Sunshine on a Rainy Day

I can't believe it has been a week since my last post...I have had multiple tidbits of interest to share, but time has definitely been at a minimum. I am getting ready to leave for California tomorrow to teach a workshop at Elegant Stitch and visit with friends and fellow needleworkers...which means preparation and kitting, printing, packing, and all the fun things that come with teaching a class. I have also been walking mileage daily to prepare for the Komen 3-Day (60 mile) walk  taking place in November - who knew walking would be so time consuming - training is taking a couple hours each day...luckily we have had good weather and most of my walks have been outside for the last couple weeks - I would really appreciate any donations, so I can reach my fundraising goal (http://www.the3day.org/goto/Belinda) ...no amount is too small - every little bit helps! I have also been spring cleaning and preparing our home for a possible new arrival in the next few weeks - we may be getting a new puppy (more details to follow in a future post). On the needlework front, I am putting the finishing touches on the class design for the New England Stitcher's Retreat - I was really hoping to have it complete by now, but I had a couple setbacks - the stitching is complete and I will be doing the finishing upon my return from California...so I will be able to share it with you very soon!

Keeping this short (so I can finish my packing and spend some time with my husband before my trip), I thought I would share a few photos with you of things that are currently making me happy (on a VERY rainy, stormy, windy, gloomy day)....
First of all, isn't my new bumble bee mug the cutest thing you have ever seen??! I originally saw it a couple months ago while shopping with friends, admired it, but did not buy it - then, last week, I had lunch with the same two dear friends and when we saw it again, it *had to* come home with me...I would love to have more of these mugs - they have some really cute ones (a frog and a hedgehog both come to mind)...the bumble bee brings me so much joy! Also making me happy - zippers, zippers, and more zippers - I am addicted to projects with zippers. The fabric shown is from a favorite sunshiny collection - "California Girl" by JoAnna Figueroa, Fig Tree & Co. for Moda...and the book is my current project favorite - "A Quilting Life" by Sherri McConnell.

So there you have it - several fun things that are currently bringing sunshine to my life...

On a final note, I would like to thank everyone who has voted for my quilt blocks in the 4th Annual AccuQuilt Barn Quilt Design Contest...what a thrill it is to have two blocks in the "Top 100" again this year...my fingers are crossed for another win!

Sewing and Celebration

I've been having trouble sleeping lately...so, late last night (or early this morning) I managed to get a little more sewing completed - I have been working on some more St. Patrick's Day items...I finished up six fun wool appliqué pincushions that are filled with crushed walnut shells...and I embroidered up a couple more batches of lace shamrock ornaments to replenish my Etsy shop (the first batches sold almost immediately). I had fun doing the blanket stitch appliqué on the pincushions - using green shamrock cotton fabrics and shades of green wool felt...and I used my AccuQuilt Studio Fabric Cutter to cut the four-leaf clovers and small hearts...a great project to work on when I was wide awake at 3:00 in the morning. I also had time to cut out all the pieces for several sets of L.U.C.K. pillows...I'm hoping to complete them in the next day or two....

...and I have a few fun, creative, and inspiring things to share with you today. As some of you know, I am celebrating my birthday this week (thank you to everyone who has sent me birthday greetings) - my dear friend Mary gave me an early gift bag last week during our road trip with all sorts of goodies, and I just had to share some of them with you...the treasures she gifted me included a couple wonderful books (including Zakka Style which has been on my wish list for quite some time!) - some quilting fabric fat quarters - an adorable owl charm (it is a scrabble tile) - bee magnets - and a wonderful sketch pad portfolio (which is already in use)! I have paged through both books several times and I am quite inspired for some future projects...and one will use the lovely fat quarters (which are definitely my colors). I am so blessed to have friends that spark my creativity every chance they get...I always get the most artistic and inspiring gifts (just wait to see what I have to show you over the next couple days)....

Well, I am hoping to get a little sleep tonight - but if not, I will be playing with all my fabulous birthday pressies in my studio - creating something new! I have some beautiful stitchy gifts to show you in the next day or two...and the most creative pincushion I have ever received - so stay tuned....

The Bee's Knees

Happy Monday friends! I am back today with a quick post...playing catch-up. I just had to share some fun, creative, and inspiring holiday gifts that I received from my dear friend Terri. Terri always does the best themed holiday packages...this year she focused on my love for bees (with a couple other special items I have to share too!)...my PERFECT package included JABCO bee pins and a bee needle threader (and we all know I am obsessed with Just Another Button Company items)...a Teresa Layman "Beehive Pincushion Kit" (including everything needed to make an adorable beehive - even the silk ribbon flowers) - I *need* to get this put together soon...and a Lang "The Bee's Knees Classic Mug" in a wonderful decorative box!

She also included an adorable wooden redbird ornament - and the insert on the wing is cross stitching on perforated paper! So very cute...

And finally (and this is so very cool!) a Warwick Model Thimble in the shape of a teapot - I have never seen anything like this before...the top of the teapot even opens up to reveal a rounded thimble underneath. I had fun taking a close-up of this unique piece so you could see the detail...

 So there you have it - a few photos (mostly relating to needlework) to inspire you! I'll be back in the next day or two with an update on the Mystery Sampler Club (Blue Jeans and Daisies Part One) and photos of the workshop project for Elegant Stitch (Bluebird Sewing Box)....I have lots of goodies to share this week!

Bee Happy!

I received the most wonderful birthday package from my fabulous friend Terri late yesterday afternoon - how she made time to put this together with her busy schedule (and she is actually traveling this week), I will never know! Terri is always so good at sending me theme packages and she is quite creative when she puts everything together - plus, she wrapped each of the gifts with the most cheerful tissue paper and made it look so exciting; I had so much fun opening each of these presents!

As you may know, I have a special fondness for bees - my grandfather was a beekeeper and I have amazingly vivid memories of visiting my grandparents as a little girl and seeing all the beehives in their beautiful gardens - we always had fresh honey...and beeswax candles...I even remember sucking on fresh honeycomb; honeybees definitely bring back fond memories of my childhood. Terri managed to put together a package with a honeybee theme - she included two cookie cutters (which I did not have in my vast collection), a set of measuring spoons, two Mary Lake-Thompson flour sack towels, and a beautiful A. E. Williams pewter beehive pincushion (shown with some of my favorite Puntini Puntini pins)! I was giddy like a little schoolgirl as I opened each of these treasures - what an absolute treat!

So I thought, since I shared some fun facts about ladybugs with you a few months ago, that I would share some fun facts about honeybees with you today:

• Honeybees are not native to the United States - they are European in origin; brought to North America by the early settlers.
  
  
• The practice of honey collection and beekeeping dates back to the stone-age, as evidenced by cave paintings.
  
  
• The honeybee hive is perennial - the honeybee survives the winter months by clustering inside the hive for warmth. By self-regulating the internal temperature of the cluster, the bees maintain 93 degrees Fahrenheit in the center of the winter cluster (regardless of the outside temperature).
  
  
• Honeybees are not aggressive by nature, and will not sting unless protecting their hive from an intruder or are unduly provoked.
  
  
• A hive consists of 20,000 - 30,000 bees in the winter, and over 60,000 - 80,000 bees in the summer.
  
  
• Honeybees represent a highly organized society, with various bees having very specific roles during their lifetime: e.g., nurses, guards, grocers, housekeepers, construction workers, royal attendants, undertakers, foragers, etc.
  
  
• There is only one queen per hive - the queen is the only bee with fully developed ovaries. A queen bee can live for 3-5 years....and during that time she will mate only once with several male (drone) bees...she will remain fertile for life. She lays up to 2000 eggs per day - fertilized eggs become female (worker bees) and unfertilized eggs become male (drone bees). When she dies or becomes unproductive, the other bees will "make" a new queen by selecting a young larva and feeding it a diet of "royal jelly" (made up of digested pollen and honey or nectar mixed with a chemical secreted from a gland in a nursing bee's head).
  
  
• All worker bees are female, but they are not able to reproduce. Worker bees live for 4-9 months during the winter season, but only 6 weeks during the busy summer months (they literally work themselves to death). Nearly all of the bees in a hive are worker bees. The worker bee has a barbed stinger that results in her death following stinging, therefore, she can only sting once.
  
  
• Male bees (drone bees) are kept on standby during the summer for mating with a virgin queen. Because the drone has a barbed sex organ, mating is followed by death of the drone. There are only 300-3000 drones in a hive. The drone does not have a stinger. Because they are of no use in the winter, drones are expelled from the hive in the autumn.
  
  
• Bees collect 66 lbs of pollen per year, per hive. Pollen is the male germ cells produced by all flowering plants for fertilization and plant embryo formation. The Honeybee uses pollen (one of the richest and purest natural foods) as food.
  
  
• Agriculture depends greatly on the honeybee for pollination. Honeybees account for 80% of all insect pollination. Without such pollination, we would see a significant decrease in the yield of vegetables and fruits.
  
  
• Honey is used by the bees for food all year round. There are many types, colors and flavors of honey, depending upon its nectar source. The bees make honey from the nectar they collect from flowering trees and plants. Honey is an easily digestible, pure food - it is hydroscopic with antibacterial qualities. Eating local honey is known to fend off allergies.

So there you have it - today's honeybee lesson - quite interesting, aren't they??!