Hi Honey Pattern Launched - Support the Bees!

£6.50

Help support the bees!

With each purchase of my hand embroidery pattern ‘Hi Honey’, 50p will go to the British Bee Keepers Association (BBKA).

I am a huge supporter of bees, they are utterly crucial to the eco-system of our planet, and well frankly I do find Bumble Bees rather cute. So if you love them as much as I do, then why not purchase the pattern.

Simply head over to my Etsy store www.etsy.com/themasonbee or go to my website www.masonbee.co.uk and look at the patterns page.

Very Busy Bee

It's a Bank Holiday weekend here in Blighty, and rather than sitting back and chilling out I am up to my eyes in fabric and threads. Most of which I am working on this weekend I can't show you, well I can just not at this moment in time. This is the weekend where I crack through an extremely long list of things to do, and only about an hour ago did I feel that I was getting any head way with it. But at least with my list done I know what it is I have to achieve it's easy to get distracted. As a very dear friend of my mine knows.

I do hope tomorrow or at least by Tuesday have photographed something that I can show you, it's going to be a few very special collars. All I say about them at the moment, because I like to draw things out is, sophisticated bling. I'll do a mid-week blog post about it.

Next weekend I'll be off again, this time down to my Aunt's to work on some costumes with her, which means I spot of late night sewing and chatting. Not done that in an age and I have to say I really do miss working with my aunt. She's uber talented lady and it's always a pleasure to work along side her. The costumes are for a stage production at the Old Vic. Can't wait to see what they look like.

That's about it for this post this Sunday but before I nip off to get dinner, I thought I would leave you with a few shots from my trip to the Peak District (so at least you get some pretty pictures today!)

Want it Wednesday: Baking Love

It's a little bit of a different Want it Wednesday, but you know it's good to switch things up a bit, right? Well tonight its just going to focus on one thing a book. A book that I fell in love with whilst visiting a very good friend last weekend. Now, you might have twigged over the years that I have a bit of a thing for baking, it's a side hobby in a way I don't do it often but its nice to just whip up a batch of scones as and when you feel like it. I almost have the recipe memorised to a point I only need to glance at the ingredients to make sure I've not missed anything.

So when I saw this book 

Miette Bakery Cookbook: Recipes from San Francisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop

I knew it had to be mine when I saw the recipes that would make good gifts, well it's not mine yet but I am damned well going to be! Sorry Sophie, it nearly ended up in my bag....

Wee Break

I thought I would post today, as I will probably have little time to post on Sunday. You see as I type this I am on the train heading up to Sheffield. I'm sitting in First Class....ha, only because the ticket was cheap. 

I haven't don't much in the way of making this week, aside from finishing off the sample piece for the pattern, which is now complete. I just need to do the actual pattern then it will be ready to rock and roll. By the looks of the comments on Flickr and Facebook the few small shots of it has gone down well. Hopefully by next weekend it will be up for sale.

What else has been happening? Well I am co-hosting/helping out with the official UK Handmade Deviant art group. I've been wanting to do something else whilst on line that helps folks, and I hope to make it a bit more active, with blog posts and scoping out more UK based peeps on DA. So if you are on there check out the page - http://ukhandmade.deviantart.com/

So see you over there. 

And that's about it! I am off to walk about the peak district, craft and stare at the Jessica Ennis gold post box!

Pattern, Life, Holiday and more.

Its certainly starting to pick up in terms of my actual paid job and my sideline work as Mason Bee. I love it when I am busy, as I find myself buzzing, no pun intended. Ideas seems to come to me more easily and the enthusiasm to work on prototypes and new projects is readily there.

I have about three private commissions to work on, and I have one and a half designs for those pieces pretty much under my belt. I'm surprised how quickly they come to me. I maybe able to show you the designs, but I will need to seek permission for the lovely ladies I am working them for first.

What else?

Well I am involved in something for &Stitches, which is going to be rather fun as its for their challenge but that's about as much as I can tell you until when it's published. Which is going to be hard for me to keep quiet as I like to take photographs and showing their progress to you all. So I'll have to take the shots and show you at a later date.

I've just finished the embroidery for the sample of the Bee Pattern, which I've been yammering on about for months now. Well the design was finished a couple of weeks back and today I finished the stitching. I've got to work on the pattern it self and make it up into something. The something I've only got a rough idea for but I was thinking a patch for a cushion or a tote. It will be one of those patterns that will allow people to be creative as they want with it. I like giving people free reign to be expressive. So I might make it into appliquéd patch but you might use it to adorn a fabric covered book or whatever.

Hopefully the snippets you see you'll like. This is the first pattern that I will be creating that won't be free, as I want to use it to raise money for the BBKA. So I am really pushing myself to make it so good that people will want to buy it.

What do you think?

I will be able to show you the finished sample within the fortnight.

In non-stitching news, I am off to Boston in the fall! I am uber excited as with Washington it's on my list of places I really wanted to go to. I can't  bloody wait. If you've been would love to know what and where you got up to. Or if you haven't been, where would you like to go if you could? I know on my list I have New Zealand, St. Petersburg, Vienna, Chicago, San Francisco to name but a few.

Oh lordy, I nearly signed off without mentioning one of the most important things that's happened this week?! How remiss of me. I've started to add the new branding around the joint, new blogger banner, Twitter has had a revamp and Etsy shop too. Only the website and Facebook to go! I hope you like it, it was created by my uber talented Uncle, and if you would like to get his contact details to do your branding, then do get in contact.

Now I really well sign off!

Powering through

As I had hoped this week I  managed to finish several projects and on Saturday not only did I managed to photograph them but list them too.

So what did I get up too?

Well I created one more of the delightful Paradise Bird hand embroidered peter pan collars, and rephotographed the ones I had made a few weeks back. I am much happier with the outcomes, the images are crisper and brighter:

They just look so cool grouped together!

Lovely triplets!

But it doesn't stop there, I also finally mounted up the Paradise Bird hoop art, and it's looking rather snazzy in the variegated blue thread. I love this linen fabric it's light weight and wonderful to stitch on. 

I think I am getting better at photographing my work, and editing in Photoshop.

It doesn't finish there, I worked on another piece this week. It was another Peter Pan Collar, but a different design to the birds. Following on from the Honey & Bee Clock, I created a sweet little design incorporating tiny little buzzing bees. Like with the other collars, this is reversible so you can show off the bees or you can show off the monochrome flowers. 

I love stitching bees in the way I mastered some years ago, just works perfectly, you might notice that it's a slightly different way to the bees on the clock.  The bees are linked up on either side of the collar, by running stitch around the edge of the collar.

Phew...

*insert deep breath*

I hope you like the photographs. I have one more to share with you, call it a first sneak peek at the pattern I am working on....

Hope you like what you see.

If your interested in the collars or the hoop art then click here.

Want it Wednesday - Lets here it for the Girls and Boys

Like many today, I am sure, watched as much of the Olympics as they could. Whilst I was at work I managed to at least get into the spirit of things with watching the girls come home for the rowing and Wiggins and Froome smash the cycling later in the afternoon. I will admit I am not a sports fan, I can't hack it really mainly because the suspense kills me. However, things like the rowing does appeal...so come on the chaps on Friday. So first Want it Wednesday in quite sometime I've dedicated to all things rowing and Cycling.

Bicycle Art Print - AldariArt

Bradley Wiggins T-shirt - freebirdvelo

London Olympics Print - HaveAGanderUK

Miniature Row Boat - RCaroe

Vintage Inspired Union Jack Cushion - dulciesloft

I shall end this post on wishing Team GB the very best of luck with the remainder of the Olympics!