You did it! You rose to the quilty challenge, you kept pace with the monthly block stitching, and now you get to see your Little Forest quilt top come to life!
Good things come to those who stay the course and rise to the challenge, and you did exactly that! There were quite a few challenging piecing techniques that I snuck into the Little Forest quilt blocks, and I’m just so proud of you for diving in and giving it a go! Just look at all the quilting techniques you explored during this QAL:
- 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.
- How to work with multiple angled foundation paper piecing templates in the Larch quilt block.
- How to combine strip piecing and working with angles in the Pine Tree block.
Today I wanted to share my finished Little Forest Block of the Month quilt top with you!
The Little Forest BOM Quilt Pattern is available for instant download!
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Little Forest BOM Quilt Top
Here is the finished dark blue Little Forest quilt top featuring those yummy pops of autumnal Signature Solids. I know we’re not supposed to play favourites with our makes, but I’m super happy with how this one turned out!
This is one of the things that I love the most about quilting, is seeing how featuring different colours has a huge impact on the look and feel of your quilts.
If you compare the original bright version set against a white background and compare it to this moodier version, you can see that at play with great effect.
Challenges of working with a dark background fabric
The only challenge I have in working with a dark background fabric is trying to keep Pips’ fur at bay – ha! He’s a long-haired ragdoll that loves to shed and also happens to love ‘inspecting’ and ‘testing’ out each of my blocks as they’re being pieced. So, his fur tends to get everywhere.
Not as much of an issue with a white or light background fabric, but that glorious deep blue shows every single hair. Good thing I’ve found this trick to clean it off!
Quilting Technique Featured
You might be thinking that there’s no new quilting technique to be explored during the piecing of your Little Forest quilt top, but I actually snuck in an additional lesson!
This time, it focuses on piecing your border strips. You’ll notice the pattern has you join them with mitered seams. This is entirely optional, and you can absolutely join your borders with a straight seam (or butted seam). The benefit of the latter is that less fabric is required.
So, why go the extra step and join your borders with a mitered seam?
Well, I’ve heard mitered seams are stronger as they distribute the strain across a larger area, there’s less gapping and it gives a cleaner look.
You’ll notice the technique is essentially the same one used for when you’re joining your binding strips together, it’s just a much larger join.
Materials & Notions
Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand to stitch up the Pine Tree quilt block:
- 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
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’ve been following the pressing instructions in the Little Forest Block of the Month Quilt Pattern, then joining your rows together should be easy peasy. Be sure to pin wherever you’re nesting your seams. This will help keep the alignment in place as you work on stitching the seam.
Caution
This is your quilt, so feel free to switch up the placement of your Little Forest quilt blocks. The only heads-up I want to point out is that the Bonsai and the Little Forest quilt blocks are different sizes from the rest of your tree blocks.
So, be mindful of your placement, and make sure you’re switching up the placement of your sashing strips as required.
December Little Forest BOM Giveaway
You’ve been stitching up a storm and I wanted to reward you with some inspiration to encourage you to keep up your quilty play! This is why I reached out to Suzy Quilts to offer you the chance to win a year’s subscription to the Cutting Table Magazine!
To enter the giveaway, you must:
- Be following @suzyquilts and @shannonfraserdesigns on Instagram.
- Post a photo on Instagram of your Pine Tree block and your pieced Little Forest Quilt top between December 15, 2024, and January 14, 2025, at 11:59 pm Eastern.
- Instagram account must be public.
- Tag @suzyquilts and @shannonfraserdesigns
- Include the hashtags #LittleForestBOM #LittleForestQuilt
This month’s giveaway is open internationally.
The winner is to be announced in the January 15, 2025, Little Forest BOM Newsletter!
I’m on pins and needles waiting to see your finished Little Forest quilts pop up on the ‘gram or in our Facebook group.
Thank you so much for spending the year stitching with me! Quilting can be super lonely at times, and it’s through participating in quilt alongs that we get to connect and share our passion. It has been an absolute joy seeing your tree blocks throughout the year, and hearing what parts you enjoyed and which you found challenging. I always like to remind myself that it’s through pushing myself outside my comfort zone that I learn and grow and get to the good stuff in life! So, I hope you’re feeling the benefits of that too!
Don’t forget to check in with your journal. It will feel good to look back on your journey and see just how far you’ve come in your quilty practice! Keep up the great work, and if you’re feeling up for a new quilty challenge, then come join the Mouse Trap Block of the Month Quilt Along in 2025!
Happy stitching!
xo
Shannon
PS Don’t forget to share your Pine Tree quilt block and pieced Little Forest quilt top on the ‘gram to be entered into the giveaway!
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I absolutely love the navy blue version of this quilt!
Thank you, Carol!! That blue makes for such a cozy classic vibe!!