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Welcome to the April Issue

Welcome to the April issue

I’ve been super-busy putting this issue together - we seem to have packed so much betweenthis month’s covers!

Inside, as well as six new Bustle & Sew projects, ranging from (by special request) a fauxtaxidermy Flamingo Head, through to a congratulatory embroidery to celebrate HM the Queen’sninetieth birthday, you’ll discover two lovely recipes from Debbie, meet two incredibly talentedmakers (one of whom worked on dress, as well as articles, features and much morebesides. I do hope you’ll enjoy it all!

The May issue will be published on Thursday 28 April so please do look out for it then.Meanwhile I hope you have a very happy month with lots of time for stitching!

Best wishes

Helen xx

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Always take plenty of time to remove soluble stabilisers and/or waste canvas.Waste canvas does need to be well soaked and if you are experiencing difficulties

removing the threads, then soak again, don’t pull hard and risk distorting your work.And be sure to rinse any fabri solvy well away as any ink remaining on small

fragments may bleed into your background fabric and spoil your work.

Tips for Stitchers

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Between the Covers …Contributors

Jacqui Brook

Tells us about her lifelongpassion for fine textiles and herlife in France

Jessica Robinson

Fine stitching, and beingasked to contribute towedding dress!

Katy Emck

Taking embroidery behindbars with a look at charitableorganisation Fine Cell Work

Debbie Thomson

Keeps us very well organised,as well as researching somelovely features and creatingour new “In the Kitchen” series

Tips for Stitchers Page 4

April Almanac Page 6

Butterfly Cushion Page 8

A Hoopful of Butterflies Page 10

Planting a Butterfly Garden Page 11

Lovely Idea: Apothecary Jar Printables Page 13

Fine Cell Work: Stitching behind Bars Page 14

In the Kitchen: Rhubarb Chutney Page 16

So Deer to Me Hoop Page 18

Pegging out the Washing Page 21

Meet the Maker: Jacqui Brook Page 22

Making your own Butter Page 24

Ralph the Labradoodle Puppy Page 25

A Life in Glass: Unicorn Stained Glass Page 28

Lovely Idea: Cuddly Sock Softies Page 30

Quilting with Organic Cottons Page 31

Pin the Tail on the Bunny Page 33

Poetry Corner Page 35

The Secrets of Perfect Pressing Page 36

Lovely Idea: Pom Pom Wall Hanging Page 38

Kiss Winter Goodbye: Tulips Page 39

Flamingo Trophy Head Page 41

In the Kitchen: Banana Cake Page 43

Meet the Maker: Jessica Robinson Page 45

April’s Favourite Blogs Page 48

Happy Birthday Ma’am Embroidery Page 49

Home Comforts Page 51

April Calendar Page 52

In the Kitchen: Conversion Tables Page 53

Templates Page 54

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April

This month some of our best loved migratorybirds, such as swallows and housemartins,begin to arrive whilst, at the same time, vastflocks of geese, swans and other water fowlbegin their long journeys back to their breedinggrounds in the Arctic regions. In gardens,hedgerows and woodlands fresh blooms seemto appear almost daily; yellow cowslips andprimroses bloom on grassy banks, whilst inshady woodland spots wild garlic, with itsdistinctive pungent aroma is pushing its way upthrough the leaf mould and brushwood. Onwarmer days you may already discoverdandelion clocks dispersing their seeds in greatfluffs of white on the spring breezes.

But April can also bring a late cold snap, sogardeners beware! The countryman’sexpression for this time of year is “Beware theBlackthorn Winter.” This is because, althoughthe Blackthorn is in full bloom by now, its paleblossoms are often matched by frost-whitenedgrass or snow-covered fields.

The familiar call of the cuckoo, though lesscommon in recent years, is heard in April andover the centuries has come to be viewed asthe heralding voice that announces Spring’sfinal triumph over the cold winter months.

Cuckoo Fairs were held annually across thecountry to celebrate the return of a bird thatwas believed to bring the fine weather with it.

In traditional lore, many strange beliefs wereonce associated with hearing the cuckoo’s callfor the first time. To hear one call in front or tothe right of you was considered to be lucky asthe Archangel Gabriel was believed to sit as aguardian spirit on the right shoulder. To heara cuckoo call from the left however was unluckyas Lucifer sat on your left shoulder. An oldrhyme states: “The cuckoo comes in April andstays the month of May, sings a song atMidsummer and then it flies away.” This isn’tstrictly true however, though we rarely hear itcall after June the cuckoo remains with us untilAugust before migrating to the warm winterclimate of north Africa.

The 1st is of course April Fool’s Day, observedin England and elsewhere since the mid-seventeenth century when practical jokesgenerally took the form of sending gulliblevictims in search of some impossible to find ornon-existent item such as elbow grease orpigeon’s milk. Traditionally the joking ends atmidday and anyone “fooled” after this time isentitled to respond “April Fool’s Day’s past and

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This picture shows the differentstages of stitching your butterflies.On the left you can see the fabricshapes - notice how I swoopeddown to cut between the wings sothat the body would sit nicely on top.

The centre butterflies show how Ipositioned the sticky fabri solvy ontop of my shapes to give me guidelines for my machine stitching.

Finally on the far right you can seethe stitched butterflies. The lineslook heavy as I haven’t yet dissolvedaway the fabri solvy.

Sharp-eyed readers mayrecognise the butterflytemplate I used from my“Hoopful of Butterflies”pattern of two years ago.

If you’d like to make yourown hoop, then pleasejust CLICK HERE todownload the full pattern.

PS A butterfly wouldmake a lovely springtimebrooch too. xx

Bonus Pattern - A Hoopful of Butterflies

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Creating aButterflyGarden

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Look!a lovely idea

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Make any old jar intosomething special with

these beautiful printablelabels that Lauren has

generously shared for freeover on her blog

Tutorial available from Bkesserhouse : Printable Apothecary Jar Labels

PrintableApothecary Jar

Labels

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“Fine CellWork has givenme back mysense of pridein myself, my

self-esteem andself-worth.”

Fine Cell Work is a British charityand social enterprise that trainsprisoners in paid, skilled, creativeneedlework undertaken in the longhours spent in their cells to fosterhope, discipline and self esteem.This helps them to connect tosociety and to leave prison with theconfidence and financial means tostop offending. The Fine Cell Workprogramme takes the prisonersthrough three grades of stitchingproficiency and they all learn canvaswork, embroidery and quilting.

Fine Cell work was the brainchild ofLady Anne Tree, a visitor to HMPHolloway women's prison in the1960s. She had worked with twolong-term prisoners on intricateneedlepoint carpets which weresubsequently sold as collectors'items in New York. Lady Anne feltthat the women who had put somuch hard work into the piecesshould be able to earn money fromtheir work, and so she becamedetermined to establish anorganisation in which prisoners

could learn a skill to the highestlevel and be paid for their efforts.

Lady Anne cited two reasons forfocusing on needlepoint for hercampaign. Her mother-in-law,Nancy Lancaster, owned theinterior designers Colefax andFowler, so "I had the possibility tosell good-quality needlework forgood prices through shops." Shewas also convinced that sewingwas therapeutic: "It is meditative, away of thinking, of taking stock."After decades of lobbying theHome Office to change the law sothat prisoners could earn moneyfrom their work she achieved hergoal.

From its humble beginnings in themid-1990s - (it originally operatedfrom a bedsit in Bloomsbury) thecharity now has 60 volunteerstraining more than 400 prisoners in29 prisons across England,Scotland and Wales. Katy Emckwas Lady Anne's first employeeand helped her turn that originaldream into today's reality.

Katy Emck

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Pegging out the WashingI’ve always enjoyed pegging out the washing on abright fresh day. And for me, rather like thedaffodils, crocuses and other early blooms, the firsttime of pegging out laundry after the long tumble-drying season of winter is a sign that spring reallyhas arrived. I remember my mum teaching me thefine art of hanging out laundry - how to fold andwhere to peg - and I also love creating a pleasingarrangement of items, pegging ditsy floralsalongside classic stripes and crisp white sheets,then standing back to watch my “installation”fluttering gently in the breeze.

Pegging out washing is such a timeless activity thathasn’t really changed at all in generations, thoughtoday we are perhaps less competitive about thewhiteness of our whites! And we don’t have smutsfrom coal-polluted air to ruin the freshness of ourwash. Remember the skills of Beatrix Potter’swasherwoman hedgehog Mrs Tiggy-Winkle whowas able to return Jenny Wren’s currant-wine-

stained table cloth to its former pristine state - all“lily-white and clean, oh!” Or perhaps you recallthe description of the “big wash” in FloraThompson’s with “sheetsand pillow-cases and towels billowing in the windon a line.”

Then, once your washing is dry it can be carefullyfolded into your basket ready for ironing, though Imust confess this is one of my least-favouritehousehold chores. Still there is such pleasure tobe had from freshly laundered bed linen that’s beendried outside in which the fragrance of the freshbreeze still lingers, so different to the artificial smellof tumble dried sheets - clean of course, but notnearly so nice to snuggle into at the end of the day.

So rather than automatically switch on the dryer,watch for the first drying day of spring, lift up yourface to the sun and appreciate the peaceful activityof pegging out the washing for the first time thisyear.

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Jacqui Brooke talks to us about combining her lifelongpassion for fine textiles and time sourcing vintage items toupcycle into her beautiful bespoke pieces for her business

Retrocollects Interiors

Meet theMaker

A life long passion for fine textiles,fabric design and a desire to offerhigh quality, bespoke items at fairand sensible prices is theinspiration behind RetrocollectsInteriors…..

Before moving to France Jacquiand Ian Brooke, the owners ofonline business RetrocollectsInteriors, had always beeninvolved in creative design.

Back in the UK they ran aninteriors business, which was all-consuming, perhaps too much soas though they loved the lifestyle,they felt they simply didn’t havetime to “smell the roses.” Hencewhen the time was right the coupleupped sticks and moved to Francein order to address their work-lifebalance and embrace a simplerlifestyle.

Ever respectful of the time andwork that goes into completing a

needlepoint or piece ofembroidery, simply for fashions tochange and it join the flotsam andjetsam of an earlier age, they feltso sad that all those beautifullycrafted items, such as doilies,embroideries and hand wovenlinens, that had taken so much ofsomebody’s life could be lostforever.

So now, through RetrocollectsInteriors, they create unique,individual pillows & cushionsmixing vintage & new fabrics,designing each pillow with greatcare and attention to detail -thereby creating a very specialhandmade item and giving new lifeto these endangered vintagepieces.

A typical day might involve an earlymorning dog walk to breathe freshair and plan the hours ahead. Jacquitakes inspiration from thecountryside all around her homeand village, enjoying watching the

“Create and bepassionate aboutwhat you do -

experience some “joiede vivre!”

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Ralph the littleLabradoodle Puppy

Here’s the cutest littlelabradoodle puppy you’re everlikely to meet - or the bestbehaved one anyway!!

Ralph is 9” tall and ishandstitched from a lovely curlywoolly faux fur fabric. I’m oftenasked about the fabrics I use,and for fur my go-to supplier isNeotrims - just click here for alink to the exact same fabric Iused for my Ralph.

Ralph has safety eyes and thisversion has a black button nose.His collar features a bright shinybutton and his front legs arewired so he sits nice andsecurely - they don’t have thatannoying tendency to splayoutwards.

Materials● ¼ yard fleecy fabric

● Scraps brown fabric for ear inners andpaw pads

● Two 7 mm (3/8 “) black safety eyes

● ½” black button (or safety nose) for nose

● ¾” shiny button for collar

● 12” x 2” strip red cotton fabric for collar

● 15” flexible garden wire for front legs

● Toy stuffing

● Brown thread

I sewed my Ralph entirely by hand as I preferthe control this gives over the final shape. Butthere’s no reason you couldn’t machine stitchif preferred - a small seam allowance isincluded in the templates.

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Cuddly SockSheep

OrganicFabrics inQuilting