Party is over lets get back to crafting..

Hello! 

Yes, I have returned from nearly a fortnight's worth of birthday celebrations, nothing like making it last. Feeling thoroughly spoilt not just with the very thoughtful and amazing gifts I received but mostly because I got to spend it with all my family and friends. From afternoon teas to a weekend away to Edinburgh. 

Arthur's Seat - Didn't quite make it to the top..damn you vertigo!

Edinburgh Castle - Total must

Lots of fab views.

National Museum of Scotland - totally awesome set up, displays, general layout and exhibits

Had to bring back my very own Highland Cooo - Papercraft kit by Robin & Finch tempted to get a few more of their kits.

Absolute must! God I love Tunnock's caramels

All that fresh Scottish air makes me feel more refreshed (though I am pretty tired at the moment) and keen to get back to stitching and generally just pottering about playing with fabrics, pens and generally creating a mess. So this means that the next purchasable pattern is under way and is on track for its release in April. If all goes to plan it will be within the fortnight. I've been doodling a custom order design that's got me thinking about monograms again, and in turn I hope will inspire me to return to the more intricate embroidery design that's sitting on the desk behind me. Not that the design isn't inspiring just don't feel ready to tackle it.

Tiny golden bee at the top...naturally.

I do have a bit of an urge to make some more hexies...though until I know what the heck I am going to do with them (edit: have an idea for a sketchbook cover) I might just have to push that to one side. Though I do have a voucher for Village Haberdashery to spend and part of one of the gifts from a best mate and her mum was a pack of pre-cut hexie templates, along with fabric glue, a massive box of Earl Grey (that will keep me quiet for a couple of weeks), Party Rings (all gone :() and this most gorgeous, handmade bag to store my projects in:

So the excuse could be the bag made me do it....

Happy Bee and Milestone Beacons

It has been awfully quiet on the stitching front for me at the moment, mind has been wandering to other things and life has gotten a little bit busier. Especially since I decided that it was about time that I learned to drive, have started the process of decorating the hallway and have been planning multiple celebrations for my pending 30th birthday. 

So today was probably my first full afternoon of doing nothing but stitching in over a fortnight. Last weekend was a bit of a wash out as I was still getting over a cold and my mind just wasn't willing to crack on with the projects I wanted to do, so spent most of last Sunday filling in holes in the hallway. 

The weekend before that I was down in Kent helping my Aunt, who was working on some costumes for a film. On the Sunday, I got to meet Michele Carragher, if your not familiar with the name you might know her work, especially if your a Game of Thrones fan. She's the very talented lady who does the embroidery for the costumes. She came to my Aunts to work on the dresses my aunt was making, it was so fascinating watching her work and to talk to her. She's really lovely!

Back to the present, today I've been stitching the sample for the Happy Bee embroidery pattern. In fact I've actually done all the stitching so what remains for me to do is to write the instructions and put the pattern together. 

Which needless to say isn't my favourite thing to do mainly because sometimes writing how to stitch a detail, makes my brain implode but thankfully with this design it shouldn't present too much of a headache. The pattern, if your interested, will be available to purchase in April.

It would have been sooner than that but I have two weekends of birthday celebrations coming up. Starting with next weekend, which will see and my family in bonnie Scotland, Edinburgh to be specific, somewhere I've been wanting to go for a long time. Then the week after that I'll be having a long weekend with my old school chums. 

Oh and slotting in the odd driving lesson around that too....

I hope everyone is enjoying the springtime sunshine, depending where you are in the world!

Spring Time Cheer - Embroidery Pattern

Released on my March newsletter last week, I am pleased to now be able to share the latest free embroidery pattern to you lovely blog readers.

It's a simple and cheery design to welcome spring, even if it has been a little reluctant to show it's face. This is the first in four designs that I will be sharing with you this year. The four designs will be put together in winter to make a seasonal mini art quilt. Of course, you don't have to wait till then to do something with it when it's done, it's a handy square design that can be used as a design on a cushion cover, or your own quilt design and so forth.

Click here to download the pattern; which includes instructions on how to transfer the design and stitch diagrams too boot. I hope you enjoy stitching it, and feel free to make your own mark by changing the colours used and instead of French Knots (if your not a fan) use tiny seed beads.

Please be mindful of the fact that this pattern isn't for commercial use, and if you do wish to share it on your blog, please can you make reference to me. 

Though please note and respect that this is pattern isn't for commercial use, and if you share it on your blog, please reference me or I may be forced to release the hamsters....

Minions and Packaging

Okay last week I was somewhat relaxed about what I had to do for the upcoming craftshow. But today I feel a sense of panic in everything that I have planned to do this weekend. Silly really as I actually also know I'll be okay. Nothing like unnecessary stress to get you going. All though I am sitting here drinking tea, writing this blog post and shopping for a Secret Santa gift for a work colleague. 

Anyho...

I received the last of the bits I needed to order for my packaging, additional business cards (which look and feel better than the gloss ones I got the first time round) and oodles of stickers (750) at the bargain price of £15. I'll certainly be using printed.com again for my marketing needs. They will be used on my boxes for the pictures and clocks, as well as sealing up my stripy paper bags and the white tissue paper. You can also see below that I am also making a felt version of my logo and I also whipped up some price labels ready for me to write on and then laminate. I was trying to think out a way of stiffening the paper I printed the labels on as I didn't have any card and then remembered stuffed away in a cupboard I have a laminator  Might as well put it to good use, glad I didn't get rid of it. So what remains for me to do is make oodles of baubles, and other bits and pieces....back to my list I go.

Now a couple of weeks ago you might recall I posted about the progress of one my stitching minions Laura. She contacted me recently to say that she's completed it and doesn't it look fab. So thrilled to see the design finished and in different colour way. Her assistance and my other Minion Jenny has been fantastic and already I have been tweeked the pattern, to get it to a stage I think I am really happy with. So thank you ladies. 

And now it's time to break away from the computer to crack on.

Competition Time! Busy Bee Bundle

Time for a little competition.

To celebrate the launch of my 'Hi Honey' hand embroidery pattern, I would like one lucky person to win a rather rare printed copy of it and not only that one of my equally rare mini button needlecases. So you have somewhere to store your needles whilst you stitch the pattern. The winner will also get some other little goodies too.

If you would like to enter, simply leave a comment on this blog post and when you do why not answer the following silly question, if you had a pet Bumble Bee, what would you call it?

I'd either call it Fuzzy or Bob.

Deadline for entries is the 1st October 2012, so don't delay enter today!

Niggly Bits

I am sorry I can't accept anonymous comments as entries

---

It's open to anyone, where ever you are in the World

---

I will be randomly selecting a winner using the random.org generator when the competition ends, winners will be announced here and on my Facebook page, so make sure your following them both :)

Want it Wednesday: Don't Hate Me

Okay, whilst I squirrel away on a couple secret projects (Secret Squirrel how I loved that show) I can't help but think of all the lovely things I could make. A friend of mine Laura (another one!) of Lupin fame had posted on Facebook that she had purchased some lovely kits today and it happened to be someone whose work I also adore....and well I really want to buy one of her patterns. One day I will, perhaps when I get at least one of my secret projects done and then I might treat myself. Especially since completing the Hi Honey Pattern, which I am still rather stoked about.

Anyway side tracking, this is the lovely pattern by Alicia Paulson (Posie: Rosy Little Things). Isn't it charming! But don't hate me because it's on that festive theme that no one really likes think about when you've just had summer. But it's adorable, and I whilst I am back into doing the odd bit of cross-stitch this one really appeals.

Winterwoods ABCs Cross Stitch Sampler Kit

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.

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!

Little Home Planet - First Free Embroidery Design

This is the first, in what will become a series of free embroidery designs for anyone to use (personal only - no commercial use!). I will be releasing one design each month. You can stitch it in anyway you design, and for those who are a dab hand with a pair of scissors could also do a very mini appliqué. The designs are small so they will fit nicely in a 3" hoop.

Little Home Planet

Fancy having ago yourself? Then why not download the pattern.

Backstitch features heavily in this wee design, I've used it for stitching the ground, and details on the house, with freestyle stitching for the grass. A bright yellow chain stitch path leads up to a padded satin door, with a French knot handle. The roof is also padded satin with backstitch detailing, the eves a form of lazy daisy stitch. The world is your oyster, when it comes to stitches that could be used! 

I would love to see your versions, so why not join my Flickr group and show them off. Join the group by clicking here.

Please play fairly and remember to credit me and link back to my blog or website if you feature this design on your own site or blog. Otherwise I may be forced to release the hamsters on you.