Friday 3 June 2011

Busy bees

As I have a few requests for 'stock' I thought I'd venture back into the production field.
 I can't say I enjoy it as much as I did but I have to do a few things for my annual trip to Art and Garden ..details later, but if you're in the area it would be good to see you.

I was feeling in need of some cheery stuff so I produced these brooches and pendants. 

Then I got bored after making 4 things I went outside  to 'pot on' my broad bean plants which are in ridiculous pots just to start them off, and I could wait forever for the raised beds my husband promised.
(But..big update on that , next post)

Well, there I was, thinking about' The Lake Isle of Innisfree' my poem for the exhibition thinking I'd need a lot more beans to compete with old WB ..'nine bean rows will I have there and a hive for the honey bee' when I heard the sound of the ' bee loud glade' right there outside the back gate.
look
A swarm. What a beautiful noise!

Worth a silver spoon ..its June! 
So I phoned my friends who live in the next village and who keep bees to come and see. 
He came and then went off to collect his wife from work, and left me with the instruction to ask the people whose garden it was if we could go in. There is an avenue of modern houses locally known as 'cumfy 'omes', some backing onto our garden and thats where the bees were.

Imaging my horror when I discovered they thought they were wasps and had called the exterminator!!
(We are really up against it here: think 'We chop the trees down because the birds make a mess')

Anyway my friends and a woman who lives nearby whose bees they could be, arrived in beekeeper garb and investigated.
It was a huge ..maybe several swarms.
Duncan chopped the branches off, (enlarge the pics to see the bees.)
and shook them into a 'skep'. 
The woman whose bees they were had a lot of bees -too many- in her hives so my friends went home with a new hive full.
    Heres Anne taking her boxes home.

                           Here's the investigation into the owner's hives to see how many queens she has.
                               This is the best way to view the beekeeping if you don't have the gear, from the top of the pergola.
Such excitement. And I was only sewing. I do wish I could eat honey.

Anyway back to the sewing though I say it myself:
This pink velvet is LUSCIOUS!

26 comments:

Carol Q said...

what scrumptious colours Jackie, just gorgeous. re the bees - had exactly the same thing a couple of years ago. they came down the main road and into next door's front garden. it was absolutely fascinating watching the local guys taking them away.

A time to dance said...

Beautiful...I love the colours...It was wonderful to see you on tuesday - sorry I was a little shell shocked...it had been a bit of a mind blowing meeting

jinxxxygirl said...

Wow i got to see a bee swarm here last year but it was not nearly of that magnatude. Wow! I know what you mean about people's school of thought. Read a blog post a while ago about a lady going to chop some trees down becasuse she was tired of raking leaves.......sheesh people!

Karen Larko said...

The bee story is so interesting and I'm loving the little brooches and pendants.

Heather said...

The latest brooches and pendants are gorgeous - those colours are so vibrant and glowing Jackie. What excitement to see a swarm of bees and what a good thing you had friends who knew what to do with them. So glad you were on hand with your camera to capture the excitement for us. I was busy in our garden some years ago and heard a loud buzzing which got steadily louder, and a huge swarm flew right over me and up between two rows of houses.

Marigold Jam said...

Your handiwork is so beautiful. Lovely story about the bees too.

lilylovekin said...

A bee swarm how exciting. I'm glad someone knew what to do and that the exterminator was canceled. It is amazing what people want to do in ignorance-I can hardly stand it some times!

Shoshi said...

Oooh how exciting! It wouldn't have done for us, though, as my hubby is allergic to bee stings...

We had some excitement last week with a hoopoe on the lawn - see my bog for details!

Love, love, love your gorgeous new creations! Good enough to eat.

Thimble Fingers said...

Luscious is the perfect word for your new motifs, they are GORGEOUS. Love, love, love the colours ... hope to see more of this colour scheme.
Great story about the bee's, I've never seen a swarm like that. Good job you know some "normal" people who could save them ... there really are some dimwits in this world, aren't there?!

CAROLYN SAXBY said...

An exciting day to distract you from your sewing ... love the colours of your latest pieces ... as you say they are "cheerful"

Happy weekend dear x

Twiglet said...

So so glad that you are making your wonderful little creations again. It makes my day when you have posted pics of your work. Thanks for all the hard work and effort it takes. I for one really appreciate it. Scrummy pink velvet. I love the bee saga too. Not many honey bees round here.

menopausalmusing said...

I see they (the bees) chose the dreaded leylandii to land on! There is something fascinating about a swarm of bees, we used to keep them.... I think those pendants are just beautiful.

Karen said...

there always seems to be exciting stuff going on at your place!!

Rachel said...

You're right, that velvet is indeed luscious!

Good to know the bees went to a good home!

JP said...

love the colours and loved the bee story

Anna said...

I love your beautiful work, how talented! Quite a day with the bees - how about a bee inspired piece?

hens teeth said...

Blimey Jackie, your day certainly took a detour. So glad there was a happy ending to it.
As for your work, you know how I feel about it. x
Sorry I can't come to Art in the Garden.

Jan said...

I really love your new pieces, good luck at the Art and Garden show. It seems everyone has bee stories, your photos captured the capture quite well. Thanks for sharing the story, glad it was a happy ending.

Michelle said...

Lovely story about the bees, good to see some of them make it to a new home and I really like the new 'pink' theme- lucious- definately!

Anonymous said...

Agreed, it is luscious, especially paired with the variegated ripening raspberries colour of the felt.

Susie Hewer said...

Beautiful colours! I'd love to learn about bee-keeping and have my own hive one day. The swarm looked amazing.

Robin Mac said...

How wonderful to be able to see and take photos of all that activitiy with the bees - and yes, I can imagine there are people who don't know a bee (or its habits) from a wasp! Love the pendants and brooches, the colour is drop dead gorgeous. Cheers

Julie said...

I love to see bees in my garden but not quite so many! I think I would have been with the cat (if I could only get up there!). Beautiful colours in your new pieces.

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

Luscious indeed Jackie - they are so pretty.

Impressive gardening undertaking in the next post too. Everything looks very healthy. Lesley x

Gigibird said...

I love how your friend rang his wife at work and she dropped everything for the bees....
You would hope the exterminator if he came would be able to tell the difference and call a beekeeper.
I don't like honey either but wish I did.

Anne P. said...

Bonjour, Jackie
Voilà quelques temps, maintenant, que je connais tes créations, qui m'émerveillent. Aujourd'hui, enfin, je prends ce temps pour te le dire : ce que tu réalises est très artistique, très doux et harmonieux.
Et puis, j'aime aussi beaucoup ton univers : les photos de tes voyages, de fleurs, et ici ce petit reportage sur l'apiculture, qui me touche aussi beaucoup, puisque à la maison, nous avons quelques ruches...
De mon côté, je suis plus passionnée par les créations-polymères. Une de mes dernières broches s'est sans doute laissée influencer par ton travail, du coup, j'ai mis un lien vers chez toi, et mes amies sont ravies de la découverte de ton blog !
A bientôt pour de nouvelles découvertes chez toi,
Et continue à régaler mes yeux !
Anne



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