Tree Planting #bushfireblocks

When I was in my teens my dad was a Cub leader and my sister Betty and I helped out. We did lots of fun things to help in the development of those boys but the one thing that really stands out was a day we planted trees. It was about giving back and looking to the future, even if you were only 6 or 7 years old. Today I live about 20 minutes from the fields where those evergreens were planted. They are thriving, mature trees and every time I drive by I am reminded of the difference a small group can make, and for the long term.

Undoubtedly you have seen and heard coverage of the devastating fires that have been consuming Australia since last August. The country is burning and the losses are inconceivable - lives, livestock, wildlife, livelihoods and homes. So many helplessly watch as their world disappears.

Sunday I saw a facebook post from the Wollongong Modern Quilt Guild about the ravages to their state and their efforts to make quilts to ease some of the suffering; they have sent out a call for quilters interested in helping out. So today, in -26⁰ C weather and under a couple of feet of snow, I am again planting trees.

A symbol of growth, tree blocks are the guild's block of choice; any block you like works as long as it is 12.5" square and has a low volume/white/pale grey background. The quilts will be beautiful and diverse, just like their communities. Mail blocks to arrive by the end of February to:
     Woolongong Modern Quilt Guild
     P.O. Box 54
     Jamberoo, New South Wales
     AUSTRALIA 2533

I landed on improv trees. I loved making them for this quilt and was keen to play with them again. Given the size of the block, I decided to try making a small grove of trees instead of just one per block and I wanted to use bright and uplifting fabric. This Kaffe Fassett green fit the bill.

You have to be careful when piecing these blocks to ensure that you sew the branches and trunks in the proper order or you end up in a pickle, so once I had cut the background I laid everything out and methodically worked through it...

one piece...

at a time.

Voila! Block number one.

Then I used the trimming from the first block in the second.

It is hard to see but I also worked in two additional cream prints.

And here is block number two. Originally these trees were going to fill more of the left side of the block than be centred but at the last minute I trimmed a piece of white from the right and added it to the left side. I think I should have left well enough alone, but it still works.

I'm really happy with them - they remind me of saplings with that fresh green that you only see in the spring - and hopefully bring a sense of rebirth to the ultimate user of the quilt(s) that they are sewn into....M