HIVE 2 November Improv Trees for Nicole

 It's been so great sewing for everyone this year. Stashbee is a highlight of my month every year and I love seeing everyone's interpretations. 

I'm leaping way out of my own comfort zone this month and we are doing IMPROV TREES. I have a bunch of crazy house blocks for my neighborhood quilt and we are going to fill it out with glorious and silly trees from your scrap bins. I'm open to large pattern, small pattern, brights, grunge. 

There's several different ways to go about this and I'll link you to a few great resources, but how you do it will be totally up to you.

You can do a simple triangle Christmas style tree like the one here at Diary of a Quilter. Your tree colors should not be Christmas flavored since they are going to be partnered with crazy houses. One of your squares should be green flavored (any patterns work here as long as there's a green in it). The contrast color should be anything that provides good contrast - I'm open to bright, whites, fall colors, spring colors. Whatever inspires you. The unfinished size works out to be 7 1/2" x 9 1/2" and that is just fine for me. You'll end up with 2 blocks of opposite tree colors using this method.

You can also take a crumb approach like these trees from The Sewing Channel. Method 2 has you cutting out a paper template so you can gauge size ahead of time. Your crumbs should be green-flavored. Your trunk should be brown flavored. Your background is up to you: sky blue, whites, brights, contrast. And your finished size should be 4-8" wide x 9 1/2" tall. It'll be however wide you make your crumb tree. That's the magic of improv.

If you want a pattern to cut out and follow because improv isn't really your jam, you can use this pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew. I promise it won't hurt my feelings. But get crazy with your color choices and really make that tree pop. Finished size works out 7 1/2" x 9 1/2".

Here's some examples of the houses in my neighborhood so you can see where your trees are going: 

All trees are welcome here! 🌲🌳🌴

Happy sewing! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your year and we'll see you next year for more Stashbee goodness.

Nicole

Hive 1 Plus Blocks for Trishia October 2026

I enjoyed making these plus sign blocks for Trishia.  The color palette is beautiful.  I'm looking forward to seeing the finished quilt alongside the artistic inspiration painting.

 

Hive 1: November Tutorial - Improv Log Cabin for Jane

Last month, Stash Buddies!

Create an improvisational log cabin block using solid white fabric as the primary background, accented with one or two pops of saturated color.  Strips can vary in width, angles can change, and the placement of color is entirely up to you. The blocks you see are 6 ½” and 12 1/2” - but any size is fine as I'll be constructing it on without a prescribed grid. I put my samples on a black background so you can see the seams.  You can make one or several - have fun and search those scrap bins for some fun accent colors.  Thanks!

 

Improvisational Log Cabin Quilt Block

Background: Solid white fabric. 

Color accents: One or two pieces of saturated fabric that read as a solid from a distance. Choose colors that stand out clearly against the white. Finished Block SizeI often found a print of two colors (white being one of them) and then matched the color in the print with a solid for my pops.

Blocks should measure between 3½″ and 12½″ unfinished. You may make any size within this range. Either rectangles or square blocks are fine. Blocks do not need to be a standard size as they will be incorporated into an alternate-grid quilt layout.

Instructions

1. Begin with a small piece of fabric.

Begin with a small piece of square fabric in your chosen accent color. (Solid or white/color print) Your starting piece can grow to be centered or placed off-center.

2. Creating the Improv Cabin

Cut a strip of white fabric and sew it to one side of your starting piece. The strip can be wider or narrower than the starting piece. It can be a rectangle or triangle.

Add another white strip to an adjoining side, then continue adding strips around the growing block. You may work clockwise, counterclockwise, or change directions as you go.  I squared up every once in awhile as I wanted the white to be sort of in a square. (See seam lines)

Experiment with:

Strips of different widths and lengths angled seams and strips that are not perfectly parallel, off-center shapes and unexpected turns, narrow strips alongside wider sections of white.

Trim excess fabric from individual pieces as needed to prepare for the next seam, but you do not need to trim the overall block to a standard size. 

4. Introduce a pop of color.

At any point, add a small piece of saturated color. It can be your first piece or it might be a square or rectangle nestled among the white strips, a narrow strip along one edge, or a triangular shape that peeks out from a seam.

The goal is to create an unexpected focal point against the white background. Let the color placement be spontaneous rather than symmetrical or predictable.

5. Continue improvising.

Return to the white fabric and keep building outward. Change strip widths, shift directions, and vary the placement of seams. You may add another pop of color if you wish.

Remember that the white fabric should remain the dominant visual element. The colored pieces are accents, not the main event.

There is no prescribed number of strips, no required center, and no particular arrangement to follow. Let the block develop as you work.

6. Stop when your block feels complete.

Continue piecing until your block measures somewhere between 3½″ and 12½″ unfinished. The shape does not need to be square, and the edges do not need to align with those of other blocks. I can trim them down or add to them, if I need to do so.