Hive 3 March Tutorial - Modern Christmas Tree Block

Happy March, Hive 3 Mates!

Although it seems like it's way too early to be thinking about Christmas, I'm one of those people who tends to start a holiday project Thanksgiving week only to see it set aside in the rush of gift wrapping, baking, and visiting. So, this year, I thought I'd use my month as Queen to get a head start with these fast and fun Modern Christmas Tree Quilt Block by Amy Smart (Diary of a Quilter). Her tutorial can be accessed here: https://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2015/12/modern-christmas-tree-quilt-block.html I'm requesting the larger size (7 x 9), but her original tutorial for the mini blocks has some additional tips for sewing the pieces together.

Here's a picture of my fabric stash. The light in my kitchen was giving me trouble, but it's just a mix of holiday fabrics range in dark green shades, reds, and tone on tone whites. My color preferences are traditional reds and green, but they don't have to be holiday fabrics. Solids and tonal prints are fine. I used the white poinsettia print as the inspiration - so dark green for the leaves and reds for the flowers. I seem to have collected a number of fabrics with gold metallics. I can't remember really setting out to purchase those, but I think it will add a fun element to this project. And it reminds me of the foil that is often around the pots when you purchase a poinsettia. Feel free to toss them in there if you have some. 

These blocks come together really quickly, and you'll make two at a time. You'll need two 8.5" squares of your contrasting fabrics (one of each fabric - I used green and white for my samples); two 2" x 8.5" rectangles (one of each fabric); and two 1.5" x 2" rectangles from a brown fabric. I have a lot of scraps of Essex linen left over from another project, so I've been using those. But any tan or brown fabric that matches your main prints are fine. Here's a shot of my brown fabric pull.

Here's an image of the cut pieces of fabric you'll need.

To make the block, you'll layer the two 8.5" squares on top each other, right sides facing up. You'll then make two diagonal cuts to create the improv triangle in the middle for the tree. Here's a photo of the cuts I made for one block.

Note: in this image I have one of the fabrics facing wrong sides up. This is INCORRECT. Your angles won't match if you do it this way. I was still able to make the tree blocks but it came out smaller than it was supposed to. 

Once you have your cuts made, swap the prints and sew along the edges of the triangle. Due to the way I was cutting the angles, I needed to sew the left seam first and then the right hand side because that was the longer piece. If you have problems with this step, Amy Smart has a more detailed tutorial here: https://www.diaryofaquilter.com/2014/11/patchwork-tree-quilt-block-tutorial.html

Once the triangles are sewn together, cut your 2" x 8.5" rectangles in half, and sew a matching pair to either side of the brown fabric for the trunk. You'll trim the bottom of your tree so that it's straight, and then attach the trunk. The trunk piece is oversized to give you a cushion for trimming.

The tutorial says that the blocks should come out to be 7.5" x 9.5". Only one of mine came out to that size. Mine were closer to 7" x 9". Don't worry too much about that. I can trim them to a standard size after I receive them all and see what the average size is. 

Here's the start of my modern forest. I can't wait to see what fabric choices you make!

Thanks,
Stephanie