Deseret

"Deseret" means "honeybee" and was the original name of what became the Utah Territory, later the state of Utah. I have collected all things beehive — especially beehive-shaped honey pots — for about twenty years. I thought it was about time to create a beehive quilt.

I designed this quilt for my book, but unfortunately it got pulled at the last minute because it made the book too long.

My brother has beehives on his ranch in eastern Utah. The sage green and golden hues of his ranch inspired the colors for this quilt. As with many of my quilts, some black also finds its way into the palette. In this case, the black and tan border blocks (traditional jewel box block) remind me of the black and yellow of the iconic honeybee. This quilt uses paper piecing for the honeycomb hexagon blocks. It also includes embroidered honeybees buzzing around the hive and a simple running embroidery stitch to highlight the beehive.

This quilt was made completely from my stash except for the backing. I'd had the border fabric for more than ten years. I think it's from a Carol Endres fabric collection called Apple and Bee Orchard. There are little beehives scattered among trees and cabins. It was just perfect. I don't know how many times I had pulled that fabric out of my cupboard and contemplated using it in a quilt.  I'm glad I waited!

I submitted this design to Primitive Quilts magazine in hopes that they would want to include it. But alas, they sent back my submission because isn't primitive enough. Oh well.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving week.