You’re nearly there with the 2024 Little Forest BOM. Only two more quilt blocks to go before you start stitching your Little Forest quilt together! But first, you need to make the Larch Tree quilt block.
The colours you featured in your Maple Tree canopies were spectacular! It was akin to seeing a quilty fall forest!
Can you believe all the techniques you’ve tackled in this modern skill builder?! Just look at all the techniques you’ve covered already:
- The importance of tracking your progress through the Little Forest BOM Journal.
- Small piecing in the Bonsai Quilt Block, which will set the foundation of your quilting skills.
- How to stitch and flip (aka snowballing) in the Stacked Pine Quilt Block, which is an introduction to piecing on the bias!
- How to achieve nice crisp points with Foundation Paper Piecing and how to piece curves in the Cherry Tree block.
- How to layer motifs with needle turn appliqué in the Little Forest block.
- Small piecing and FPP without as much wiggle room in the Lodgepole block.
- How to piece oval curves in the Poplar block.
- How to strip piece in the Striped Pine block.
- Working with multiple FPP templates at the same time in the Fraser Fir quilt block.
- Learning how to piece and trim half-square triangles (HRT) in the Twin Peaks quilt block.
- How to raw edge appliqué in the Maple Tree quilt block.
Remember how I challenged you with lots of FPP pieces in the Fraser Fir quilt block? Those tips are going to come in handy with this next one!
The Little Forest BOM Quilt Pattern is available for instant download!
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Story Behind the Larch Tree Quilt Block
One of the things I love most about trees is seeing how they respond to seasonal changes. Some trees lose their leaves and pine needles in the autumn and winter season, while others retain theirs all year round.
So, even though Larchs are deciduous trees, they actually lose their needles in the Fall.
This makes for an interesting landscape in the wintertime. The deep evergreens of the Fraser Firs jump off the earthy browns. When I originally designed this tree, the branches were intended to be barren. It was my way of honouring the beauty of the tree even when they’ve shed their needless. What I love is that you get to see the structure of their branches and it’s usually quite the architectural sight.
That was the essence intended for the Larch quilt block 😊
Quilting Technique Featured
By now you’ve gotten into quite the foundation paper piecing groove, so Larch should feel like a breeze for you to piece.
The only thing I’ll remind you about is preparation is key!
Don’t skip the set-up. Working in a sequential and orderly fashion will ensure you don’t skip a step or mix things up.
My approach is to:
- Start by getting my quilt block labels and templates printed, cut, and glued. This gives them time to dry while I work on the next step.
- Cut all my fabric pieces and label them using the Little Forest Quilt block labels and these clips.
- Attach all my pieces 1 and 2.
- Chain piece all my pieces 1 and 2.
- Press, and either attach all my piece 3 or set aside from trimming down templates.
- Keep cycling through until all of your FPP pieces have been stitched in place.
- Trim all templates following the outer dotted line.
Now you’re ready to start piecing your Larch quilt block together 😉
Materials & Notions
Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand to stitch up the Larch Tree quilt block:
- Larch Tree quilt block pattern – part of the Little Forest BOM pattern
- Fabrics in colours:
- Piecing thread
- Sewing machine
- Cutting mat
- Rotary cutter with these blades
- Rotary cutter for paper templates
- Scissors for paper cutting
- Ruler – long
- Ruler – short
- Small scissors
- Pin cushion
- Pins
- Iron
- Wool pressing mat
- Spray bottle
- Erasable marking tool
- Cardstock (optional)
- Seam roller (optional)
- Glue stick (optional)
To make the same version as me you can find the exact kit featuring the same AGF Signature Pure Solids in this quilt kit from Sew Curated.
Top Tips
If you’re working in a small space, a seam roller is a great option for pressing your FPP quilt blocks. This was the first block I’d tried using the one I got from Chris at Modern American Vintage, and it was pure joy!
I was able to press everything right at my cutting mat, so I didn’t have to bring everything to the ironing board. It was a nice step to skip!
Caution
Take your time with this one. With so many moving parts, things can get confusing really quick! Use those labels, and just take it one step at a time. You’ve got this!
November Little Forest BOM Giveaway
As you’ve noticed throughout this quilt along, notions and tools matter! At the foundation of your quilting practice, is your ability to cut accurately. Quilting rulers help! This is why I reached out to the team at Olfa to give you the chance to win a 12.5″ Square Frosted Acrylic Ruler for all your block squaring needs.
To enter the giveaway, you must:
- Be following @olfa_craft and @shannonfraserdesigns on Instagram.
- Post a photo on Instagram of your Larch Tree block between November 15, 2024, and December 14, 2024, at 11:59 pm Eastern.
- Instagram account must be public.
- Tag @olfa_craft and @shannonfraserdesigns
- Include the hashtags #LittleForestBOM #LittleForestQuilt
This month’s giveaway is open to Canadian and USA addresses only.
The winner is to be announced in the December 15, 2024, Little Forest BOM Newsletter!
The Larch quilt block is a fun one to see come to life! I look forward to seeing yours pop up on the ‘gram or in our Facebook group.
If you haven’t already, be sure to get your Little Forest BOM Quilt Pattern and sign up for the Little Forest BOM Newsletter so you don’t miss any of the quilt-along details 😊
Don’t forget to check in with your journal. It will feel good to track how you feel and you’ll love being able to look back and see how you felt along the way.
Happy stitching!
xo
Shannon
PS Don’t forget to share your Larch Tree quilt block on the ‘gram to be entered into the giveaway!
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Hi, I’m wondering if you have a single pattern available just for the Larch block? It’s great! Thanks for sharing so much.
So thrilled the Larch block caught your eye, Regina! The Little Forest Blocks aren’t available as separate patterns, with the exception of the Fraser Fir, which is featured in the Pillow Pattern.