Month 4 - trees

[tooonce]

instructions and video are up - Good Luck all you arborist -

BTW Arbor Day is April 30th...see you then with your 16 trees planted.

[Pam G.]

The instructions don’t say but is anyone trimming away the background fabric behind the tree tops? Any pros or cons to doing this?

[tooonce]

That was one of my questions I want Barbra to respond to on Thursday. The other clarification I have is- at the end of the month should all our houses be sewn together in a circle.

[Barbara B.]

The instructions don’t say but is anyone trimming away the background fabric behind the tree tops? Any pros or cons to doing this?

Pam, great question. I did not remove the background fabric behind the tree tops because I knew I was machine quilting this. You could, if you like, really just personal preference and if you want the extra work.

BARBARA BLACK

[1stFridayGirl]

We should be able to use a double needle or Is there a reason we can't use the double needle to sew on the bias tape for the trunk?

[Helen W.]

We should be able to use a double needle or Is there a reason we can't use the double needle to sew on the bias tape for the trunk?

1st FridayGirl, Great idea. I bet it would work great. If you know the size double needle to use on quarter inch bias, you should
post it here. Saves a lot time. HelenW

[Carolyn Law.]

I am using a Schmetz twin needle 130/705 4.0/75 and it is working out perfectly for sewing on the black bias tape tree trunk and branches.

[skypin2]

I used a twin needle for the bias trim and it was super quick and accurate. Used a 3.0 size with applique foot, be sure to change your needle plate.
Marlene

[Carole B.]

Just tried to upload a picture of my finished circle but all I got was a blank rectangle. Anyone know how to do it on the new site?

Check out previous thread on this: https://thequiltshow.com/forum/block...s-on-the-forum

[Elizabeth M.]

Loving this project and the lessons. I'm afraid I've also fallen in love with my background fabric, and I really don't won't to cover it up. Will the project still come together nicely and look good if I leave off the trees and tree trunks? Thanks.

[Josephine G.]

Elizabeth M. I understand - I had the same feeling. I opted to just add trees to every other two house unit. Then I decided to applique smaller circles on top of tree trunks for the in between 2 house units. That way I see more background fabric.

[Helen W.]

Elizabeth, You do have great looking background fabric. It would look fine if you leave the trees out.
What I like about the trees though is that it gives that additional circular ring to keep the theme of the circles going. Don't forget you will have a lot of the background fabric in the outside borders. The other thing about the trees is it adds a bit of interest to the color palette. You also could audition adding some trees but not a ring of trees. Maybe 8 instead of 16 just to see what it looks like. You could lay your
green fabric out and put the house ring on it leaving about the amount that would be for trees and take a picture with green and without green and then make a decision just on what looks best to you.
HelenW

[Chris T.]

I don't think the trees will detract from your background fabric - it will add dimension and perspective IMHO

[Barbara B.]

Loving this project and the lessons. I'm afraid I've also fallen in love with my background fabric, and I really don't won't to cover it up. Will the project still come together nicely and look good if I leave off the trees and tree trunks? Thanks.

Sure, that will make it your own. Many don’t realize they are trees until the quilting gives them definition.

BARBARA BLACK

[evelynspaulding]

When sewing down trees, I used black thread and bobbin then zig-zagged down the middle. Barbara just mentioned that someone used double needle. Wish I had thought of that but will gladly live with my decision.

[Pat C.]

I am wondering if it would be better to sew the wedges together first and then appliqué the tree tops on afterward so they would not have to be a part of the seam. It seems like it might add a bit of bulk with the small edge of the tree possibly in the seam. I remember the original instructions said to sew houses 1-4 together, and if so, how would you insert the top of the tree into the seam without ripping out that part of the seam? That is what made me think perhaps they squeeze in on top. I haven’t tried it yet, but it doesn’t seem like there will be enough of a 1/4 inch seam left on either side of the treetop to catch it in the seam without losing some of the tree curve. It is hard to visualize how it will fit without doing it, I guess. Thanks in advance for any tips. I do overanalyze sometimes!

[Helen W.]

Pat C, I would make up a tree top, then just use a large basting stitch to put it onto the two houses.
If you do two, you could check the seams and decide if they are going to be too bulky. Barbara said
to press the seam open so that would reduce some bulk. Remember if you press your seams open,
you CAN NOT stitch in the ditch for quilting, and people that don't have a long arm might be thinking
that ditch stitching would be a good quilt technique. HelenW

[jilly54]

Just wondering if anyone else has had problems with the size of the templates for Month 4? I am using the same printer and the 1 inch square has been 100% accurate for the first 3 months but this month is about 1/16th inch too small. Seems strange and I can fix it but don't know why the printer would vary this month.

[Kate W.]

I had the same problem, but then realized that the printer dialog box was set to "custom" rather than "default." When I switched to "default" and printed again the box measured 1".

[Chris T.]

We should be able to use a double needle or Is there a reason we can't use the double needle to sew on the bias tape for the trunk?

I thought that too, if there is a needle(s) narrow enough

[Barbara B.]

I am wondering if it would be better to sew the wedges together first and then appliqué the tree tops on afterward so they would not have to be a part of the seam. It seems like it might add a bit of bulk with the small edge of the tree possibly in the seam. I remember the original instructions said to sew houses 1-4 together, and if so, how would you insert the top of the tree into the seam without ripping out that part of the seam? That is what made me think perhaps they squeeze in on top. I haven’t tried it yet, but it doesn’t seem like there will be enough of a 1/4 inch seam left on either side of the treetop to catch it in the seam without losing some of the tree curve. It is hard to visualize how it will fit without doing it, I guess. Thanks in advance for any tips. I do overanalyze sometimes!

The pattern instructions do not say to sew 1-4 together, it says to lay them out, 1-4, only sewing into pairs first. Then add tree tops to each pair.

BARBARA BLACK

[Pat C.]

Thanks, Barbara. I don’t know where I got the idea that originally it was sewing groups of four together. Old age kicking in!

[Barbara B.]

Pat C, I would make up a tree top, then just use a large basting stitch to put it onto the two houses.
If you do two, you could check the seams and decide if they are going to be too bulky. Barbara said
to press the seam open so that would reduce some bulk. Remember if you press your seams open,
you CAN NOT stitch in the ditch for quilting, and people that don't have a long arm might be thinking
that ditch stitching would be a good quilt technique. HelenW

I pressed the joining seams open and did tons of stitch in the ditch quilting on this, using fine thread, with no problems.

BARBARA BLACK