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May must be one of the loveliest months of the year as we finally say a confident "Farewell" tothe colder weather and look forward to the summer ahead. It's time to get out and about againand perhaps it'll even be warm enough for stitching in the garden with lots of hand sewing inmy "Sunshine Sweetheart" and "Always be Sunshine" patterns.

This month's softie is the wonderful Fox in a Frock, and to complete the spring feeling you'lldiscover "A Hoopful of Butterflies" as well as "Washing Day" - just in time to hold your pegswhen you're hanging out the washing. I love washing that's been line dried, it has thatwonderful fresh fragrance that you simply can't replicate during the darker, wetter wintermonths. Happy sunshine stitching everyone!

Helen xx

ContentsMay Almanac Page 4

Hoopful of Butterflies Page 5

Back Stitch Page 8

Finishing your Abandoned Project Page 9

May Dancers Paper Dolls Page 12

Always be Sunshine Stitchery Page 13

Spring in the Herb garden Page 16

Fox in a Frock Softie Page 19

An Afternoon Visitor Page 23

Rosie & Bear Washday Peg Bag Page 29

Making Money from Making Page 33

Garden Party Tea Towels Page 37

English Paper Piecing Page 40

Sunshine Sweetheart Pouch Page 43

Templates Page 49

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May, the fifth month, probably takes its namefrom Maia, a Roman goddess of growth andfertility - entirely appropriate for thiswonderful time of year. The Irish-Gaelicname for the month is Bealtaine, which alsodenote the festival of Beltane that takes placeon 1 May.

Folklore tells us that May dew has particularlybeneficial properties for the complexion. Themost potent May dew was that collected onthe morning of 1 May and women whowashed their faces in this dew would berestored to beauty.

One of the oldest surviving customs inEngland, the Helston Furry Dance takes place

in the Cornish town of that name on 8 Mayeach year. The programme for the dayfeatures a number of dances through thenarrow streets of the town, men in top hats andmorning coats with a lily-of-the-valleybuttonhole and the women in long dresses inbright summer colours and large fancy hats.

A little later in the month the sleepy Dorsetvillage of Abbotsbury celebrates Garland Day.This custom was originally associated withthe fishing fleet - garlands of flowers made bythe fishermens’ children were blessed at thevillage church, then hung on the fishing boatsand taken out to sea. Today the garlands areplaced on the War Memorial to rememberthose lost in conflict over the years.

May brings with her the beauty andfragrance of hawthorne blossoms and the

song of the nightingale. Old poets delightedin describing her as a beautiful maiden,

clothed in sunshine and scattering flowerson the earth, while she danced to the musicof birds and brooks. She has given a richgreenness to the young corn, and the grassis now tall enough for the flowers to playat hide-and-seek among, as they are chased

by the wind. The grass also gives a softnessto the dazzling white of the daisies and the

glittering gold of the buttercups.

Chambers Book of Days 1864

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A Hoopful of ButterfliesSpring is here - all year round with this hoopful of butterflies all labelled with

their (spoof!) Latin names. Or why not make one as a brooch, add to afascinator, or simply to perch on a lampshade, cushion or elsewhere in your

home for a little touch of colour and whimsy?

Butterflies are shown mounted in a 10” hoop.

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Back stitch is an outline stitch and is the best stitch to choose for makinglong straight lines, but can also be used for curves, though it’s not assmooth as stem stitch when curving.

Back stitch is worked from right to left. Bring your needle out a shortdistance from the beginning of the line you want to stitch (see the arrowin the diagram above). Then insert it back through the fabric at thebeginning of your line - effectively taking a step “back” - and bring itforward again an equal distance forward from where you first started.You are actually taking along stitch forward beneath your fabric, thena short backward stitch on the right side - joining with the previous stitch.

Threaded back stitch is a very pretty variation - you could use threedifferent floss colours to achieve the effect above. First work a line ofordinary back stitch, then thread it up and down alternately as shown byneedle A. Needle B shows the second threading process, worked inexactly the same way as before, except that this time you’re filling inthe gaps you left before.

This is a very useful stitch to outline floral or leaf shapes, or to use as aborder.

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At Bustle & Sew we’re not afraidto tackle sensitive subjects - suchas the projects that you don’t wantto think about - the ones youstarted with such enthusiasm onlyto give up on later and stuff awayat the back of a cupboard or evenunder the bed!

So what went wrong? And can youever you learn to love your projectagain? (or at least complete it!!)

Here’s a quick look at some of thetechniques you might use to getthose projects finished.

Finishing yourabandoned projects

As a lot of my stitching these days isdestined for this magazine, I find thatI'm having to be a lot more disciplined

with my time - and have far fewer unfinishedprojects stuffed away in odd places niggling atmy conscience and demanding that I finish them- one day perhaps! But, having had a majorreorganisation of my workroom this month, Idiscovered one or two long forgotten pieceswhich made me start to wonder about exactlywhy I'd given up and put them to one side in thefirst place - so that perhaps I could identify whatthe problem had been and if there was any wayto overcome it. Of course as all projects aredifferent then the reasons why we give up onsome of them are also going to vary too. Here'sa look at some of the most common and somethoughts on how to get that project finallycomplete.

Boredom

Perhaps your project became boring? This oftenhappens for example if you have large areas ofwork to stitch all the same - whether that's across-stitch background or hand stitching biasbinding. Working the same stitch or techniqueover and over again for long periods of timebecomes very dull and uninspiring when yourinner stitchy self is craving variety and change.

Why not think about completing your boringunfinished project in slow gentle stages byworking on it for say just 20 minutes at a timebefore moving on to more exciting projects. Ifyour boring project doesn't demand too muchattention to detail then why not work a fewstitches at a time while you're watching TV?You're mostly concentrating on your favourite

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Always be Sunshine StitcheryAfter the horrible wet winter we’ve endured here in England this year, Ithought this little stitchery would be a good reminder that the sun always

shines again - just as true if you’re suffering through bad times - rememberthat the good times will return.

Shown mounted in a 7” hoop.

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Spring in the Herb GardenMay sees plenty of new growth onthe perennial herb plants such asthyme and sage, whilst bushes ofrosemary should have beenflowering for some time. The firstshoots of mint and fresh tangychive leaves seem to appear almostovernight just when it seems asthough spring will never arrive,and it becomes a real treat to enjoyleafy salads and vegetable dishessprinkled with the bright greenaromatic flecks of parsley, chive ormarjoram. We may have to wait awhile longer for annual herbs fromour own gardens though today herbsare of course available both freshand dried from supermarkets allyear round, so it hardly seems worthwhile to dry your own herbs anymore. There are lots moreinteresting ways to preserve themthough ….

Try making some herb pastes whichwill keep in your fridge or a coolplace if they’re well protectedunder a film of oil. Mixingmustards with fresh herbs isanother good idea, or try making

herb-based sauces such as pestowhich use other ingredientsalongside your fresh herbs.

It’s also fun, and really easy, toinfuse oils and vinegars with freshherbs and this is a great way toprolong their scent and flavourthroughout the year. Even ratherplain and tasteless oils can begreatly improved by infusion witha handful of basil, thyme orrosemary. If you’re planning to useyour herb oil for salad dressings,try to use olive oil to give the bestflavour, but it needn’t be the mostexpensive.

Vinegars can also be successfullyinfused, but you’re not likely to useas many of these - at least I don’t.But if you would like to try herbvinegar then use light wine or cidervinegar for the base. Probably oneof the most successful herbs to usein this way is tarragon, butrosemary works well too.

The method for both oils and

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Fox in a FrockHere’s a most elegant little fox softie, beautifully dressed in her lovely summer

dress with smart lace up boots and a little cream collar, complete with tiny button.Miss Fox isn’t a beginner’s make, but isn’t complicated, just a bit fiddly in

places, requiring a little patience.

She measures approx 15” tall from the tips of her ears to the toes of her boots.

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It was a pleasant morning in early June. Awarm wind was rustling the trees, whichwere covered thickly with half-opened

leaves, and looked like fountains of green spraythrown high into the air. Dr. Carr's front doorstood wide open. Through the parlor windowcame the sound of piano practice, and on thesteps, under the budding roses, sat a smallfigure, busily sewing.

This was Clover, little Clover still, though morethan two years had passed since we saw herlast, and she was now over fourteen. Cloverwas never intended to be tall. Her eyes were asblue and sweet as ever, and her apple-blossomcheeks as pink. But the brown pig-tails werepinned up into a round knot, and the childishface had gained almost a womanly look. Old

An Unexpected VisitorExtract from “What Katy Did” by Susan Coolidge.

Mary declared that Miss Clover was gettingquite young-ladyfied, and "Miss Clover" wasquite aware of the fact, and mightily pleasedwith it. It delighted her to turn up her hair;and she was very particular about having herdresses made to come below the tops of herboots. She had also left off ruffles, and worenarrow collars instead, and little cuffs withsleeve-buttons to fasten them. These sleeve-buttons Clover liked best of all her things.Papa said that he was sure she took them tobed with her, but of course that was only ajoke, though she certainly was never seenwithout them in the daytime. She glancedfrequently at these beloved buttons as she satsewing, and every now and then laid downher work to twist them into a better position,or give them an affectionate pat with herforefinger.

Pretty soon the side-gate swung open, andPhilly came round the corner of the house.He had grown into a big boy. All his prettybaby curls were cut off, and his frocks hadgiven place to jacket and trousers. In his handhe held something. What, Clover could notsee.

"What's that?" she said, as he reached thesteps.

"I'm going up stairs to ask Katy if these areripe," replied Phil, exhibiting some currantsfaintly streaked with red.

"Why, of course they're not ripe!" said

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The Merry Month of May

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Rosie & Bear: Washing DayThat naughty Bear has finally met his match in the form of - MUM!! Mum has

insisted that he needs a wash, in spite of Rosie’s loud wails of protest, butsomehow I don’t think he’ll be hanging from the washing line for very long!

Finished bag is 5” diameter and 12” deep.

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Making Moneyfrom Making

It’s wonderful when you discover that it’sactually possible to earn some money bydoing something you love - like sewing!Over the next few issues I’m offering yousome hints and tips on successfully sellingthe items you love to make … this monthwe’re looking at marketing and PR.

Effective marketing and PR areabsolutely essential - without themyou won't be able to reach your

potential customers and tell them aboutyour products. Unless people know youexist and how they can purchase from youthen you'll never be able to sell anything.

Sometimes people become confusedbetween the terms marketing and PR -Marketing is using advertising, leaflets,business cards and other methods tocommunicate information about yourselfand your business to target your customers,whilst PR (public relations) is using themedia to make your customers aware ofyour business. Featuring in magazines ornewspapers - or maybe even appearing onTV or being interviewed by local radio, areall great ways to gain exposure for yourselfand your business. Then of course there'sgoing online with your own website andusing social media - coming next month andin July.

But back to marketing and PR - before youeven begin to try to spread the word aboutyourself you need to have all your tools andinformation ready.

Business Cards

These are a great way of making sure peopleremember you and your products. Imagineyou're at a craft fair when a retailer getschatting to you. She loves your productsand is interested in stocking them. She can'tmake a decision on the spot but would liketo get back to you in the next few days andasks - do you have a business card? I'm sureyou'll agree that handing her a nicelyproduced, clear, well-branded business cardwith all your contact details is far preferableto scribbling your contact details on theproverbial back of an envelope!

It's easy to design your own business card,or use an online service with easy templates- but be sure they tie in with your overallbranding. Don't forget cards have a reverse

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Garden Party Tea TowelsApplique is a great way to brighten up inexpensive plain tea towels - which makegreat gifts or very popular items on your craft stall if you’re planning to make tosell this summer. In spite of the popularity of dishwashers everyone still needs

tea towels in the kitchen, they’re handy for all sort of things. Here are three easyideas to choose from….

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English Paper Piecing is a quiltingtechnique that use fabric wrappedaround paper templates to create a

quilt block or entire quilt with greataccuracy and precision. The paper acts asa fabric stabiliser when hand sewing all thepieces together, such as the seven hexagonshapes found in a Grandmother's FlowerGarden quilt block.

English Paper Piecing quilts date back asfar as the 1770's, with the oldest quilt of itskind made in the United States dating backto about 1807 - 1813 During America'sPioneer days, "paper" quilting became verypopular. Paper was scarce in early Americaand women often saved letters, newspaperclippings and catalogue pages to createpatterns. In many cases, paper templateswere not removed from the quilt, the paperserving a dual purpose of both pattern andinsulator. Today these paper templateshave become important pieces of history

as they offer us tantalising glimpses intopioneer life.

You don't need any special tools andequipment for this easy hand piecingtechnique. It's a bonus though if, like me,you're the kind of person who has neverbeen able to throw away even the smallestfabric scraps believing that "they're sure tocome in useful one day" as you'll have lotsof interesting materials to start with and willbe able to create a beautiful item fromalmost nothing, always very satisfying!

You can purchase pre-cut paper pieces oryou can make them yourself. The diagramon the next page shows how to drawindividual hexagons. This diagram wastaken from a vintage book and drawinghexagons in this way would have been theonly method available before technologyarrived. Today there are plenty of templatesavailable online to download - butremember - cutting paper will blunt yourfabric shears so be sure to use a differentpair of scissors!

When cutting out your own shapes be sureto do so accurately to ensure a good fit whenpiecing the shapes together. If you usefreezer paper for your pattern you can ironthe shiny side directly onto the wrong sideof your fabric and it will lightly adhere, soproviding stability when you're folding andtacking. I know some people also punch ahole in the centre of their shapes to makeremoving them easier, but I personally don'tdo this - it's a matter of finding what worksfor you.

Creating your own papers does involvemaking sure you prepare your shapesaccurately. You'll also need to spend some

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Sunshine Sweetheart Zipper PouchCombine vintage bluebirds with some lovely hexagonal piecing to create a reallypretty little pouch - perfect for toiletries, cosmetics, or anything you choose - atany time of day whether you’re a morning sunshine or goodnight sweetheart!

Finished pouch measures 6” x 9” x 3” approx

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Free to download from the Bustle & Sew website

http://bustleandsew.com/free-patterns/

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