Stash Bee: HIVE 2 November Improv Trees for Nicole

Sunday, November 1, 2026

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.

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.

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: