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Showing posts from November, 2014

Tetragonula Hockingsii hive transfer - moving native bees from one hive to another!

Recently we spit our Native Hockingsii bee hive. The two halves didn't match and my husband was keen to try an experimental hive that he envisioned while reading all the bee books he bought me for Christmas! So the first half was a straight split were we joined the good half to another standard sized Felhaber hive half. The other half was too small and made from substandard wood. So instead of continuing to make do, we decided that we would try the fairly traumatic task of transferring the bees out of the hive entirely and put them in a brand new hive type. Here's what we did... *Please note: Another long involved post for those hungry for backyard bee information but pretty pictures for those who are keen but not yet converted to the fun of native bee keeping! Only my Mother is obliged to read it all! The first half of the split was standard - here is the link to that page.   So that leaves us with the second half in the front of the above picture with the boar

Some more pillowcase aprons..!

I have had a lot of fun making these for Christmas presents this year! They are all made on the same pattern and techniques as I used before... Waist Apron link Full Pinny link All bright and summery hanging on the line!   This one was made from two pillowcases. I cut the flower off one pillowcase and after I had made the pinny from another orange pillow case with the stripes on it, I sewed it onto the front. I suspect the pillow cases went together on the bed as the colours were so close... or maybe I just got lucky at the op shop that week!   For this one I did a few simple pleats which I found easier to sew than gathering. So If you aren't feeling like you can tackle gathering, a few folded pleats might be the way to go. They sit flatter and are easier to sew. I also cut a strip off the bottom and then sewed it back on upside down to add a bit of interest and detail. If I see a bit of ric-rac I'll run it along the join but so far the right piece has el

Tetragonula Hockingsii native bee hive split..!

We have several native bee hives and this year needed to split our Hockingsii hive. It was a mismatched hive made from two halves that didn't actually fit together as each half was made by other people. We decided to do a normal split with the "good half" that was made to a standard size and to "destroy" the odd half and transfer the bees to another type of hive completely. If you are interested in a normal Hockingsii split, this is the post for you. If you are interested in a transfer, I'll post that next as they are two different techniques and if it's your first split, the two lots of instructions could get confusing... I did the normal Hockingsii split all by myself with the husband photographing (and jumping in with the drill when he realised we hadn't taken off a brace or the feet - giving me a chance to shake off a few bees!) I'd recommend you to have a spare set of hands available as its a lot harder than it looks to do when you have
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