Deana's first finish this year!! Woot Woot!!

Not a WIP anymore!!!  Ok, so I actually have a finish for the year.  Below is a picture of Mom's Utah Quilt I just finished quilting and attaching the binding to.  She will hand bind it.  It feels so good to have one thing off my list!!

Each block has special reference to the state of Utah:

Kokopelli (left) is the little guy who represents all of the great Indian pictographs found all over the state but especially where I live.

Delicate Arch (right):  found at Arches National Park in Moab, Utah.  Eastern Utah is a wonderful place to enjoy beauties found no place in the world.  The red rocks are SO BEAUTIFUL!  I love them!

The Pick and Shovel block has reference to Utah's coal mining industry.  I live right in the heart of it in Emery and Carbon Counties.  This block has special meaning to me because my grandfather spent some time in his younger years in a coal mine.  He was buried in one and broke both his legs.  He is now 90 years old.  WAY TO GO, GRANDPA!

 The temple has religious reference.  We have temples all over the world where families can be sealed together for time and for all eternity.  The beautiful Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square are known throughout the world as the home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  They don't actually sing there, but they have performed at the old tabernacle and in the new Conference Center which are both located on Temple Square.

Utah is known as the Beehive State because the Mormons who settled here were such hard workers. 

The Sego Lilies are Utah's state flowers and the Seagull is the state bird.  The Seagull has special reference to a time when the seagulls saved the settlers lives.  They had undergone much persecution and hardship to come to the Salt Lake Valley.  The first winter here was one with little food.  As they grew crops in the summer, they began to be devoured by Mormon Crickets.  (I've seen them, they are ginormous and only come around every so many years.)  Anyway,  the saints prayed for their crops to be saved.  The seagulls appeared and ate up all the crickets.

 Utah is located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains.  They are so beautiful.  Home just would not be home without them.  My family loves to hunt, hike, ride horses, camp, fish, ride motorcycles, and ride mountain bikes in these beautiful mountains as well as on the desert in Eastern Utah.

 This last block is the most meaningful to me.  It represents the long, hard journey the Saints underwent to come to the Salt Lake Valley.  They were driven out of Nauvoo Illinois by an extermination order to come here across rivers and prairies with no roads or bridges.  Many buried loved ones and children on the way, but they were dedicated to their faith.  Some Saints even came by handcart.  Many of them actually left their homes in Europe, sailed the ocean, and then crossed the plains to Utah.

The wagon also has special meaning to me because my father is a horseman and owns several wagons and horses that can pull them.  As a family, we love to go for wagon rides and enjoy nature and a piece of history that is long past.

I linked up with WIP Wednesday even though it is no longer a WIP!!  I am number 200.