Deseret Beehive Block Featured in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 8

Welcome blog hoppers!

I'm so happy it's finally my day on the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 8 blog hop! And even more excited to share my block with you. And to give you the opportunity to win a copy of Volume 8 from Quiltmaker Magazine! And guess what? I'm also giving away two additional copies myself!

Edited to add:  I randomly picked the three winners -- Jacklyn Grimm of WI, Sherry Book of IA, and Donna Cutting of Saskatchewan, Canada.  Congratulations! And thanks to all for stopping by and commenting!

Ta da! Here it is -- my beehive block named Deseret (which means honeybee). The instructions in Quiltmaker give you details for traditionally piecing the block with "sew and  flip" corners. Easy peasy!

The beehive is the state symbol here in Utah and I have always been fascinated with its shape and significance. When Brigham Young and the pioneers first arrived in the SLC valley in 1847, they chose the beehive as their symbol because they would have to be industrious and busy bees in order to make the desert "blossom as a rose".

I began collecting beehive memorabilia back in the 80s -- such as ceramic honey pots, folk art with beehives, you name it! Back then it was hard to find beehive tchotchkes, but soon you could find beehive stuff everywhere. (Did I start a trend? Probably not.) It wasn't long until I was receiving beehive-themed birthday and Christmas gifts. So now I have quite the collection. I even spotted a cloissoné beehive ornament while visiting Beijing, China a couple years ago. Yep, I bought it.

Well, back to quilting. Wanna see how I set this block into a quilt? Here's the first quilt I made featuring this block -- totally from scraps and stash. It finishes 48-1/2 inches square. This one was quilted by Catherine Timmons (Cat's Attic Quilting in Bountiful, UT) with a simple overall stipple.

I knew that not everyone gravitates toward dark and medium traditional fabrics like I do, so I also made the quilt using fabrics from a couple collections by Fig Tree. It's a bit less scrappy and I planned the placement of the fabrics in the setting blocks a little more precisely. I love how it turned out, even if beehives aren't supposed to be light green! This version was quilted by Sue Baddley using a digital design.

One thing you need to know about the beehive blocks in the quilts above. Unlike the instructions in the magazine, I didn't add a background strip along the bottom of the block. Instead I doubled the size of the background strip at the top of the block. I felt like it "floated" within the chain blocks more evenly

Here's one last variation -- but I increased the beehive block from 12 inches to 30 inches and created a medallion quilt -- complete with honeycomb hexagons and embroidered honeybees. This quilt finishes 68.5 inches square.

I think that the gold/tan and black jewel box blocks in the pieced border look like a bit like the iconic honeybee.This quilt was custom machine quilted by Jen Alexander. Here's a close-up of the quilting and the honeybee embroidery.

Be sure to follow the 100 Blocks Blog Tour through Nov. 15 at The Quiltmaker Blog Quilty Pleasures for inspiration, ideas, and giveaways galore! (I'm giving away a copy of my book Triple-Play Scrap Quilting, along with a color-themed 10-inch square pack of fabrics as part of Quiltmaker's prizes.)

TO WIN ONE OF THREE COPIES OF QUILTMAKER'S 100 BLOCKS VOLUME 8 (one from Quiltmaker or one of two I'm giving away): Simply leave a comment below! Deadline for entries is Nov. 16th at midnight. I'll do the random drawing on Nov. 17th and will notify the winner by e-mail. If you're the lucky winner I'll be asking for your mailing address so Quiltmaker can send you your copy of the special issue.

I invite you to become a follower on my Bountiful Heirlooms Facebook page so you are notified when a new blog post goes live.

Good luck everyone -- and thanks for visiting.