Merry Christmas from the Bees

We're just a few days out from Christmas, so we thought we'd share some holiday cheer with you! As we all prepare for the upcoming flurry of parties and general yuletide coziness, we found some time to get together and get festive! We've begun an annual tradition of making wreaths out of fresh greenery sourced by our favorite local flower shop, i fiori. It's always a really nice night, and it's such a treat that we all get to go home with something that will add some gorgeous festivity to our homes.

If you want to see more about how we make these wreaths, feel free to check out our post from last Christmas. This year we got bigger frames (20" instead of 18") which we found to be a bit more difficult, so our hot tip for you is to keep your wreaths on the smaller side! We think you'll find it more enjoyable and satisfying, and it will be a lot easier to make your wreath look nice and full.

Now that we've done this two years in a row maybe we'll try something different next year - perhaps we'll venture out into boughs and garlands! Or maybe we'll try incorporating some other elements into the wreaths - pine cones, dried flowers, twigs, or maybe some crafted materials like felted wool or crocheted bits and bobs. Let us know if you have any suggestions!

Here are a few of our wreaths in place:

Meg's wreath!

Jen's wreath!

Hollie's wreath!

Speaking of boughs and garland, we saw a LOT of those last night! We took the Christmas Tour at Dundurn Castle, and spent the evening learning about how the holidays were celebrated around the year of 1855 by Sir Allan MacNab and his family.



It was amazing for our collective to see how self-sufficient this family needed to be, as we explored the in-house brewery, candle-making room, pickling stations, and learned about how much intentionality was required to create the Christmas meals for the family and the servants in the home. Items like chocolate and oranges would need to be ordered 3-6 months in advance, but most food items were grown on site, to be harvested and preserved in time to be ready for the holidays. To keep things cold, ice blocks were cut out from the Hamilton bay each January, and stacked between layers of sawdust and straw, and the ice would stay frozen all year in the home's ice pit.

Holiday decor was taken to an amazing level, with natural garlands and arrangements everywhere you looked. Oranges, a sign of wealth, were incorporated into the holiday decor, and were given as gifts adorned with cloves. The tour was amazing, and we highly recommend it to anyone looking for something unique to do over the holidays with friends or family.

So from our hive to yours, as it was so aptly written on the wrapping paper by Stay Home Club at our Beehive Secret Santa:

The Bees at Home: Projects in Progress

Our blog has taken you to the farm, to knit night, and to our planning meetings, but we thought it might be about time to show you some of the crafty things us Bees work on in our spare time. Most of the time, we've all got something (or a few things!) in progress at home, so we're going to start showcasing them on the blog a little bit! Hopefully this will give us more motivation to get these projects finished, and maybe inspire you to start (or finish?) a project you've had on the go as well!

First, Kate is working on an assignment for her program at Sheridan - embroidering a number of fashion related pieces. She's working them into this AMAZING dress she designed, which she'll then have modeled and photographed to create a look-book:

Second, Meg is working on an alphabet crewelwork sampler. Using all the standard stitches, this piece is interesting and enjoyable, and will likely take a while to complete. Every letter is totally different, and the colors are super fun!

Next, our east-coast member, Anna, has been naturally dyeing some silk. The growing seasons in Nova Scotia are a little shorter than in Ontario, so when she moved back there recently she managed to just catch the end of the Goldenrod flowers. Anna dyed a piece of satin silk tied up with shibori knots (see second picture). Anna said that the color was very subtle, but a lovely muted yellow-green came through and with a simple rolled edge it will make an elegant scarf.

Last, Hollie has been working on a quilt! This is her first attempt at one, and she started all the way back in January with the guidance of quilting pro Melanie. Progress was halted due to a busy summer and a finicky old sewing machine. She recently acquired a new-to-her machine for her birthday and has been getting back at it. She chose bright and busy fabric and a simple half-triangle design for her first quilt. She's looking forward to finishing it any day now!

So, there's a little sneak-peek into some of our current projects! If you've posted your progress on a piece you've been tackling, feel free to link to it below, as we'd love to see! Happy crafting!

Vendor Spotlight: Pinpals

We're getting so close to the show! Just a few more vendor spotlights for you! This one features the lovely ladies as Pinpals...an international craft duo with one part living in Montreal and the other in Colorado. Samantha and Sarah combine craft and illustration to create cross-stitched earrings, brooches and buttons, as well as lots of other cute goodies.



Meg Makins: Tell us about yourself.

Samantha: I'm one half of Pin Pals, and I live and work in Montreal where most of my time is spent in a corner of my studio rapidly expanding with knick knacks and craft supplies. When I'm not working you can find me thrift shopping, reading, or walking somewhere.

Sara: I'm the other half of Pin Pals (the drawing, paper puppet making half). I used to live in Montreal but I recently moved to Denver, Colorado. Now I eat green chili, camp in the mountains and drink margaritas!



M.M.: Where do you draw creative inspiration from?

Samantha: All sorts of places, thrift stores, craft books, folk art. Lately I've been inspired by restaurant decor of all types, and watching people.

Sara: All sorts of places. I'm inspired by movies, music videos and TV, food packaging and American grocery stores, people, the way they spend their time and the objects they surround themselves with. I like comedy and I know that gets into my drawings somewhere too. Can I be inspired by the Larry Sanders show? I think I'm inspired by the Larry Sanders show.



M.M.: What do you love most about your craft?

Sara: I can't write or act but I like stories and drawing is my creative outlet for telling stories.





M.M.: Is there another craftsperson/designer/artist that you admire?

Samantha: Some current illustrators that I admire lately are:

Riikka Sormunen
Bjørn Rune Lie
Jennifer Davis

Sara: Some of my favorite fibre based artists are:

Goodnight, Day
Suzen Green
Tara Bursey
Misako Mimoko
Jazmin Berakha



M.M.: Tell us about your process.

Samantha: I usually putter around for more time than I'd like to admit, then at some point I settle into my desk where I start counting tiny squares from graph paper and transferring them into stitches on cloth. If I'm making jewelry I'll then assemble and package everything, and if I'm working on a larger piece I'll work until my eyes have had it for the day.


M.M.: Describe your 'perfect atmosphere' for crafting...

Samantha: Sunny or rainy outside, talk radio, coffee, semi-clean desk, good lamp, glasses.


Thanks for your time, ladies!