Bees Knees

Posted on May 30, 2019 by craftycreeky

I’m rather partial to things with bees on, we used to keep bees and my mum has this theory (which I think i a load of twaddle!!) that my maiden name, Bickerdike, means beekeepers by the dyke! I made her a little bee pincushion a couple of months ago for her birthday. I love it that much I’m actually stitching it again for myself…

Bees cross-stitch small

In the meantime I found another bee cross-stitch. This one is by Lesley Teare, she generously gives it for free on her website. It didn’t take long to stitch, I had the lovely purple linen left over from a previous project. I think the bees are a little cartoonish compared to the lavender but I still think it’s rather cute….

Last night I decided to make it up. I had a perusal through my scrap box and found a strip of fabrics left over from ny Down the Rabbit Hole quilt. The two fabrics went beautifully with the cross-stitch but I felt it needed something else inbetween. I found a lovely soft plainish purple which was big enough for the back as well.

Trims

I then had a route through my trimmings drawers, this is where my cutting out table gets messy! After much deliberating I used some ric-rac and some pompom trim.

I embroidered a line of feather stitch down the plain fabric, I was thinking of adding tiny buttons to the squares but I think it’s busy enough.

Bee cross-stitch small

I stitched the front and back together, leaving the left hand side open, at the last minute I decided to stitch a row of pom-poms as I went a long, it just finishes it nicely.

I took it outside for the photos and found a bed of purple sage with erysimum flowers overhanging it.

About craftycreeky

I live in a busy market town in Yorkshire with my husband, kids, dogs and chickens. I love trying new crafts, rediscovering old ones, gardening, walking...anything creative really I started this blog after my New Year resolution worked so well. My resolution (the first one I've ever kept!) was to post a photograph of my garden on Facebook every day. My hope was that I would then see what was good in the garden and not just weeds and work, which was my tendency. The unexpected side-effect was that I have enjoyed many more hours in the garden. I am hoping that 'The Crafty Creek' will have the same effect. Happy creating!
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20 Responses to Bees Knees

  1. wybrow1966 says:
    May 30, 2019 at 7:42 pm

    I love all your bees. My name means ‘busy bee’ apparently!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. onecreativefamily says:
    May 30, 2019 at 9:39 pm

    Your work is beautiful.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. magpiesue says:
    May 30, 2019 at 10:31 pm

    So cute. I’m still trying to figure out how to turn a small embroidery into a small as lovely as yours always are. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • craftycreeky says:
      May 31, 2019 at 7:21 am

      Thanks Sue, I just sort of play about with strips of fabric and trims until I see something that works, some smalls don’t need much at all, others need a bit more, sorry that probably doesn’t help at all :-/

      Like

      Reply
  4. kathyreeves says:
    May 30, 2019 at 10:38 pm

    very cute! i couldn’t resist, and googled Bickerdike, and this is what it says: It derives from a place called Bickerdike, believed to have been situated in Yorkshire. The word Bickerdike comes from the Middle English ‘Biker’, to quarrel plus ‘dik’, ditch or dyke, indicating that the place was originally named after an argument about a ditch. Sounds like a water rights quarrel!! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • craftycreeky says:
      May 31, 2019 at 7:17 am

      Hi Kathy, I think you’re right, sort of! I did a one name study on Bickerdike, it’s a very Yorkshire name, the earliest I found were in Darrington, a village not far from an ancient earthwork called Becca’s Dyke, I don’t think it’s too far fetched to move from Becca’s dyke to Bickerdike. That’s my theory, I have nothing to back it up, but then neither it appears do the ‘experts’ who say it’ll be from a long gone village. I had great fun doing the one name study, it got my tree back to the 1600’s and along the way I found a saint and the oldest prostitute in York!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  5. suth2 says:
    May 31, 2019 at 12:02 am

    Beautiful work.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Lisa at Greenbow says:
    May 31, 2019 at 1:13 am

    Love these Bees knees.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. Linda S says:
    May 31, 2019 at 1:42 am

    My father and his father were both beekeepers. I associate honey bees with my country childhood and am very fond of them as design motifs (especially now that my Dad is gone:). So cute!

    🙂 Linda

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Laura says:
    May 31, 2019 at 4:37 am

    It was fun to read what Kathy learned when she researched Bickerdike! 🙂

    Love the sweet little embroidery, too!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. nwpaintedlady says:
    May 31, 2019 at 3:33 pm

    I just love your smalls – they are so adorable!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. tialys says:
    May 31, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    I love that first bee pincushion. The ribbon you’ve used on it is one I use for my some of the dog collars I make.
    Interesting the real meaning of your surname but I like your Mum’s version best.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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