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A Bustle & Sew Publication Copyright Š Bustle & Sew Limited 2017 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 2017 by: Bustle & Sew The Cottage Oakhill Radstock BA3 5HT UK www.bustleandsew.com
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Welcome to the June Issue I think summer may finally have arrived in my little corner of Somerset (though I t don’t want to scare it away by writing this!) As I sit at my laptop I can see all the schoolchildren going past my windows, laughing and giggling, dressed in bright summer clothes, whilst last week they were wrapped in waterproofs, heads down, battling against the wind and rain - such are the vagaries of the English weather! Whether summer stays or flies away again outside, it’s definitely here to stay in this issue. Rosie makes the most of the season’s produce with some delicious recipes using berries and cherries, whist we enjoy our gardens and countryside with features on roses and not one but two country diary exerpts. There’s plenty of stitching as well with two more (very) little guides, a look at threads and buttons and tips for keeping your workspace tidy. We also welcome Megan Eckman who tells us a little more about her Super Stitcher’s Club and talented ceramicist Jo Lucksted who creates some of the most delightful and quirky designs. I do hope you’ll enjoy this month’s issue, and I’m already putting together the July edition with a bit of a coastal theme. It will be published on Thursday 29 June. Have a lovely month!
Helen xx
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Tips for Stitchers We’re all guilty of impulse purchases, buying new bits and pieces for possibly non-existent sewing projects. But you can easily reduce your sewing costs simply by checking your stash before going shopping as, if you’re anything like me, you’re quite likely to have something suitable already. A neat and tidy work room will help stop you buying unnecessarily as it will be easy to see everything you already have. You should also be strict with yourself - if fabric’s overflowing from storage then you’ve probably already got too much of a good thing! If you’re trying to be a thrifty stitcher, then remember the three magic words - repurpose, reuse and recycle. Little Flora the elephant in the image above is made from fabric cut from a 1930’s vintage curtain result!
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Between this month’s covers … Tips for Stitchers
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Instagram Inspiration
Page 35
May Almanac
Page 6
Blossom Bear Pin Cushion
Page 36
Geranium Hoop
Page 8
Organising your Workspace
Page 39
Changing your Machine Needle
Page 11
Rosie’s Recipes: Berries and Cherries
Page 40
Meet the Maker: Megan Eckman
Page 12
Lovely Idea: Here Comes the Sun Hat!
Page 46
The Countryside in June
Page 15
Summer Flamingo Hoop
Page 47
All Buttoned Up!
Page 16
A Country Diary (2)
Page 50
Lovely Idea: Sock Kangaroo
Page 18
Meet the Maker: Jo Lucksted
Page 51
Wilderness Bear
Page 19
A (Very) Little Guide to Pins
Page 54
A (Very) Little Guide to Fabric
Page 23
Summer Floral Device Sleeve
Page 55
The Romance of the Rose
Page 24
Home Comforts
Page 61
Poetry Corner
Page 27
In the Kitchen: Conversion Tables
Page 62
Tropical Leaf Cushion
Page 28
Templates
Page 63
A Country Diary
Page 31
Choosing and Using your Thread
Page 32
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Changing your Sewing Machine Needle It’s important to change your sewing machine needle regularly as needles quickly become blunt, or even slightly bent which can cause real problems when stitching. In fact almost the first thing I do when I’m experiencing problems with my machine is to change the needle. This can be a little fiddly, but isn’t hard to accomplish with a little practice ….
there’s no danger of inserting it the wrong way round. Generally the flat surface is towards the back of the machine, but do check your manual if you’re in any doubt. ● Holding the needle in position tighten the screw by hand, then finish with a couple of turns with the screwdriver. It’s important the screw is tight to stop the needle becoming loose due to the vibration and movement of the machine as you stitch. A needle that becomes loose will wobble about and bend or break, in the worst case damaging the throat plate and bobbin case.
● Place a small scrap of fabric under the presser foot, then using the screwdriver that came with your sewing machine loosen the screw holding the needle in place by turning it anti-clockwise. The needle will just drop out of the holder and the fabric will prevent it from dropping through to the bobbin.
● If your needle does break when you’re stitching then this might be because it’s the wrong size (generally too small) for the materials you’re using. Try a size up and see if that’s any better.
● Choose the right needle for the project you’re working on and insert as far as possible into the holder. Machine needles have a flat back so
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A (very) Little Guide to Fabric Choosing the right fabric is possibly the most important part of your project, since if you don’t get this right, then nothing else will work out properly. That’s why it’s essential to understand the terms used to describe the make up of a piece of fabric especially if you’re ordering online.
which run across the fabric at right angles to the warp threads are the weft threads. The right side of a piece of fabric is the outside or finished side - the side that you want to be visible when your project is finished. It’s very easy to tell which side is the right side on a printed fabric, though can be harder on a plain fabric. It’s pretty obvious then, that the wrong side must be the inside or unprinted side of the fabric - the side that shouldn’t be visible when your project is complete.
The selvedge (or selvage) is the finished edge of the piece of fabric. It’s very tightly woven and won’t fray. It may be printed with the same design as the fabric itself or it may be a solid background colour with dots or squares of the colours used in the design spaced along it. (These are very handy for matching different fabrics together). It may also feature an arrow pointing towards the top if the fabric has a directional design.
And finally, if you imagine a line drawn across your fabric at 45 degrees to the selvedge, then this is the bias. A woven fabric will have some stretch when it’s cut in the direction of or “on” the bias, which is why bias binding is so good for fitting around curves.
The threads that run parallel to the selvedge, ie lengthwise, are the warp threads. Those
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A Country Diary Miss Simpson came to colour the rooms. I began with white-washing the ceiling. I worked with them (William was very busy) till dinner time, but after dinner I went to bed and fell asleep. When I rose I went just before tea into the garden. I looked up at my Swallow’s nest and it was gone. It had fallen down. Poor little creatures they could not themselves be more distressed than I was. I went upstairs to look at the Ruins. They lay in a large heap upon the window ledge; these Swallows had been ten days employed in building this nest, and it seemed to be almost finished. I watched them early in the morning, in the day many and many a time and in the evenings when it was almost dark I had seen them sitting side by side in their unfinished nest both morning and night. When they first came about the window they used to hang against the pains, with their white Bellies and their forked tails looking like fish, but then they fluttered and sang their own little twittering song. As soon as the nest was broad enough, a sort of ledge for them they sate both mornings and evenings, but they did not pass the night there. I watched them one morning ‌ for more than an hour. Every now and then there was a feeling motion in their wings, a sort of tremulousness and they sang a low song to one another.
Dorothy Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their lives. Dorothy had no ambitions to be an author, and her writings consist only of series of letters, diary entries, poems and short stories.
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Choosing and using your thread ….
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Choosing your thread Almost any kind of non-elastic fibre can be used for embroidery - as long that is as it can be threaded for a needle and a suitable material can be found to support your stitches. However, until you’ve tried a few different types of thread it’s perhaps best to keep to manufactured embroidery flosses that are tried and tested for strength and colourfastness, and that are suitable for embroidering on many different types of background fabric. Threads come in all colours of the rainbow (sometimes all at once!) and are packaged in many different types of skeins and hanks. Some are wound so that lengths can be pulled out easily (if you choose the right end that is!), as in stranded cotton. However many brands, and artisan threads, need the skein bands removed and the yarn untwisted or unfolded before they can be used. Many of these kinds of threads once untwisted will fall out into a skein that can be cut at each end to create a bundle of threads the right length for stitching. If this is the case then knot the bundle loosely in the centre so it will keep tidily together and not fall apart and tangle. Don’t use an elastic band to hold the threads together, as rather in the same
way that they’re bad for your hair, they’re bad for floss too. Stitches can vary markedly in appearance when they’re worked in different threads. Try a variety of thicknesses and types of thread in one stitch to gauge the different effects achieved. Some stitches are much easier to work in finer threads, but the boldness of heavier fibres can create a dramatic effect.
More usual types of thread ● The most commonly used thread for embroidery is stranded cotton floss. It has a silky sheen and is widely available in several hundred colours. It is usually composed of six strands that can be separated to create different weights of thread. Always choose a good brand and don’t be tempted by bundles of cheap threads, in my experience they’re not nice to work with and the frustration they can cause may even put a beginner off stitching altogether. ● Pearl cotton (or cotton perle) is also commonly used. It has a lustrous corded finish and the strands can’t be separated. It is available in four different gauges, 3, 5, 8 and 12 with 3 being the heaviest.
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● Soft embroidery cotton is a relatively thick, single thread fibre with a matt finish. It’s best restricted to loose weave fabric as it’s hard to pull through tightly woven ones and can look lumpy. ● Crewel wool is a fine woollen (obviously!) Thread that can be used singly or stranded together as required.
Threading your needle Many stitchers find threading their needle difficult due to poor eyesight (I totally empathise here, having had to wear glasses for close work for many years now), or perhaps through not knowing the best way to do it. If you’re having problems then you might like to try the following method shown to me by my own grandma a long time ago: ● Hold the needle in your right hand (or left if you are left-handed) and with your other hand loop the thread over the point of the needle and pull it tightly. ● Hold this loop firmly between your thumb and first finger, then turn the needle around, place the eye of the needle over the loop and move it downwards so that the loop of thread passes through the eye.
Rosie’s Recipes: Berries and Cherries
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I absolutely adore this time of year as all my favourite fruits are in season now, ready to enjoy in so many wonderful ways. When I was little we used to go strawberry picking, (I never grew out of eating more than I put in my basket!) And then Mum would make strawberry jam which didn’t always set properly but was always delicious! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this month’s selection of our family favourites…
Auntie Jane’s Fresh Cherry Cake I have no words to describe this cake - sheer heaven on a plate!
Ingredients ● 140 g self-raising flour ● ½ tsp ground cinnamon ● 50 g golden caster sugar ● 1 egg ● 4 tbsp milk ● 85 g butter, melted ● 350 g juicy, ripe cherries ● icing sugar, for dusting
For the topping ● 25 g plain flour ● ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ● 25 g golden caster sugar ● 25 g butter, at room temperature
Method ● Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease and base line a 20 cm round cake tin, about 5 cm deep. ● Sift the flour, cinnamon and caster sugar into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, milk and melted butter, then combine with a wooden spoon or electric whisk. Beat well to make a thick, smooth mixture. Spoon into the tin and spread evenly. ● Remove the stalks and stones from the cherries, using a pitter if you have one to keep the fruit whole. Scatter the cherries over the mixture and gently press them in. ● To make the topping, tip all the ingredients into a bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingers to make a crumb-like mixture, then work the mixture until it comes together in pea-sized pieces. Scatter the topping over the cherries. ● Bake for 30-35 minutes until a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. Leave in the tin until cool enough to handle, then run a knife round the edge, remove the cake from the tin and leave on a wire rack until completely cold.
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A Country Diary The weather being fine we called for half an hour at Mr Bowens’ parsonage at Temple Guiting, who shewed us his handsome church, and took us a little circuit in Mr Talbot’s grounds which are very pleasantly and tastefully laid out, the ground being undulating, the meadows rich and now all alive with haymakers, the distant plantations covering the horizon, the groves under which we strolled cool and umbrageous, the lawns pleasantly broken with single trees and bordered with thickets, the walks neatly kept, the grotto cool and dark, all bespeaking good taste and opulence. The family is in town; so it is that fashionable people desert their country seats, their rich parks and lovely garden in the finest season and live there in onlly the gloomiest months of the year; for when the London season is over, fashion dictates a second edition on an inferior scale at some sea-bathing or watering place or some rambling tour in search of ever-eluding pleasure.
Rev Francis Edward Witts (1783-1854) was Rector of Upper Slaughter in Gloucestershire from 1808-1854
Stourhead, Wiltshire taken last year on a picnic with Rosie and Freddie
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Meet Jo Lucksted who creates quirky ceramic pieces for both practical and ornamental purposes Hello Jo, and welcome to Bustle & Sew. We’re really looking forward to hearing more about you and your original designs, so let’s begin‌.
and challenging so when you have been able to translate an idea successfully into a well glazed, fired, finished piece it feels as if you and the clay have to come an agreement!
What drew you to Your pieces are quite working in ceramics? I studied 3.D Art at 'A' unique-where do you level but then returned find your inspiration? to college as a mature student after years dabbling in various crafts and running art and pottery workshops for children. I took a part time Art Foundation course and it was still ceramics that really grabbed me, especially, at that time, working with porcelain. I stayed on to study advanced ceramics and then a few years later circumstances allowed me to set up doing ceramics for a living. For me, handling a lump of clay is less threatening than being faced with a blank canvas. It's responsive
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Many sourcesmythology and folk tales, belief systems, the natural world. It's important to me that my work comes with a story...that a bowl isn't just a bowl, but a nest, maybe lined with found objects and trinkets. I'm particularly interested in zoomorphism at the moment, and am exploring making animal masks for ceramic human head sculptures. When it comes to being inspired by other artists I love looking at the work of Henry Moore, John Maltby, Elisabeth Frink, Claire Curneen and of course, Grayson Perry.
Meet the Maker
How long does it take to create, for example, one of your quirky hanging planters? It is really difficult to time how long pieces take to make from start to finish. Because of the nature of the material you have to work in stages so it starts by airing the clay so it's workable. Then I form the basic pot shape by hand and put to one side to dry out a bit more. Once I have finished forming and refining the bowl shape I make and attach the ears and any hair decoration, along with scoring the 'hair style' into the clay! Then the piece needs to dry and go through a bisque firing. Once fired I paint on the face and hair using underglaze colours. Any areas which I want glossy such as the hair, lips and eyes have transparent glaze painted over them and
(2) Cow Parsley: the stem is stem stitch 906 and the clusters of tiny flowers are single twist French knots in 4150 (3) The Knapweed is a little like a small thistle. The leaves and stem are worked in stem stitch in 906 and 987. The base of the flower is worked in tiny single twist French knots using the same two colours, concentrating the darker green on the right hand side. The
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petals are stem stitch worked in 718 and 814. (4) The Vetch stems and leaves are worked in stem stitch in 4045. The curly tendrils are detached chain stitch linked by straight stitches. The flowers are 552 ad 791 satin stitch.
Home Comforts At this time of year outside dining comes into its own again. Make meals with family and friends extra special by dressing your table with burlap, potted plants - perhaps those enjoying their summer break in the garden - and pretty napkin rings. Either bind your napkins with a little jute twine and slip a sprig of foliage into the ring, or use a complete circle of fresh foliage (a great way of using up those prunings!). Creepers and climbing plants have naturally pliant stems that can easily be bent into shape - try ivy, jasmine, clematis and even hops. Join the stem ends by binding them with florist’s wire and lay the napkins join side down.
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