Starting in August Jacqueline Steeves is bringing us a brand new BOM called "Save the Bees". I have started sewing my blocks to share with you each month and am having a great time making my version of this wonderful pattern. You can get colour and fabric inspiration here. My quilt will have a bee colour palette of gold, yellow, brown and black.
I love the BEE theme since I have been worried for a long time about our bees (and by "our" bees, I mean the bees belonging to the planet). It was reported in the spring that 7 of 10 Ontario Beekeepers "suffered unsustainable losses" which is described as the worst winter losses on record. Beekeepers are urgently advocating for pesticide bans - more info here. And click here to learn more about why we NEED bees. Thanks to Jacquelynne for another wonderful quiltalong! Want to join us? Click here to learn how to sign up and get the fabric requirements.
Totally agree, we must save all our pollinators! Not only do we need to control pesticide use, we can all plant more flowers to give our bees more food.
my brother has two hives going now on his farm and is thinking about another, he now has honey to sell besides his vegetables. I had not seen the quilt along
I love bees, too. For a long time, because the previous owners of this house used pesticides galore, we had no insects of any kind. I am so proud to say that we have a bee hive in our backyard! I am delighted...we are all friends and I work right by the hive and they have never made an attempt to sting me at all. They are so welcome here, and I plant flowers just for them!! Fun project!
I was just reading about bees this week. This was posted on the Sierra Club website: “Save the bees” is a rallying cry we’ve been hearing for years now — one that conjures up images of fuzzy black and yellow honeybees, sipping nectar from colorful flowers or swarming with their bee brethren among tessellated combs while human defenders spread the word about dwindling bee populations. But honeybees are at no risk of dying off. While disease, parasites, and other threats are certainly real problems for beekeepers, the total number of managed honeybees worldwide has risen by 45 percent over the last half century.
“Honeybees are not going to go extinct,” says Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society. “We have more honeybee hives than we’ve ever had and that’s simply because we manage honeybees.
Next they are raising the alarm for domestic bees but Paul Driessen reports: However, 59 scientists published a three-year study in Nature, concluding that only 2% of wild bee species provide “almost 80% of the wild bee crop pollination.” They also found that “the species currently contributing most to pollination service delivery are generally regionally common species, whereas threatened species contribute little, particularly in the most agriculturally productive areas.”
In other words, the handful of wild bee species that contribute the lion’s share of wild bee crop pollination – and thus are most exposed to neonic and other pesticides – are abundant and not threatened or at risk, certainly not from pesticide exposure.
This jibes with the observations by Sam Droege, the U.S. Geologic Survey’s wild bee expert whose surveys indicate that most wild bee species are doing just fine.
It’s encouraging that the Sierra Club and Xerces Society have finally acknowledged that the “honeybee apocalypse” – which they used for years to demonize neonic manufacturers and raise millions of dollars – was pure fiction. Eventually, perhaps, we hope (fat chance) they’ll admit their exaggerated claims and half-truths about wild bees are equally phony and misleading.
I normally wouldn't post any of this except that it's something I'm reading about this week. But it's still fun to do a bee-themed quilt along. Please delete the comment if it is annoying
I too am worried about bees and I have a lot of native plants growing in my backyard to try to keep them going. Also we leave piles of sticks for habitat and also because we are lazy. I love that quote if we die we are taking you with us as it's true. You have chosen gorgeous fabrics for your bee quilt.
Starting in August Jacqueline Steeves is bringing us a brand new BOM called "Save the Bees". I have started sewing my blocks to share with you each month and am having a great time making my version of this wonderful pattern. You can get colour and fabric inspiration here.
You are lucky to get the patterns early. I hope to make this one too. Gotta find my fabrics.
ReplyDeleteYes I hope more and more people become educated about the problem. Bees are so important when it comes to pollinating.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, we must save all our pollinators! Not only do we need to control pesticide use, we can all plant more flowers to give our bees more food.
ReplyDeleteYour fabric selection is right on!
ReplyDeletemy brother has two hives going now on his farm and is thinking about another, he now has honey to sell besides his vegetables. I had not seen the quilt along
ReplyDeleteI love bees, too. For a long time, because the previous owners of this house used pesticides galore, we had no insects of any kind. I am so proud to say that we have a bee hive in our backyard! I am delighted...we are all friends and I work right by the hive and they have never made an attempt to sting me at all. They are so welcome here, and I plant flowers just for them!! Fun project!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI was just reading about bees this week. This was posted on the Sierra Club website: “Save the bees” is a rallying cry we’ve been hearing for years now — one that conjures up images of fuzzy black and yellow honeybees, sipping nectar from colorful flowers or swarming with their bee brethren among tessellated combs while human defenders spread the word about dwindling bee populations. But honeybees are at no risk of dying off. While disease, parasites, and other threats are certainly real problems for beekeepers, the total number of managed honeybees worldwide has risen by 45 percent over the last half century.
“Honeybees are not going to go extinct,” says Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society. “We have more honeybee hives than we’ve ever had and that’s simply because we manage honeybees.
Next they are raising the alarm for domestic bees but Paul Driessen reports:
However, 59 scientists published a three-year study in Nature, concluding that only 2% of wild bee species provide “almost 80% of the wild bee crop pollination.” They also found that “the species currently contributing most to pollination service delivery are generally regionally common species, whereas threatened species contribute little, particularly in the most agriculturally productive areas.”
In other words, the handful of wild bee species that contribute the lion’s share of wild bee crop pollination – and thus are most exposed to neonic and other pesticides – are abundant and not threatened or at risk, certainly not from pesticide exposure.
This jibes with the observations by Sam Droege, the U.S. Geologic Survey’s wild bee expert whose surveys indicate that most wild bee species are doing just fine.
It’s encouraging that the Sierra Club and Xerces Society have finally acknowledged that the “honeybee apocalypse” – which they used for years to demonize neonic manufacturers and raise millions of dollars – was pure fiction. Eventually, perhaps, we hope (fat chance) they’ll admit their exaggerated claims and half-truths about wild bees are equally phony and misleading.
I normally wouldn't post any of this except that it's something I'm reading about this week. But it's still fun to do a bee-themed quilt along. Please delete the comment if it is annoying
I too am worried about bees and I have a lot of native plants growing in my backyard to try to keep them going. Also we leave piles of sticks for habitat and also because we are lazy. I love that quote if we die we are taking you with us as it's true. You have chosen gorgeous fabrics for your bee quilt.
ReplyDeleteYou have a way of finding the funnest things. (Don't stop BTW)
ReplyDeleteLove your fabrics!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really fun SAL---to watch. LOL
ReplyDeleteI will definitely enjoy seeing your creation. :)
Love your color palette! It will be fun to see the blocks as they are released.
ReplyDeleteMy first Father in law was a beekeeper. He loved caring for the bees and harvesting the honey! Love you, Ellis! Your honey was the best!!
ReplyDeleteMy uncle in Hungary is a beekeeper. His honey is always delicious.
ReplyDeleteUpdated link for further information for bee lovers:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/bumble-bee-heat-waves-1.5453156