I’ve just finished my bee pincushion, I started it about a month ago but I had a bit of a hiatus whilst I cracked on with the Indian Mosaic. I’m really pleased with it, though I’m not sure it will ever have pins stuck in it, it’s far too pretty!
The design is by Nathalie at Jardin Prive, she has some gorgeous designs on her website, I’ve already got two samplers downloaded to stitch next! The instructions were really clear and easy to follow, I stitched it on 32 count evenweave linen so the stitches weren’t too small as my eyesight is not what it was!
Each of the six sides is edged with a row of back-stitch. This is then used to stitch the pieces together without actually piercing the fabric, basically you oversew through the back-stitch. If I was making it again I would aim to have a looser tension on my back-stitch. I tend to stitch with quite a firm tension and I found when I went under one pair of stitches, pulled the overstitch firm, then obviously it made the next back-stitch very tight, so it was quite fiddly to do. I have to say though that it gives a lovely crisp edge and very neat corners.
I applied iron-on pelmet Vilene to the sides to help it maintain its shape, added a couple of layers of wadding under the top and bottom, and then stuffed it with toy stuffing. I haven’t stuffed it too firmly as I want it to retain it’s crisp shape as much as possible.
I’m really pleased with my bee pincushion, I love the bee design on the top, the alphabet running around the sides and the different styles of hives interspersing the letters. We used to keep bees when I was young, so it brings back memories of spinning the honey out of the comb over the bath and the smell of the smoker…
thecraftycreek 
It’s beautiful! I would not be sticking pins in that either!
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Thank you Corrine, I think it will just sit and look pretty in my sewing room!
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This is a bee-utiful pin cushion! It looks too good to use as a pin cushion!
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Thanks Gail, I’m really pleased with it!
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Really beautiful – I love the bees.
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Thank you Kaja, it was the bees that first attracted me, I think they are beautifully designed.
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It is certainly too pretty for pins! 🙂
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Thanks Deb, I agree, I think it wmay get a couple of pins when I enter it in our local show, then that will be it!
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That is a gorgeous pin cushion…I don’t know if I could stick pins in it either! You did a wonderful job.
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Thank you Linda, I really enjoyed this project
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Lovely work! It’s so pretty 🙂
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Thanks Michelle, I’ve just started a sampler from the same designer, I really like her designs
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