Pine Trees Flimsy

Wanna' see what I made?? I finally have an honest-to-goodness finished quilt top to share! And I'm rather stoked about it, too!

To be perfectly honest, I have far fewer finishes to boast this year than in any other year since I retired (2009). I've spent a lot of my time doing other things and consequently have spent less time in the quilting room.

The idea for a pine tree quilt has been marinating for awhile now - since summer 2020 - after traveling through the breathtaking Rocky Mountains with just the most incredibly expansive, seemingly infinite forests one could ever see. I wanted to sear those views into my memory, so I though making a quilt would be a worthy effort.

I tried making up some patterns, and I auditioned some blocks, but nothing ever truly "spoke" to me. Most of the attempts turned out to be rather ugly, actually, like the block above.

Then at one of our retreats while we were shopping at Mae-Lynne Makers, my friend Becky pointed this pattern out to me. Eventually, she talked me into buying it. I am so glad I listened to her. The pattern was super easy and quite fun to make. Sharon is making one, too, and both of us have enjoyed the process. 

My quilt top is now finished, and is awaiting its turn on the long arm machine. I love the background that I used, and if you look at the quilt upside down, the negative space also looks like a pine tree. Cool.

In a quick review of the pattern, I would recommend it to other quilters - maybe not a beginner - but it would be easy enough for anyone with average ability. The directions say to use a scant quarter-inch seam when sewing together the three layers of each tree, and I would strongly recommend that. I was not so mindful of my seams, and the result was that my blocks all came out just slightly shy of the pattern's size of 6.5" x 8". Mine were between 7.75" and 7.875" in length. The other recommendation I have is that YES, you have to trim! I believe the pattern is written so that blocks will be slightly wider than 6.5", so trimming is essential.

Like I said, I am quite stoked to be able to share this finish for June. Finishes have been rather sparse of late.

In other news, click here to read an old post about today's significant milestone. Still no coral or jade, but then this year (the 44th!) has no significant gift. Doesn't matter. We'll have a memorable evening, regardless.

Happy Quilting, Friends!