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Welcome to the January Issue

Hello,

January is traditionally the time to hunker down and sit out the winter months. Although the days aregrowing longer again at last, spring is still a long way off, though if you look carefully, especially during amild winter, there are already the first signs appearing in the hedgerows.

This month brings the 60th issue of the Bustle & Sew Magazine - I can hardly believe that it was FIVE YEARSago that I sat down at my (then brand new) laptop and began to put the first issue together. Things havecome a long way since then and I do hope you’ll enjoy all that this sixtieth issue contains. As always thereare six Bustle & Sew designs, including the first two in a new series of dog trophy heads (there’s a specialpattern for cat-lovers coming next month), lots of hand embroidery and a cute little Suffolk Puff (or yoyo)bunny. Then we have interviews with three very talented designer-makers, articles, features and the firstcontribution from our new team member Debbie, who shows us how to make some lovely fragrancedbath bombs - perfect for relaxing after the Christmas rush!

I think that’s enough from me - just a quick reminder that the February issue will be published, as always,on the last Thursday of the month - in this case Thursday 28 January. So if you’re a subscriber watch outfor it arriving in your inbox then!

Until then,

Best wishes for a very happy New Year 2016

Helen xx

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Between the Covers …Contributors

Rosie Studholme

Puts together all our lovelyideas and baking pages as wellas researching & editing ourfeatures and interviews.

Enhar Koc

Talks about crafting, creatingand her online business, Love,Joy Create

Brooke Becker

Describes how her dreamsbecame reality, her hopes forthe future and the inspirationbehind Lady Belle Fabric

Breezy Guerra

Doesn’t believe in followingrules - just inspired creativityand having fun!

Debbie Thomson

Joined Bustle & Sew inNovember and is keeping usvery well organised, as well ascoming up with some lovelycrafting ideas.

January Almanac Page 6

Keep Cozy Cushion Cover Page 8

Fragrant Flowering Hyacinths Page 12

Meet the Maker: Enhar Koc Page 14

Lovely Idea: Thimble Necklace Page 16

Naughty Pups Trophy Heads Page 17

Nice and Easy: Freestyle Machine Applique Page 20

Poetry Corner Page 25

Fragranced Bath Bombs Page 26

Signs of Spring Hoops Page 28

Dream It, Do It: Lady Belle Fabrics Page 34

A Little Look at Linen Page 36

Baking: Champagne Cake Page 38

Magazine Pocket Page 39

Meet the Maker: Breezy Guerra Page 42

Drifts of Snowdrops Page 44

January’s Favourite Blogs Page 46

New Year - Time to Blog? Page 47

Puff Bunny Page 48

Matchbook Needle Keeper Page 51

Fabric Collecting Page 52

Cup of Tea Hoop Page 55

And Finally … Page 58

January Calendar Page 59

Templates Page 60

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January

For many folk, especially in Scotland, thecelebrations of New Year’s Eve, or Hogmanaycontinue into New Year’s Day without a break.According to tradition, to guarantee good luckthe whole year round, the first person to enteryour house on 1 January should be a dark-haired male bringing gifts of coal and whisky.Such visitors are welcomed with appropriaterefreshments and in Scotland people go fromhouse to house first-footing. In the past over-enthusiastic partying and lack of sleep on NewYear’s Eve led to widespread absenteeism inthe workplace on 1 January and in 1974 it wasfinally declared a public holiday throughout theUK.

Rather than stay indoors all day in January,tempting though this may seem, going for a longwinter’s walk can be very enjoyable. Rememberthe old saying “there’s no such thing as badweather just the wrong clothing!” I love to headout into the woods with the Newfies in Januaryas there’s so much to see now the trees arebare. There are generally four layers of habitatin our English woods - a ground layer of smallplants such as mosses; a field layer of flowersand ferns; the undergrowth of hazel, hawthorn(and brambles and nettles in the summermonths!) and finally the tree layer or canopy.

Many insects will be hiding or hibernating in theleaf mould or tree bark and you may be luckyand spot various species of birds hunting forthem, including woodpeckers, wrens, robinsand blackbirds.

The winter months are also a good time to seeowls in daylight as the shortage of food forcesthem to hunt for many more hours than in thesummer months.

January 6 brings the festival of Epiphany,commemorating the arrival of the Magi - thethree wise men who travelled from the East toworship the baby Jesus, bearing gifts of gold,frankincense and myrrh. In the OrthodoxChurch it marks the baptism of Christ by Johnthe Baptist around thirty years later. Also knownas Twelfth Day or Twelfth Night, this is the lastof the Twelve Days of Christmas and is the dateby which you should take down your Christmasdecorations to avoid bad luck. On Twelfth Nightat London’s Drury Lane Theatre, the cast of thecurrent show are served with a glass of wineand a piece of cake by staff in powdered wigs

and 18th century livery, courtesy of the actor andformer chef Robert Baddeley, who died in 1794and left money in his will to fund this annual treat.

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On 18 January 1882, Alan Alexander Milne wasborn in London. After graduating fromCambridge University he worked as assistanteditor of Punch Magazine and wrote a numberof successful light comedies. He isremembered, however, for the poems andstories he wrote for his young son, ChristopherRobin in the 1920’s, creating characters basedon the youngster’s soft toys that would go onto win the hearts of generations of childrenacross the world. Winnie-the-Pooh and hisfriends Eeyore the donkey, Piglet, Kanga, Roo,Rabbit, Owl and Tigger went on to star in anumber of Disney films but for many people the“real” characters are those drawn by EHShephard for AA Milne’s four original books.

On this day each year, many fans celebrate AAMilne’s birthday with appropriate songs andgames and in particular Poohsticks, whichinvolves dropping sticks from the upstream sideof a bridge, then running to the upstream sideto see whose stick emerges first:

“So the next time he dropped one big oneand one little one, and the big one came outfirst, which was what he had said it woulddo, and the little one came out last, whichwas what he had said it would do, so he hadwon twice…. And that was the beginning ofthe game called Poohsticks, which Poohinvented, and which he and his friends usedto play on the edge of the Forest.”

January 25th brings another famous birthday -that of Robert Burns (1759-96) - celebrated bypeople of Scottish descent all over the world.The main attraction of Burns Night is a traditionalBurns Supper of haggis (made from the heart,lungs and liver of a sheep chopped p with suet,onions and oatmeal traditionally boiled in asheep’s stomach-bag), tatties and neeps (boiled

potatose and swedes). The meal begins withthe “Selkirk Grace”

“Some hae meat and canna eat, And somewad eat that want it; But we hae meat andwe can eat, And sae the Lord be thankit.”

The company then stand to receive the haggisas it’s ceremoniously piped into the room andset down in front of the chief guest.

Away from the haggis, by this time of the month,catkins will already be appearing on hazelbushes, turning from green to yellow as theymature. Shoots of wild garlic will be sproutingup through the leaf mould, recognisable by theirpungent smell if you crush them between yourfingers. As our winters seem to be growingmilder, if you’re in the south of the country youmay even discover celandines and primroses inflower. In the garden, the first spring bulbs willbe emerging and the Christmas rose will be inflower.

Of course on the opposite side of the world it’shigh summer and in Australia they will be

celebrating Australia Day on the 26th ,commemorating the foundation of the firstcolony of European settlers at Port Jackson(now Sydney, capital of New South Wales) on26 January 1788. The immigrants had travelledfrom England in a fleet of eleven ships under thecommand of Captain Arthur Philip whosubsequently became the founder and firstgovernor of New South Wales.

Here in chilly England, before spring arrives, it’sa good time to wrap up warm and visit one ofour Wildfowl and Wetland Trust sites to see vastswans, geese and ducks feeding and overwintering before they begin their long journeyback to the Arctic to breed.

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Cozy FoxCushion

This flower-shaped cushion is acombination of a number oftechniques - applique, handembroidery and English paperpiecing - albeit on a giant scale!For the best results you can makeyour own cushion pad, too. I’mnot sure if that counts as anothertechnique but this certainly isn’t aboring project.

I used a variety of Tilda and vintagefabrics in spring colours to give ahint of the warmer months tocome, though the little fox doesn’tlook as if he’s planning to get upand go places anytime soon - he’sfar too snuggly for that!

Finished cushion is 20” diameterat its widest point.

Materials● 1 ½ yards x 48” wide white

cotton/polycotton fabric (to back yourfront panel and make your cushion pad)

● 12” square cotton fabric for backgroundto fox embroidery (I used a Tilda tiny starfabric)

● Six 6” x 8” pieces of cotton fabric for thepetals surrounding the centre circle

● 9” square fox red felt/woollen fabric

● Scraps of white felt

● Stranded cotton floss in 2 shades of pink(light and dark), 2 shades of green lightand dark), black, dark brown, fox redand white

● Two rectangles of cotton fabric eachmeasuring 22” x 16” for the back of thecushion.

● Stuffing for cushion pad

● Bondaweb

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In January we’re loving fragrant

winter flowering Hyacinths

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“Do not look at whatothers do, do not

listen to what otherssay, just listen to

your heart & workhard!”

talks to us about where she finds creativeinspiration, how she got into crafting and how she

started her business,

Meet theMaker

Enhar started her business fromher home near Istanbul,Turkey back in 2012. When shebecame a mum she became acrafter and now designs andmakes gorgeous homewares andquirky gifts.

I was working as a Senior HRSpecialist but when I had my childI left full time work. I became a stayat home mother but within a fewmonths I got bored! I didn’t want togo back to working long hours soI decided to take sewing classeswhich is something I had alwayswanted to do.

Once I started sewing I ended withthousands of meters of fabric in myliving room! It was a hobby for meuntil a friend of mine told me aboutEtsy. I started adding any bits Imade, I had no idea aboutpromoting my shop, I was moving

with baby steps. Almost after a yearI decided to concentrate more onmy shop, I totally changed what Imade, designed new collectionsand that’s how my shop hasevolved into what it is today.

First of all I always collectmemories; souvenirs, photos,tickets, maps, stones, flowers,drawings etc. All of these memorieswill be an inspiration someday!When I start to design a newcollection or product, conceptcomes first. I start draft drawing byhand. Then comes the colours & Imake the digital designs. And lastI decide on the fabrics I'll use & getthe demo prints to see the shape& colours on fabric.

Yes, I have a homestudio. Although sometimes Idream of having a fancy artistic

studio, the truth is I love my"handmade" home studio. Everycorner has a touch of me. I feelcompleted & inspired in my homestudio!

Modern, colourful & fun!

I wake up 6:45 a.m & for the nexthour I have to take care of my kids.They leave for school at 7:45. Afterhaving my breakfast I startworking. My typical day includesgoing to post office, shopfor materials I need, going to theprint shop, replying to emails,promoting my shop & working ondesigns. Also I try to make time for

sports; running or cycling. Oncethe kids are back from school I putmy mum hat back on and I’mlooking after them.

My mint Hello pillow cover is myfavourite because it changedeverything. With this design myshop became what it is at themoment.

My kids! Kids always have a verycolourful & fun world, theirimagination is limitless.

Find what works best for you andfind your own way. Do not look atwhat others do, do not listen towhat others say, just listen to yourheart & work hard!

Enhar creates all of herhand made items fromher home nearIstanbul. Be sure topop over to her shopand have a look at allof her gorgeousmakes!

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LoveJoyCreate

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Look!a lovely idea

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This is such a wonderful idea – why notmake one for yourself and another for thefavourite stitcher in your life? You’re sure

to receive compliments wherever youwear it! Pop over to Laura’s website for

the full tutorial.

Image & Tutorial: www.thewindandthesail.com

ThimbleNecklace