At last, after a long cold spring, summer seems finally to have arrived to stay. The garden is blooming – above is a view down the Kitchen Garden towards the shepherd’s huts. The Hen Pen is on the right of the photo, though you can’t see the chickens, I think they were probably taking their afternoon nap.
It’s been warm enough to take Florence for ice cream on her Grandma Daycare days – choosing the right flavour is a very serious business, and also to enjoy some stitching (and a late supper) in the garden. Happy days indeed! And of course summer is the season for fetes, fairs, bazaars and other fundraising events.
A little while ago I received an email asking about good patterns to use for fundraising, and I must admit, the pattern that immediately sprang to mind was one of my older ones – the pincushion mice. Based on a design from my own childhood, these mice are so very easy to make, very cute, and can be adapted in all sorts of ways – above are just a few ideas that I’ve used, but I’m sure that you could come up with quite a few as well!
I haven’t made any of these mice for a long time now, but a few years ago I used to make quite a few, and reckoned on no more than a couple of hours (tops) for each mouse. They use very little in the way of materials and always seem to be popular at fetes, fairs and other such functions. If you’d like the pattern then please just CLICK HERE to download it absolutely free.
And I have another freebie for you. I’m sometimes asked what kind of magazine the Bustle & Sew Magazine actually is as it doesn’t fall neatly into any particular category. I generally describe it as an English country magazine, with sewing very much at its heart. So, as well as sewing and embroidery patterns, there are articles and features that are not only stitching-related, covering a wide range of other topics – gardening, recipes, countryside, nature notes, fabrics and fibres, famous designers, little histories and much more besides. It’s possibly a little eccentric, but these are all topics that I find fascinating and hope my readers will too. And there’s no advertising whatsoever – so many magazines seem to be absolutely stuffed with adverts and can be rather light on the content.
Sometimes readers are kind enough to send me feedback about the Bustle & Sew Magazine… here’s an email I received in March this year from a lovely new reader named Sarah….
I recently subscribed to the Bustle and Sew magazine and just wanted to write and tell you how wonderful it is. I don’t read many magazines – other than a gardening one – so I was a bit unsure whether I would read it. I just love it! And I even look forward to your newsletter every Sunday. Thank you so much for all the hard work you and Rosie must put into it and I hope the chickens are settling down well!
And again from this spring, this time from Sandra…
I just want to let you know that I Iove the magazine. I wait hopefully each month waiting for the day to download this beautiful, serene and informative piece of “old fashioned ” magazine.
I print off all of the pages that I love. I sit and read every piece of interesting articles. I have a binder just for the magazine. I embroider something from each month. So I just want to say thank you for your brilliant interesting and creative ideas.
But there’s no substitute for seeing things for yourself so I thought it would be nice to offer a free copy for you to download and read if you wish….
I went back through the archives and pulled out the June issue from last year which I hope you’ll enjoy. Please just CLICK HERE to receive your free copy directly to your inbox.
Loved the free mouse pattern..I tried it and was pleased with it.