survival. Within hours of the first shots being fired on the northern moors, the race is on to ship the birds to restaurants in London and elsewhere in time for lunch or dinner. On 14 August 1893 the first driving test and driving licence were introduced in France for male citizens over the age of 21. Those who passed the test were allowed to drive within the municipal boundaries of Paris at a maximum speed of 8 mph! It was more than forty years before the UK followed, with the introduction of voluntary testing in 1934 and compulsory testing in 1935. The end of August brings the Notting Hill Carnival - the biggest street carnival in Europe and a celebration of the British West Indian Community. One of the most popular street foods served at the event is goat curry - a vibrant and rich dish that is served at almost every Jamaican party or festival.
Best Friends Hoop Everyone needs a friend and these two little lovelies are sure that they’ll be besties forever! In a slightly retro style they remind me very much of the doodled pictures my best friend and I used to swap under cover of opened desk lids when we were both at school - a VERY long time ago haha! Shown mounted in a simple 7” hoop, the little friends’ dresses are appliqued cotton whilst the rest of the design is stitched in one or two strands of floss using satin stitch, chain stitch, back stitch, cross stitch, French knots and Pekinese stitch.
● Two 2” square scraps of printed cotton quilting weight is good for this and choose a pattern with quite a small print so it is in scale with the design.
Materials ● 11” square cream or white background fabric suitable for embroidery. I would recommend using a medium rather than a lighter weight fabric to support the applique and also the dense stitching of the hair.
● Bondaweb
● DMC stranded cotton floss in colours 310, 320, 435, 601, 792, 3713, 3740, 3862
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Poppies The strange, bright dancers Are in the garden. The wind of summer Is a soft music. Scarlet and orange, Flaming and golden, The strange, bright dancers Move to the music. And some are whiter Than snow in winter. And float like snowflakes Drifting the garden. Oh, have you seen them, The strange, bright dancers, Nodding and swaying To the wind’s music?
P A Ropes 10
A (very) Little History of American Quilting
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Rabbit pattern is in the July issue of the Bustle & Sew Magazine
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Taste of the Season: Sweetcorn Did you know that an ear of corn always has an even number of rows? That it is cholesterol-free? Or that in the past sweetcorn leaves were used as chewing gum? I didn’t know any of these facts either, but I do know that there’s nothing quite like fresh-picked corn eaten straight from the garden. My lovely next door neighbours in Devon used to grow their own corn and every year would give me some to enjoy - so sweet and tender I didn’t even need to cook it. This is because the sugars in sweetcorn begin to turn to starch once it’s harvested, so whatever you decide to do with yours, it’s important to do it quickly. Really fresh sweetcorn is such a treat! If you are cooking yours, then try leaving the husks on and throwing them onto the barbecue until they’re burnt, then peel back to reveal the brightyellow cooked kernels with a smokey flavour. Smother in butter and sprinkle with salt for a simple and delicious snack.
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Rosie’s Recipes: A Seaside Holiday Summer days spent by the sea - childhood holidays storing up memories for life - golden afternoons and hazy sunsets, salt-tangled hair, sun-kissed limbs and recipes for delicious new delicacies to discover‌.
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Fish and chips is the quintessential holiday food and it’s fun to make your own at home too! Why not try different varieties of fish you don’t usually find in your local chippie?
Nature Notes: The Tawny Owl The tawny owl is the most common of the five species of owl that live in our countryside. It’s also sometimes called the screech owl due to the distinctive nature of its cool. It hunts small mammals such as mice and voles, usually swallowing its prey whole and later regurgitating the indigestible parts such as bones and fur. Unlike the barn owl the tawny owl does build a nest, and prefers to do so in holes in trees. They roost during the day time, and take to the wing to hunt mainly at dawn and dusk.. With a noiseless wing beat and light-sensitive eyes that enable them to see on even the darkest nights, tawny owls are brilliantly adapted for hunting at night.
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Anatomy of your Sewing Machine 1.
The needle thread comes from a spool on the top of your machine and, in order to achieve the correct tension and feed, must pass through a series of channels and loops before you actually thread it through your needle (your manual will explain how this is done).
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Your machine will have a numbered dial that you can use to adjust the needle thread tension when working with different fabrics. There is no equivalent for the bobbin thread. You should not normally need to adjust bobbin thread tension.
The bottom, or bobbin, thread must be wound onto a bobbin before it can be used. To do this you disengage the fly wheel (normally there’s a pull out in the centre) so the machine doesn’t try to stitch while you’re winding the bobbin. Then thread the end through one of the holes in the edge of the bobbin, place it on the special winder and use the presser foot to wind the thread onto the bobbin. Go slowly at first until the thread is secure enough to let go of the loose end, and slow down towards the end too otherwise the thread may begin to wind itself around the actual winder once the
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Home Comforts This month summer is at its peak, and the weather is at its warmest. The nights may be noticeably drawing in by now, but the evenings are warm and it’s wonderful to be able to sit outside until well after dark with friends and family. Why not try making a comfortable space to relax together in a quiet corner of your garden? Just pile a few colourful cushions and a snug throw onto a bench, hammock or other suitable spot. Perfect!
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