Christmas Tree Mini

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It’s hard to believe the year is half over. Here in Minnesota, we have been experiencing high temps, humidity, and bugs. It’s typical Minnesota summer weather, and a perfect time to spend a little time dreaming of a white Christmas! The summer months are done so quickly it seems, while the winter months can be long and tedious.

Anyway, speaking of things being done so quickly, how about a little project for Christmas gifts that can be done in a day, maybe two? It’s my stop today for the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop, hosted by Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict, where you can find easy, fun projects to make ahead of the Christmas rush!

Christmas Tree Mini - My project for the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop, hosted by Sarah of Confessions of a Fabric Addict - piecefulthoughts.com

If you’re like me, you have all good intentions of getting Christmas projects done early. Then December rolls around, and the scrambling begins to get them all done. July is the perfect time to make some quick projects for those gifts for teachers and others who are part of your life and deserve a small gift.

My cousin, Deb, is a teacher, so I asked her what teachers might enjoy receiving as gifts. One of her suggestions was a mini quilt for bulletin boards. I recall helping decorate bulletin boards while in school. It was a favorite project of mine, because I could play with colors and design. I thought a small mini quilt that could be put on a bulletin board, or possibly hung on a door, might be a fun, fast project for a teacher.

Christmas Tree Mini - My little mini quilt for the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop, using the Geometric Christmas Tree FPP block pattern by Center Street Quilts, available as a free download on Craftsy - piecefulthoughts.com

This little mini quilt finishes at 6″ by 24″ and is made up of four blocks. For the design, I used the Geometric Christmas Tree block pattern by Kristina of Center Street Designs. The block is a free download on Craftsy. I did contact Kristina of Center Street Designs and asked her if I could use the design for this blog post, and she graciously said yes.

The Details

For my mini quilt, I pulled out my charm pack of Vintage Holiday by Bonnie & Camille. Just when I was pondering what fabrics to use for this, I received these charm packs in my Sew Sampler box. I love it when that happens!

Christmas Tree Mini - Fabrics I used for my mini, Vintage Holiday by Bonnie & Camille - piecefulthoughts.com

For my mini, I selected greens and reds from the charm pack to use for the trees. All of the fabrics for this mini are from the Vintage Holiday line, with the exception of the background fabric, which is a white on white from my stash.

TIP: This mini could also be made using a more generic winter theme for the trees, with varying shades of greens, giving a gift that could be used longer than just during the holiday season.

The Right Tools for the Job

Since the pattern is foundation paper pieced, I gathered my favorite tools. The only thing missing in this photo is my tweezers, which I use for pulling those little pieces of paper free.

Christmas Tree Mini - My foundation paper piecing tools: mini cutting mat, 1" x 6" ruler, Add a Quarter ruler, stiletto for ripping, Hera marker for scoring the paper, small rotary cutter - piecefulthoughts.com

While you can easily do foundation piecing without most of these tools, they do make the project quicker and more enjoyable. From left to right: mini cutting mat, 1″ x 6″ ruler, Add-a-Quarter ruler, stiletto (or seam ripper), Hera marker for scoring the paper, and small rotary cutter.

The Finishing Touches

The blocks are 6.5″ unfinished and go together quickly. It took me two days to complete the mini, only because I had to take a break to finish other projects.

Christmas Tree Mini - Detail photo of my little mini, showing the wavy quilting and that delicious striped binding - piecefulthoughts.com

For the quilting, I did a quick outline of the trees just inside the stitching line using lime green thread from Aurifil. Then I used Aurifil white to stitch an organic wavy line over the background.

Here’s another peek.

Christmas Tree Mini - Another close up of the quilting - piecefulthoughts.com

For the backing, I used this lovely fabric from the Vintage Holiday line. It has a little bit of glitz with the shine on the snowflakes. I added little corner triangles for a hanging option.

Christmas Tree Mini - My mini quilt backing fabric, along with little corner triangles for hanging, and that yummy striped binding - piecefulthoughts.com

I couldn’t resist the striped fabric from the Vintage Holiday line for the binding. Doesn’t it make you think of candy canes? It just adds a little festive flair to the mini.

One more view of the finished mini for you to enjoy.

Christmas Tree Mini - Finished mini quilt, which measures 6" x 24" using the Geometric Christmas Tree FPP pattern from Center Street Designs, available on Craftsy. Fabrics are Vintage Holiday by Bonnie & Camille, background fabric is a white on white from my stash - piecefulthoughts.com

This blog hop wouldn’t happen without the efforts of Sarah from Confessions of a Fabric Addict, so I want to say a big thank you to her. Please stop by and say thanks to Sarah as well, and join in on her quilt along for the beautiful Rejoice quilt. And there are giveaways — did I mention that?! We have some amazing sponsors for the Hop, so don’t miss that. Then grab another cup of coffee or tea and visit the other bloggers in the hop (many of them have giveaways too!). Here’s the full schedule:

Saturday, July 14th

Sunday, July 15th

Monday, July 16th

Tuesday, July 17th

Wednesday, July 18th

Thursday, July 19th

Danice @ Homespun Hannah

Friday, July 20th

Wendy @ Pieceful Thoughts  — Hey! That’s me!

Saturday, July 21st

Marian @ Seams To Be Sew

Sunday, July 22nd

Anja @ Anja Quilts

Moira @ Quilted Snail

Monday, July 23rd

Tuesday, July 24th

Wednesday, July 25th

Do you have a go-to project that you make for easy Christmas gifts? I’d love to hear about it!

Wendy

 

Thanks for visiting my blog! Feel free to leave a comment, and I'll respond via email.

97 thoughts on “Christmas Tree Mini”

  7. Vicki in MN

    That is a very cute project and one that I would definitely try! Those were the perfect fabrics to use.

    Reply
  8. Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

    Oh my word! That runner is just too adorable, and now I’m gonna have to make one for myself! 🙂 You picked the most perfect fabrics for it. I have that mini cutting mat and use it almost every time I sew. It’s so handy! Thanks for sharing the info and link for the pattern.

    Reply
  13. karenfae

    a mini quilt would be a great present for a teacher I bet – I have read stories how they wish students didn’t give them anything as it is bad to take home a box full of coffee cups every year or little knick knacks and bath gels etc – they get too many LOL – but a mini quilt – that would be totally unique and the one you made is great and fun

    Reply
  16. maryannhertel

    Hi Wendy, I like making gift sacks. They make any gift lovely and are reusable. Thanks for the helpful post and for giving a nod to teachers. I was an art teacher for 35 years.

    Reply
  18. Lori Smanski

    such a lovely idea. i know who would love this. thanks for sharing.
    quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

    Reply
  21. Louise Hornor

    Such sweet little trees! And they look wonderful in the B&C fabrics. You’re very smart to ask a teacher what would be useful to her. I’m sure they receive all kinds of “stuff” that they can’t really use. A bulletin board decoration that can be used every year is brilliant!

    Reply
  27. Sherry V.

    What a cute runner! I love the tree block, and could see making them into ornaments on their own.

    Thank you very much!

    Reply
  31. rl2b2017

    Hi Wendy! This is so incredibly cute, and that binding fabric just sets everything off perfectly. Boy, Sue would have enjoyed hanging one of these on a bulletin board if she was still in her first grade classroom. Wowee – quite a few participants in the blog hop. I’ll get busy checking everyone out! Happy Friday! ~smile~ Roseanne

    Reply
  34. Kathleen McCormick

    Gorgeous little runner or bulletin board hanging. I love the striped binding. I have been know to collect stripes. Great job and have fun being on the hop!

    Reply
  36. joymcd305716439

    Oooh, love it!! I still have a lot left from my layer cake… maybe I need to make one of these!! xx

    Reply
  37. Jeri Niksich

    Such a sweet little table runner, unfortunately I’m pretty much still learning how to piece and keep a fairly good 1/4″ seam allowance . But someday I will be able to pull out the directions for this and be able to use it to help me with my paper piecing skills. Thanks for sharing this with us all.
    Jeri Oldtisme@aol.com

    Reply
  38. Robin

    I like your project. Simple yet good looking and you could make the trees in whatever season you want even though they are pine trees or evergreens. Thank you for the pattern. This will be on my list to make! Don’t have teachers to worry about but I do have relatives…trelatives…tHank’s again- Robin…. quiltyladyrr@gmail.com

    Reply
  44. dezertsuz

    As a former elementary teacher, I approve this post! LOL If I’d ever been given something like this, it would have been great! Thanks for the link to the pattern and to the creator of the pattern for being willing to have it shared. Yes, Perfect binding!

    Reply

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