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A Bustle & Sew Publication Copyright © Bustle & Sew Limited 2021 The right of Helen Grimes 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 2021 by: Bustle & Sew Station House West Cranmore Shepton Mallet BA4 4QP www.bustleandsew.com
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Welcome to the March Magazine Hello everyone! I am typing this sitting in my little blue shed at the end of the garden - Bustle & Sew’s new HQ here at Station House. And, for the first time this year, I am sitting with the window open (just a little bit!) Enjoying the early spring sunshine. This morning the birdsong was deafening and I spotted a skylark as I walked back across the fields with the dogs at the end of our morning walk. Here in the UK it feels as though we are coming to the end of a long dark winter in more ways than one as the days lengthen and the possibility of opening up society at last seems to be drawing closer. This month’s magazine has a definite spring-like feel to it too, as we celebrate the spring equinox, wonder at the activities of the mad March Hares and start stitching bunnies for Easter. I do hope you’ll enjoy this month’s contents, and that spring isn’t too far away for you either. Meanwhile, stay safe and warm, and I’ll be back again next month. Very best wishes
Helen xx
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Between this month’s covers … March Almanac
Page 5
Poetry Corner
Page 51
Chin up Buttercup Hoop
Page 7
Let Love Grow
Page 52
Starting Well: Finishing Neatly
Page 10
March in the Garden: Composting
Page 55
The start of Summer Time
Page 12
Nature Notes: The Hedgehog
Page 57
March in the Garden: Planting Wisdom
Page 13
Successful Satin Stitch
Page 58
Garden Journal Cover
Page 15
An Alphabet for Florence
Page 60
Lovely Idea Spring Printable
Page 18
Caring for our Feathered Friends
Page 64
Mad as a March Hare?
Page 19
Embroidery Stitch Guide
Page 65
Enjoying Vintage Transfers
Page 23
In the Kitchen: Conversion Tables
Page 66
Where’s Bunny? Hoop
Page 26
Templates
Page 6
Transferring Your Design
Page 29
When Day Equals Night
Page 31
Mothering Sunday
Page 32
Mother’s Day Printables
Page 35
Bunny Bunting
Page 37
Signs of Spring
Page 40
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March Spring arrives only slowly, but even if March is wet and windy, coming in like a lamb rather than a lion, the days are lengthening and, along with this comes birdsong, fattening buds bursting into leaf and all the other signs of spring that we so look forward to. The daffodils in the Lake District that inspired Wordsworth to write his famous verse “I wondered, lonely as a cloud” would have been the wild variety growing as they were beside the lake beneath the trees. Whether or not you are lucky enough to spot some of the delicate wild variety, or if you’ve planted some of the larger and sturdier hybrids in your garden, the sight of their yellow flowers blowing in the breeze or brightening up a grey day is perhaps the most potent image of spring in this country. Once widely spread across the country the native daffodil isn’t
nearly as common as it once was, but clumps can still be found
“As last year’s store sinks low Watch for the day when wellconditioned tilth, Run by the winter frost, made sweet by rain, Crumbles beneath the foot, and warmly basks In open fields between the budding shaws… What readiness, what waiting; the suspense Of earth laid open, naked to the spring.”
across the western part of the country. It was affectionately known as the “daffydowndilly.” If you are in Cornwall then look out for clumps of unusual daffodils
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flowering oddly and in isolation along the hedgerows. These may well be the remains of heritage varieties, once the mainstay of the Cornish flower industry, but dumped along road edges during WW2 when the flower fields were given over to food production. Whilst we regard March as the first month of spring, astronomically it straddles the seasons as the first twenty days leading up to the equinox belong to winter. In many respects it’s a month of preparation and anticipation; for farmers it is the sowing season and in the Christian Church the month is largely dominated by the Lenten fast and the approach of Easter. For many birds and animals March is the beginning of their breeding season, and the behaviour of one particular animal this month has given rise to the saying “mad as a March hare.”
Lambs are of course the other heart-lifting symbol of spring. They can be seen gambolling in fields across the country, whilst the very first butterflies of the year are beginning to appear. Although March is viewed as being the first month of spring, it does in fact span two seasons as its first twenty days do still belong to winter. In many respects it’s a month of preparation and anticipation - for farmers it is the sowing season whilst in the Christian church the month is dominated by the Lenten fast and the approach of Easter. March begins with St David’s Day on the first. St David is of course the patron saint of Wales and his sign of the leek was traditionally worn in hats on this day. Today however, you’re more likely to see another national symbol of Wales, the daffodil - traditionally said to bloom for the first time on 1 March - worn in buttonholes - for obvious reasons! In the ancient Roman calendar, the Ides were the 15th day of March, May, July and October and the 13th day of other months. It is the Ides of March however that are best known at the day in 44 BC when Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of conspirators led by Marcus Brutus
who stabbed him in the Senate House in Rome. Shakespeare famously gave Caesar’s dying words as “Et tu Brute” (You too Brutus) as his treacherous friend also drove a dagger into his chest. March, it would seem, is definitely
“We saw some country folk carry such large leeks on their hats that their heads hung almost sideways because of them. As they celebrate the day with ale, strong, bear, sack and claret, they become short-tempered, obstinate and wild.”
the month for national saints’ days as the Feast of St Patrick, possibly the most internationally celebrated of all saints days, falls on the seventeenth. Again little is known about his life, but its’ believed that he was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century before being kidnapped by Irish pirates and shipped off as a slave. After escaping six years later he became a Christian priest and then a
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bishop, eventually returning to Ireland where he played a major role in converting the country to Christianity. Historically the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking were lifted for his festival - perhaps a reason why he became so popular! This year Easter falls early - Easter Sunday is the fourth day of April. Easter can in fact fall on any date from 22 March to 25 April - it is the Sunday following the first full moon on or after 21 March - the vernal equinox. The decision on how and when Easter should fall each year was made by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the first major church council. The main reason why Easter falls on a different date each year is because we now use the solar, Gregorian calendar rather than a lunar one. This means the full moon occurs on different dates each year, and therefore so does Easter. And finally - a very popular date here in the UK! On the last Sunday in March we put our clocks forward by one hours to make the most of the lengthening daylight hours. The change officially occurs at 1 am Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which becomes 2 am British Summer Time (BST) and winter is over at last - yippee!!
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Hand Embroidery: A (very) little guide to starting well and finishing neatly! Threading your needle, making your first stitch and finishing off your threads are very important steps in any piece of work, but so often their taken for granted and not properly explained. Making your first stitch confidently, certain that you’ve started in the right place and that it won’t come undone is vital to your confidence in your own ability to finish the piece of work to a good standard. Whether you’re following a pattern or working to your own design, once flosses have been chosen, your fabric prepared and hooped up, the much-anticipated moment arrives when it’s time to thread
your needle and make your first stitch.
over the loop and push it down so the thread passes through it.
Threading a needle is something that many people find difficult - and not necessarily through poor eyesight - simply through not knowing the best way to go about it.
The thread itself should be no longer than 20” (50cm) maximum, and personally I prefer my thread to be no longer than 15-18” (perhaps I have short arms!). Longer threads than this are uncomfortable to work with, forcing your arm and shoulder into odd angles, but are also prone to knotting, twisting and fraying.
A good way to thread your needle is as follows…. Hold your needle in your right hand (left if you’re left-handed) and with your other hand loop the thread over the point of the needle and pull it tight. Then, holding this loop firmly between your thumb and first finger, place the eye of the needle
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For most embroidery, the neatest way to begin is to make a few small stitches, leaving the end of the thread at the front of your work, within the area you intend to stitch.
Welcome British Summer Time! This month brings the start of British Summer time - a moment when we can feel that winter is really and truly behind us and spring is finally here! This year the clocks go forward on 26th March bringing us an extra hour of light at the end of the day. The days have been growing longer for the last three months of course, since the shortest day just before Christmas. As we all know, we have seasons because the earth is tilted on its axis and here in the Northern hemisphere this tilt means we’re further away from the sun during the winter months and our days are shorted. But after the winter solstice on 21 December we begin to tilt back towards the sun and our days grow longer once more - even if very slowly at first. Indeed the word “solstice” means a standing still and during late December and early January we receive as little as a minute of an extra light each day. By early February however this has reason to three minutes every 24 hours and by the time of the spring equinox on 20 March the daylight hours are increasing by nearly four minutes each day heralding the beginning of spring and the new growing season.
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“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold; when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade.”
Charles Dickens: Great Expectations 1861 10
A Creature of Superstition The hare, the hare-kin, Old Big-bum, Old Bouchart, The hare-ling, the frisky one, Old turpin, the fast traveller, The way-beater, the white-spotted one, The lurker in ditches, the filthy beast, Old Wimount, the coward, The slinker-away, the nibbler, The one it’s bad luck to meet, the white-livered The scutter, the fellow in the dew, The grass-nibbler, Old Goibert, The one who doesn’t go straight home, the traitor, The friendless one, the cat of the wood….. The hare’s mazes…. The dew-beater, the dew-hopper, The sitter on its form, the hopper in the grass…. The stag of the cabbages, the cropper of herbage…. The animal that all men scorn, The animal that no-one dares name….
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Signs of Spring
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Eggs aren’t just for Easter (though those of the chocolate variety are particularly yummy!). They have always been a token of spring and were the first food to become more available as the days lengthened and chickens, ducks and geese began to lay in earnest. Even today they are a symbol of the season and though we now buy eggs all year round those folk who keep hens still have spring glut of fresh delicious eggs to use up so now is the time to indulge in lots of delicious cooking and baking!
Baked Custard Tart
You will need an 18 cm deep sponge tin.
Ingredients ● 250 g ready made shortcrust pastry (or make your own) ● 400 ml single cream ● 1 teaspoon butter ● 40 g caster sugar ● 2 large eggs ● 1 large yolk ● 1 tspn vanilla extract ● 1 ¼ whole nutmeg
Method ● Roll the pastry out to 28 cm in diameter on a clean floured surface. Roll it round the rolling pin and transfer it to the centre of the tin.
Now, using your hands, gently press the pastry into the tin to line the base and sides making sure you ease the pastry into the corners and press it against the sides then trim off any excess pastry around the top edge with a sharp knife. After that use your fingers again to press the sides all round to the pastry so it is slightly proud of the tin. Prick the base all over with a fork to release any trapped air. ● Chill in the fridge for 30 mins. Line with foil and add baking beans, then cook in a pre-heated oven at 190C for 15 mins. Remove beans and liner, then brush the case all over with beaten egg and bake for another 10 mins. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 180C. ● Place the cream and butter in a saucepan and bring it up to a gentle simmer, then whisk the beaten eggs and sugar together in a large heatproof jug using a balloon whisk. ● Pour the hot liquid over the beaten eggs, add the vanilla extract and half the freshly grated nutmeg and whisk briefly again. Pour the filling into the pastry case and grate the rest of the nutmeg all over. ● Bake for 40 minutes or until just set in the middle.
A Change in the Year …. It is the first mild day of March: Each minute sweeter than before, The redbreast sings from the tall larch That stands beside our door. There is a blessing in the air, Which seems a sense of joy to yield To the bare trees, and mountains bare; And grass in the green field.
William Wordsworth
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