At this time of year, though the stretch of grey cold days may seem endless, nature is beginning to stir.  There are hazel catkins in the hedgerows, the sharp green spikes of daffodils and other spring bulbs are visible emerging through the leaf litter of last year, and those earliest of all flowers, snowdrops, are clustered in abundance beneath the trees and in quiet corners of our garden.

Late February/early March is the best time to lift and transplant snowdrops as they are best moved and planted again whilst “in the green”, that is while they are still in active growth and just after flowering.  Here at Bustle & Sew HQ, as we prepare for a super-exciting additional venture, we will have to lift and move some of our snowdrops as they will otherwise be damaged or destroyed by the works we will be carrying out later in the year.  As you may or may not know, we live in the old Station Master’s House alongside a working steam heritage railway….

And (breaking news!) from summer 2023 we will be offering two shepherd’s huts, situated in what used to be the Station Master’s Kitchen Garden, as holiday lets. Last year we had them lifted into place by a giant crane (all very exciting)….

This year, as I’m sure you can tell from this image, there’s lots to do to landscape the ground around them and reinstate the station master’s garden.  But before we begin I will be relocating the snowdrops around the huts to safer places before the digger arrives in April.  Luckily, as I wrote at the beginning of this newsletter, the next few weeks are positively the best time to move them.  So, in celebration of these brave little flowers, I thought I would share my “Mugful of Snowdrops” pattern with all our free newsletter readers..

It combines hand embroidery and machine applique and depicts a cluster of snowdrops growing in a Cornish Blue mug.  I do hope you like it. The pattern includes full stitching instructions, material and floss requirements and full size templates.  I’d love to see any of your completed projects if you decide to try this design.

I’ll keep you updated on the progress of our shepherd’s huts projects over the coming weeks and months but meanwhile if you’d like to receive the free snowdrops pattern and don’t already receive our free newsletter then please just click on the button below to sign up.

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