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A Bustle & Sew Publication

Copyright © Bustle & Sew Limited 2014

The right of Helen Dickson to be identified as theauthor of this work has been asserted inaccordance with the Copyright, Designs andPatents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system ortransmitted in any form, or by any means, withoutthe prior written permission of the author, nor beotherwise circulated in any form of binding orcover other than that in which it is published andwithout a similar condition being imposed on thesubsequent purchaser.

Every effort has been made to ensure that all theinformation in this book is accurate. However,due to differing conditions, tools and individualskills, the publisher cannot be responsible for anyinjuries, losses and other damages that may resultfrom the use of the information in this book.

First published 2014 by:Bustle & SewCoombe LeighChillingtonKingsbridgeDevon TQ7 2LEUK

www.bustleandsew.com

ISBN-13: 978-1499620924

ISBN-10: 1499620926

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Hello,

and welcome to the June issue of the Bustle & Sew Magazine.This month we’re feeling all dreamy and romantic with weddings,roses and general summer loveliness.

I hope you’ll enjoy the following pages of creative ideas and thatyou’re having a blooming good summer, wherever you may be!

Best wishes

Helen xx

Contents

June Almanac Page 4

Bluebird Embroidered Clock Page 5

June - a World of Roses Page 9

Rosie Posie Journal Cover Page 13

Back to Basics: The Hoop Page 16

Mr & Mrs Cushion Covers Page 19

Vintage Fiction:Wedding Morning Page 24

Mouse Wedding Party Page 27

Bullion Stitch Page 32

Simple Borders Page 34

Bloom & Grow Stitchery Page 39

Making Money from Making Page 41

Summertime Picnic Blanket Page 45

Summer Evening Poem Page 48

Templates Page 49

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The celebration of the summer solstice may beJune 21, the longest day of the year, or June24, the official calendar Midsummer’s Day andthe feast of St John the Baptist. The hours ofdaylight are now at their longest and innorthernmost parts of Europe and northAmerica there is very little darkness in thelatter half of the month, the fabled Russian“white nights.”

Ancient folk, watching the sun reach its highestpoint at this time, lit evening bonfires toencourage it to shine and ripen their crops. Formany people the day is associated with fairies,as immortalised by Shakespeare in “AMidsummer Night’s Dream.” In the play Puckspeaks of “…. We fairies that do run, by the

triple Hecate’s team, from the presence of thesun, following darkness like a dream…”

The rose is at its most prolific and beautiful inJune. In some parts of the UK, notably Devonand Cornwall there is an old folk tradition thata rose plucked by a young woman at midnighton Midsummer Eve (23 June) and wrapped inpaper would remain fresh until Christmas Day.If she then wore it on her dress it would besnatched away by the young man who wasdestined to become her husband.

In the USA, June 14 is Flag Day,commemorating the adoption of the Stars andStripes as the national flag on this day in 1777.The original flag had one stripe and one starfor each of the 13 states that constituted thecountry at the time. As the numbers of statesincreased it became impossible to incorporatesufficient stripes for all. In 1818 therefore, itwas decreed that the number of stripes wouldbe reduced to 13, symbolizing the original 13colonies and that the total number of stateswould be represented by the stars alone.

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Bluebird Clock“The only time housework comes before stitching is in the dictionary”

I love this old quote - so true! This bluebird clock will help you keep track of thetime whatever you’re doing. Easy embroidery incorporating vintage transfers

mounted in a 10” hoop.

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June, and the World smellsof Roses

Romance and roses - made for one another - and here inEngland in June our gardens are smothered in thesebeautiful blooms…..

.Roses have a long historysince, according to fossilevidence, they could beabout 35 million years old.There are about 125 speciesoccurring naturallythroughout the Northern

Hemisphere from the Arctic to the Tropicswith well over 30,000 domesticated varieties.

Wild roses were used in the Middle East toprepare rosewater, scented oils and otherfragrances long before they were brought intocultivation. The Chinese were cultivatingroses as long ago as 500BC, whilst theRomans and other early European civilisationsalso grew large quantities for commercial use.Some Roman emperors filled their swimmingbaths and fountains with rosewater, and sat oncarpets of rose petals for their feasts andorgies. Roses were used as confetti forcelebrations, for medicinal purposes, and alsofor their perfume. One Roman emperor usedto enjoy showering his guests with rose petalswhich tumbled down from the ceiling duringfestivities.

A thousand years later, the gardens of thewell-off during Medieval times would havehad roses in abundance. Medieval PleasureGardens were designed as a Paradise Garden,

where all five senses were used. The soundsof water and birdsong provided a calmingatmosphere, fruit was grown to satisfy thesense of taste, fragrant herbs were there tobe touched an their leaves brushed throughthe hand to release their scent.

Fragrant plants such as roses and jasmineswere carefully placed near benches plantedout with chamomile or turf to provide a soft,scented cushion for ladies to be seated onwhile listening to music, sewing or reading,all within the security of a garden hiddenbehind high walls or hedges for total privacy.

Emilia in the Rose Garden by BoccacioAnjou 1460

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The association of roses with romance goes backhundreds of years.

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Rosie Posie Journal CoverWe can only enjoy roses in our gardens during the summer months of

course, but this little journal cover will remind you of those balmy daysthe whole year through.

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Back to Basics:The Hoop

We're all familiar with the basic embroideryhoop or, to give it its full name, the tambourhoop. Did you know the word "tambour" theFrench derivation of the Arabic word"tunbur" meaning lute or drum. Perhaps itwas given this name as when fabric isstretched tightly within it, it does ratherresemble a drum? I wonder if the musicalinstrument "tambourine" got its name fromthe same source? But I digress …..

To hoop, or not to hoop, that is thequestion…. I know there are many stitcherswho don't use a hoop, perhaps because theyfind it awkward to hold, too much trouble tomove around their work, or simply have triedusing one but just didn't get on with it. Andlots of those stitchers produce lovely workwithout one - but the majority of us find ourwork is much neater and goes much moresmoothly when we hoop up before beginningto stitch.

This is because using an embroidery hoop isthe easiest and handiest way to keep your

stitch tension correct (frames are possiblyeven better, but not always as portable andcertainly more expensive). Your hoop has tohold your fabric tight and taut while youwork to achieve this - but beware - not allhoops are the same, and some are (much)better than others. An embroidery hoop canbe made from wood, plastic or metal - butwhatever the material, it is comprised of tworings. One ring, the inner, is placed beneathyour fabric, then the second, or outer, ring isplaced on top, then pushed down over theinner ring and the screw tightened to holdyour fabric in place and nice and taut.

My preference is to use a wooden hoop,preferably birch (nice and smooth andspringy with no splinters). Birch is alsostrong and solid and I should think it wouldbe almost impossible to bend a good qualitybirch hoop out of shape, though when Benwas a puppy he did find one rather good tochew on - bad dog! Your hoop should havegood quality brass fittings that can betightened so that there is no gap at all

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When you can cover seven daisies with your foot, then summer is come.

Drawing by Anne Anderson

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Mr & Mrs Cushion CoversThese would make a wonderfully quirky wedding gift - perhaps you know a couple

they’d suit, or even make them for yourselves?

To fit 20” circular cushion pad

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The June roses over the porch wereawake bright and early on thatmorning, rejoicing with all their

hearts in the cloudless sunshine, likefriendly little neighbors, as they were. Quiteflushed with excitement were their ruddyfaces, as they swung in the wind,whispering to one another what they hadseen, for some peeped in at the dining roomwindows where the feast was spread, someclimbed up to nod and smile at the sistersas they dressed the bride, others waved awelcome to those who came and went onvarious errands in garden, porch, and hall,and all, from the rosiest full-blown flowerto the palest baby bud, offered their tributeof beauty and fragrance to the gentlemistress who had loved and tended them solong.

Meg looked very like a rose herself, for allthat was best and sweetest in heart and soulseemed to bloom into her face that day,making it fair and tender, with a charm morebeautiful than beauty. Neither silk, lace, nororange flowers would she have. "I don'twant a fashionable wedding, but only those

about me whom I love, and to them I wishto look and be my familiar self."

So she made her wedding gown herself,sewing into it the tender hopes and innocentromances of a girlish heart. Her sistersbraided up her pretty hair, and the onlyornaments she wore were the lilies of thevalley, which 'her John' liked best of all theflowers that grew.

"You do look just like our own dear Meg,only so very sweet and lovely that I shouldhug you if it wouldn't crumple your dress,"cried Amy, surveying her with delight whenall was done.

"Then I am satisfied. But please hug andkiss me, everyone, and don't mind my dress.I want a great many crumples of this sortput into it today," and Meg opened her armsto her sisters, who clung about her withApril faces for a minute, feeling that thenew love had not changed the old.

"Now I'm going to tie John's cravat for him,and then to stay a few minutes with Fatherquietly in the study," and Meg ran down toperform these little ceremonies, and then tofollow her mother wherever she went,conscious that in spite of the smiles on themotherly face, there was a secret sorrow hidin the motherly heart at the flight of the firstbird from the nest.

As the younger girls stand together, givingthe last touches to their simple toilet, it maybe a good time to tell of a few changeswhich three years have wrought in theirappearance, for all are looking their best just

Wedding MorningAn extract from “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott

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Mouse Wedding PartyIt’s June - month of roses, romance - and weddings! Two little mouselings have

decided to tie the knot this summer, and baby mouse makes the perfect littlebridesmaid!

Adult mice measure 5 ½” tall (approx)

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Cross stitch is also known as Caterpillar or worm stitch and as well asmaking very effective bugs(!) it’s also great for creating lovely coiledroses, seen so often in vintage work.

Whilst not complicated in itself, bullion stitch is perhaps one of thetrickiest stitches in this book to work successfully. I would highlyrecommend practising on some scrap fabric first - but it is such anattractive stitch it’s well worth spending a little time to get it right.

Bring your needle through your fabric at the point indicated by the arrowon the diagram above. Insert your needle back through your fabric at therequired length of the stitch and bring it out exactly at the arrow again.

Don’t pull your needle right through, but leave it lying in the material asin the diagram and twist your thread around it close up to the emergingpoint. Six or seven twists are an average number, but this can be variedaccording to the length of stitch you want to make.

Place your left thumb upon the twists and pull your needle and threadthrough your fabric and also the twists as carefully as possible. Now pullyour needle and thread away in the opposite direction. This movementwill force your little coil of thread to lie flat in the right place. Tighten itup by pulling your working thread, then reinsert your needle at A. Thisshould also be the end of your bullion knot if you’ve chosen the correctnumber of twists to fill the space.

You may find it easiest to use quite a heavy needle with a small eye sothat it will pass easily through your twisted thread and practise with athicker thread before trying to use a finer one.

The diagrams at B and C show bullion knots used to form petals androsebuds - a very pretty effect!

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Simple BordersAdding a border to a piece of work can often be thefinishing touch that makes it into something reallyspecial. Here’s an extract from “The Embroidery Book”by Winifred M Clarke first published in 1949 in whichshe suggests some ideas. The words are Winifred’s own.

Here thestitches are sosimple that theycan be followedfrom theillustration.

These borderscan be used inmany ways and achild’s plainfrock can almostbe transformedby working anyof these bordersaround thecollar andcuffs.

The stitcheryshould be neatand even, andthe colourscarefullychosen.

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Bloom and Grow ForeverI think the first movie I ever saw must have been “The Sound of Music” - certainlyit’s the first one I remember with any clarity. All the songs were hits, think of “My

Favourite Things” or “Doh-Re-Mi” but one of my favourites was always theslightly melancholy “Eidelweiss” from which this quote is taken.

Shown mounted in a 10” hoop.

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Making Money from Making

This month I was originally planning totalk about creating and running yourown website - but then I had a bit of

a rethink. Your own website requires a lotwork to set up and maintain, as well asmastering the principles of online marketingto encourage people to visit, known asgenerating traffic.

Somebody once said to me that setting upyour own website wasn't at all like openinga shop on the High Street as there is NOpassing trade. People don't just wander past,see something interesting and decide to popin. You have to work really hard to generatetraffic to your site, and it takes time, strongbranding and excellent marketing and PR.So I thought that this month it might behelpful to look at one or two other ways toget online whilst your business is growing.

A great way to get your business online is toset up a Facebook (FB) page. This iscompletely separate to your own personalprofile, should you have one, though the twoare linked through your account. YourFacebook page is a place where you canpublicise your business name, address and

contact details, and briefly describe yourproducts. You can also talk about any otheraspect of your business that is likely to appealto other Facebook users and create interest inwhat you do.

When you set up your FB business page,choose a name that works well for yourbusiness - you'll find Bustle & Sew's page atwww.facebook.com/bustleandsew forexample. Choose carefully though, onceregistered it's almost impossible to changeyour page name. Be sure you've spelt itcorrectly (mistakes do happen!) and checkthat there isn't another FB page out there withthe same, or a very similar, title.

To maximise traffic to your page as you makethe move online, include your FB address onyour business card, flyers and othermarketing materials. FB makes it easy foryou to post regular updates on your businessand interact with your customers through"likes" and posting to craft-related forums.But don't use Facebook to aggressivelypromote your products or services as you'llhave much greater success if you shareinformation related to your business that is

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Summer Living Picnic BlanketSimple patchwork and applique combine to make these lovely summer picnic

blanket - perfect for Pimms on the lawn, sandwiches on the sand, or just enjoyingyour garden on a sunny after noon!

Finished blanket measures 40” x 50” approx

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