Bustle & Sew Magazine - Issue 61 February 2016

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Welcome to the February Issue

Although it’s actually the shortest month of the year, sometimes February can feel as though it’s the longest and darkest of them all as the winter seems to stretch ahead for weeks to come. It’s time to celebrate all that’s cosy about house and home, snuggle up on the sofa with a mug of hot chocolate and your latest project on the go!

This year Easter is early, so here at Bustle & Sew we’ll all be making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday find our foolproof recipe on page 13 - while Debbie has shared her lovely Citrus Marmalade recipe on page 31. We’re delighted to welcome a senior “Maker” this month in the first of our “Meet the Maker” features, Barbara del Duco, who began her online business in her seventies and shares her inspirational story with us on page 14.

There’s lots more between the covers to enjoy, including six new Bustle & Sew patterns using a variety of techniques and suitable for different levels of expertise, so I do hope there’s something for everyone this month. Watch out for the March issue arriving in your inbox on Thursday 28 February.

Until then, have a lovely month, with lots of time for sewing!

Best wishes

Helen xx

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Between the Covers …

Contributors

Tips for Stitchers

Page 4

February Almanac

Page 6

Love of a Cat Pennant

Page 8

It’s Pancake Day!

Page 12

Meet the Maker: Paper Cottage Printies

Page 14

Lovely Idea: Printable Sewing Box

Page 16

Blooming Lovely Cushion

Page 17

Recycle with Style: Rag Rugs

Page 19

Dream it, Do it!: Faerie Kid Goats

Page 21

Sweet Dream Catcher

Page 24

February’s Favourite Blogs

Page 29

Lovely Idea: Embroidery Hoop Shades

Page 30

In the Kitchen: Citrus Marmalade

Page 31

Behind the Hexagon: English Paper Piecing

Page 33

Knot a Geek

Whale Tablet Sleeve

Page 37

Poetry Corner: Whale

Page 40

February Brings Valentine’s Day

Page 41

We chat to Erin, one part of “Knot a Geek” about modern crochet and her plans for the future of her business.

Teddy Bear Stitchery

Page 43

Lovely Idea: Heart Shaped Handwarmers

Page 45

Meet the Maker: Knot a Geek

Page 46

Baby Giraffe Nursery Hanging

Page 48

Home Comforts

Page 53

February Calendar

Page 54

Templates

Page 55

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Barbara del Duco Shares her inspirational journey towards starting her own online business and Etsy Shop

Peter & Carol Searle “Dream it, Do it” moves beyond the internet with a visit to local artisans Peter and Carol and their beautiful goats.

Debbie Thomson Keeps us very well organised, as well as researching some lovely features and creating our new “In the Kitchen” series

February February is often thought of as a grey and gloomy month, the tail end of winter and one which we’re glad to bid farewell. But for us here in the UK it’s the time when we are most likely to see snow, even down here in the south, where it’s an increasingly uncommon event (Rosie didn’t see snow at all until she was 13 or 14!). There is a traditional believe that the heaviest snowfall of the year will occur on St Dorothea’s Day - the sixth of the month. But if snow does fall it’s guaranteed to cause great fun and excitement for children and, along with the inconvenience, lots for adults to enjoy too. The familiar countryside around us takes on a whole new aspect and wrapping up warm to enjoy a brisk walk, feet crunching through the snow is a real pleasure.

Celtic lambing season, was subsumed by the Christian church into the festival of Candlemas - the feast of the purification of the Virgin Mary on the second. A traditional weather prophesy associated with this date states that: “If Candlemas be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight; but if Candlemas brings cloud and rain, Winter is gone and won’t come again.”

In the Christian Church the 40 days (excluding Sundays) before Easter Day are known as Lent, a period of fasting that remembers the time Christ spent in the wilderness. Although many of the ancient rules concerning what people should and shouldn’t eat during Lent have been relaxed, many try to abstain from something they particularly enjoy such as chocolate or alcohol.

But February is also the month when the earliest spring flowers make their appearance in the woodlands and hedgerows, whilst the brown buds on the trees, so long dormant and almost dead-looking begin to fatten and swell bringing the promise of fresh young spring leaves beginning to appear in just a few weeks time.

Catkins, or “lamb’s tails” hang from the bare twigs of the hazel and the first of the year’s butterflies, the Brimstone emerges from its winter home among the ivy.

Shrove Tuesday, which this year falls on the ninth, is marked by celebrations such as the famous Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or Carnevale in Venice, making the most of the last opportunity for partying before Easter. Shrove Tuesday is also a time for using up foodstuffs forbidden in during Lent, notably eggs and milk, hence the tradition of making and eating pancakes on this day - which today is probably

During the fifth century the pagan festival of “Imbolc” that celebrated the beginning of the

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It’s Pancake Day!

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Don’t let anything stop you - if you love to do something then your dream is already coming true.

Meet the Maker

talks to us about how her love of crafting helped her overcome cancer and start her business, in her 70’s when most people are thinking about retirement!

Barbara loved to craft little houses for her paper dolls from shoe boxes back in the 1940s. Today she has mastered new technology and to open her own Etsy shop offering the printables that gave her such joy as a child. She shares her story with us here ….

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“I remember that my dearest childhood Christmas wish was a paint set, but I didn’t get one until my Grandfather bought me a watercolour set when I was ten. I was overjoyed, but on the car ride home I cried all the way, while asking my Grandfather “Will Grandmother be angry?” It was ten dollars. A huge amount of money in the nineteen-forties.

Like most young women back then, I married and raised a family, squeezing little bits of crafting time here and there, but never managing to make one project that I’d always dreamed of - a little Mouse House

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for my childhood imaginary friend, Miss Mouse. She was an old lady mouse and, funnily enough, I always imagined her a little like I am now at 76 years old - plump, a bit bedraggled, and loving to decorate and make her little home beautiful.

The years went by, my family grew up and married and, after becoming disabled following a car accident I retired early. Then along came computers with graphic programs - and I was hooked! I began to make what I still call “printies” and sell them on my website. After completing a few smaller projects I finally began work on my Miss Mouse Tea Pot House.

Then fate dealt another blow in the form of lung cancer and I was given less than a year to live. I so wanted to be around to see my grandchildren grow up - and also to finish the project that had waited for me since childhood, the Mouse House. I went through chemo,

You have to be prepared to turn your hand to anything and don’t be afraid of hard work!

For the next few issues, just for a change we’re talking to enterprising folk who have started their own country businesses. This month Debbie visited Peter and Carol Searle , the team behind Faerie Kid Goats Milk Soaps I wanted to share with you a wonderful visit I made to Peter and Carol Searle's home on the edge of Shepton Mallet in Somerset.

This meant he spent long periods away from home, and, after he’d spent time in Amsterdam, Holland they decided to call it a day and so he took retirement.

It was a lovely sunny morning with bright blue skies when I arrived for my visit, the perfect day for seeing the goats. I was warmly welcomed in and after a nice cup of tea, we settled down to talk about Faerie Kid Goats Milk Soaps.

Soon after this, Carol persuaded Peter to accompany her to a large 3 day agriculture show held locally. They wandered around the animal sheds, until they got to the goats and that was it! They became goat owners.

The business is run by Peter and Carol, who between them undertake every aspect of the business, from bringing the baby goats into the world, to producing, packaging and marketing their finished products.

It wasn’t always this way though as Peter and Carol's background is in computers, where they had run two very successful businesses in the past. Sadly financial conditions forced them to close these companies and there the followed a period when Peter worked as a consultant.

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Their business got off to a bit of a shaky start, when their first goat, Olive, who was pregnant when they bought her, became very ill, and had to be induced early. She had three kids, two of whom sadly died and the third, Cara, was very premature and sickly.

Carol had to nurse and hand feed her and it wasn’t until two whole days after her birth that the little kid finally stood (this usually happens soon after birth). From this point Cara went from strength to strength and they still have her today. Sadly, they lost olive soon after Cara’s birth.

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Home Comforts At this time of year the first daffodils are beginning to burst into bloom bringing a splash of bright yellow sunshiny flowers along hedgerows, garden paths and all kinds of unexpected places. They’re a sign that winter really is coming to an end, even though it may not feel that way. Bring a few inside and display in a variety of containers to brighten your home and bring a touch of spring indoors.

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