I’m typing this in the middle of an enormous (for England that is) thunderstorm. The lightning is flashing, thunder rolling and the rain is coming down in bucketfuls. This is of course the day that the Engineer has decided to remove our bedroom window to rub down the old flaking paint ready for a new coat of paint for the winter. He has now gone out for the afternoon and the bedroom window is sitting on the patio ready for his attention when he returns. Meanwhile the bedroom floor is getting a good soaking from the quite torrential rain!
All this rain means that we probably won’t be sitting outside this evening which is a great pity as now is the time the owls begin to call. We have a healthy population of tawny owls up here on the Mendip Hills and now is the time of year we become most aware of them. They love to sit on the top of the railway signal posts, the signal box chimney and some old tree stumps and call for their mates…. “too-wit, too-wit”. And I don’t know if there’s something about the tone of their calls, but Ted loves to respond with his own “woo-woo-woo!” The owl-dog duets can go on for quite some time and form a most entertaining soundtrack to our stargazing evenings!
There are owls in the new edition of the Bustle & Sew Magazine too – not tawny, but a pair of rather cute little barn owls snuggling up to one another on the branch of an old apple tree. There is rather an autumnal feel to this month’s edition as we say farewell to summer and look forward to the new season. Although September is one of my favourite months of the year, nonetheless it always holds for me a feeling of slight melancholy. The summer, long and eagerly anticipated, seems to have passed in the blink of an eye, and now the leaves are beginning to turn and the days are shortening rapidly as we hurtle towards autumn, the cooler months – and of course Christmas! And at that thought I very quickly cheer up again!!
I love the richness of the colours around me in September’s countryside, ochres and russets, crimsons, golds and purples begin to appear, whilst the swallows are flocking overhead and I begin to hear the wild geese calling from the lake on the other side of our village. This sense of richness and bounty is, I hope, reflected in the pages of the September issue, where you’ll discover flowers and pheasants, candles, crochet and plenty more besides.
There is still chance to make certain of your pin cushion kit as I’ve relisted it for pre-orders. The kit contains good quality cotton fabric pre-printed with the design, green linen fabric for the leaf and all the DMC floss you will need. In addition to the contents of the kit you will require some stuffing, a twig for the stalk, a sewing machine and basic embroidery equipment.
Pre-orders will be sent out by early October or maybe even before with a little assistance from my teenage step-granddaughter. (I am off to enjoy a little holiday sunshine for a couple of weeks in September, hence the longer than usual lead time) Kits will still arrive in plenty of time for Christmas gifting or making.
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