Fraser Fir – Block 6 of the Little Forest BOM

Can you believe you’re already halfway through your Little Forest quilt?!

Once you get your Fraser Fir quilt block made, you’ll have six completed tree blocks and a wealth of new quilty skills to tap into.

So far in the Little Forest Block of the Month Quilt Along featured in Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine, you’ve learned:

• Needle turn appliqué on the maple trees featured in the Little Forest block
• Half Rectangle Triangles (or HRT) in the pine tree featured in the Twin Peaks block
• Curves and Foundation Paper Piecing in the cherry blossom tree featured in the Cherry Tree block
• Small and strip piecing featured in the Bonsai quilt block.
• Raw edge appliqué as shown in the Maple tree block.

And now you’re adding working with large foundation paper piecing templates to your skill set!

The beauty about FPP is that you can achieve incredibly sharp points which is the key feature of the Fraser Fir quilt block. Don’t you just love when a quilting technique leads to such amazing results?

*This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.

INSPIRATION BEHIND THE FRASER FIR QUILT BLOCK

As the leaves continue to fall from the maple trees and we get closer and closer to things being blanketed in snow, the lovely Fraser Fir trees are what give that magical feeling during winter. Coniferous trees keep Canadian winters from being bleak and dreary with their deep greenery breaking the otherwise monochrome colourway. Seeing their needles covered in freshly fallen snow is a wonderful and calming view. Especially if they have Christmas lights twinkling on them!

Plus, the Fraser Fir also happens to be my family’s go-to Christmas tree, and not just because my last name is Fraser 😊 They smell amazing, are normally nice and fluffy and their needles are not as poky and spiky as the classic pine tree.

Quebec has a plethora of Fraser Firs, which you can enjoy while driving through the Laurentians or the Eastern Townships during the late Fall and Winter months. It’s a classic and I couldn’t not include this tree as part of the Little Forest Quilt.

QUILT TECHNIQUE FEATURED IN THE FRASER FIR QUILT BLOCK

I know you’ve already tackled FPP in the Little Forest Block of the Month QAL, but the Fraser Fir quilt block introduces a new quilty challenge for you: working with larger foundation paper piecing templates.

Learning to print and tape your paper templates together is a skill you’ll come back to time and time again, and not just for quilting. I was so happy to have this technique under my quilty belt when I was making my first Hovea Coat. There were pages and pages of paper templates to sort through and tape together, so I fully understand the overwhelm. Which is why I filmed this tutorial to take the guesswork out 😉

The Fraser Fir FPP templates have labels to help you identify which edge needs to be glued where which should help you keep things on track.

You’ve already tackled foundation paper piecing as part of your Cherry Blossom tree, so I know you’ve got this! But if you need some additional tips or a refresher then this step-by-step FPP tutorial should do the trick!

TIPS FOR QUILTY SUCCESS

By now you know that I like to work systematically through my patterns. What I mean by this, is that I like to take things one step at a time so that I don’t overwhelm myself, skip a step, or get mixed up – ha!

This is especially important with so many template pieces to stitch. This is why I find it best to lay the templates out on my sewing table (I even used the floor at one point!) and tackle the sewing, working in numerical sequence. All of my first pieces get glued down, then I chain piece all of my 1 and 2 pieces, then 2 to 3, and so on until each individual template is fully pieced. Some templates will have fewer seams to stitch. I set those aside in a pile until everything has been stitched and I can move on to trimming.

Once the trimming is done, then I focus on piecing the templates together. Just follow the steps and you’ll have your Fraser Fir pieced together in no time!

MATERIALS AND FABRICS YOU’LL NEED TO MAKE THE FRASER FIR QUILT BLOCK

Here’s an overview of everything I’m using to make my Maple Tree quilt block:

• Fraser Fir Pattern – Available exclusively in Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine Issue 116*
• Ruby and Bee Solids in the colours:
  • Evergreen*
  • Mushroom*
• Linen White for the background, although this* Ruby and Bee solid would work perfectly too!
• Sewing machine*
• Sewing machine needles*
• 50wt thread for piecing*
• Square ruler*
• Rotary cutter*
• Cutting mat*
• Glue (optional)*
• Cardstock (optional)
• Tailor’s Shears*
• Iron*
• Pressing table or wool pressing mat*
• Pins*
• Pincushion
• Small snips*
• Design wall – tutorial to make your own here

MONTHLY GIVEAWAY

You’ve been doing amazing upping your FPP skills and I thought it would be fun for you to show them off in the Jolly Jelly quilt block pattern PDF. This one is super fun to play with fabric combinations and makes for a sweet holiday table runner perfect for the coming holiday season!

Participating in the monthly Little Forest BOM giveaway is super easy!

All you need to do is:

• Follow @shannonfraserdesigns @lovequiltingmag
• Post your finished block on Instagram by October 26, 2022, at 11:59 pm EST tagging @shannonfraserdesigns and @lovequiltingmag
• Include the hashtag #LittleForestBOM
• Instagram account must be public

The giveaway is open internationally. The winner will be selected at random on October 27, 2022.

The Fraser Fir quilt block pattern is exclusively available in Love Patchwork and Quilting Magazine Issue 116* available on newsstands in the UK and heading internationally in the coming weeks. If you’re like me and based outside of Europe, the quickest way to get your hands on the monthly quilt blocks is to get a digital subscription here*.

Can’t wait to see your blocks pop up on Instagram under the #LittleForestBOM hashtag!

Happy quilting!

xo

Shannon

PS did you notice the cute Bonsai and Little Forest stickers in the shop?!

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