Change in the Air

I can hardly believe I’m writing this as it’s only the middle of August, but there is a definite feeling of the changing season in the air.  All around me there are berries (watch out for the September magazine for lots of recipes using blackberries), hips and haws in the hedgerows and autumnal mists in the mornings.

The palette in the garden has changed too, to more fiery hues – reds and oranges, the deep warm purple of my gladioli and hollyhocks and vibrant orange of nasturtiums and marigolds.  Overhead clouds of swallows and house martins dance in the air, chasing the bugs and insects that are their daily fare, whilst in the evenings flocks of geese pass directly overhead in their characteristic V-shaped skeins, honking madly as they fly.  I’m going to try and take a video of them if I can – yesterday they flew over just a few feet above the house but somehow I never seem to have my phone to hand.  If I do succeed, then I’ll share it on the Bustle & Sew Instagram

Yesterday a photo memory popped up on my Facebook feed reminding me that it was four years ago today that we brought Rufus home….

He was so little and so cute back then!  And has now grown up, I think, into a very handsome dog indeed.  He’s definitely the sensible one of our three and takes his responsibilities as self-designated pack leader very seriously (not that the other two take any notice of this at all!!)

At the moment I’m busy working on the September magazine that’s published at the end of this month and this month the emphasis is on making to give.  Christmas is coming … not quite just yet, but it’s definitely just over the horizon, and as the evenings draw in then for me at least, this is when stitching time begins to increase again.  Over the years I’ve created many Christmas themed designs and collected some of my favourites into the current Christmas Collection….

And whilst there will be some new seasonal patterns over the coming months, this year I want to concentrate more particularly on gifting ideas.  I always think that sewing and embroidery are potentially such thrifty crafts, and a great way to make something really special and unique for a loved one that, if you purchased it from a store, would be prohibitively expensive, that is of course if you could purchase it at all.

As I think I may have mentioned, I’ve recently begun knitting again after a gap of nearly a decade…..

And whilst my Christmas gift bag from last December’s magazine is doing sterling service as a project bag for this small project, I’m going to need something a little larger when I move onto the Christmas jumper project.  So there will be a project bag pattern in the September magazine, created from a tea towel, (one that I thought was too pretty to use).  Watch out for more details next time!