September 2026 Staff Art Exhibition “Bee Positive” Quilt

One of the joys of my life is the art gallery at Whitney Young High School in Chicago. One of the events I look forward to during the year is the September staff art exhibition. It is not unusual for me to plan and prepare for this event a year in advance. This year, I spoke to the art department about my contribution. I wanted to make a “Bee Positive” quilt with a bee and pollinator’s theme as well as positive affirmations. It would be in conjunction with the Healthy Minds initiative that takes place in Whitney Young High School. The students post positive affirmations and suggestions for self-care around the school in an effort to promote positive mental health. Reminders of these topics are always a good thing.

I had been collecting fabric for months, including going to the Waste Shed, one of my favorite places in Chicagoland. I happened to find some bee themed fabric and got to work. I did the English paper piecing of an inch and one fourth hexagons. It is a hand sewing technique, coincidentally, I learned from a local quilt shop owner nearly twenty years ago when I was on a travel nursing assignment. Due to the stressors of my job, I needed to have the relief of hand quilting. I sewed the binding on that bee positive quilt by hand as well and have never felt so blissed out in all my natural born life. EF 1 tornados make life challenging let me tell you! By the time I turned it into the art department, I felt such a sense of accomplishment. I hope others get the same sense of encouragement seeing it as I got making it.