Vintage Block Along - Week 27 - Shade Tree Block!!

Welcome back to the 

Vintage Block Along

Today I'm sharing another block 

with you from my grandma's patterns:)

Traditionally this vintage block

 is called

Tree of Life

But I'm choosing to call it 

Shade Tree

Grandma had a big...

I could even say huge tree 

in her yard that must have been

 very old to get that big.

She always called it the shade tree.

That's where we went 

to have our picnics...

to count behind during hide and seek...

for shelter from the rain 

when we were playing outside 

and of course when we wanted some shade.

Trees have always been important to me...

I just simply love them.

As a girl I was known to 

climb all the trees 

but grandma didn't want us

 to climb in this one.

It was so big and tall and 

she didn't want us to fall out 

and get hurt...

and to be honest we would have 

needed a step ladder to reach

 the lower branches to climb it.

There were always birds singing 

on the branches and building nests 

in it and I even remember 

that sometimes wild peacocks

 would find their way

 to grandma's tree and roost in there:)

It was always fun to watch for them

 to fly out and fan their feathers.

Because this is a scrappy happy block 

I got to use lots of prints from 

Farm Girl Vintage

I cut 16  different  3 1/2" squares

 and cut 2 - 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles

 to use for all of the leaves.

From the red chicken tracks 

background fabric cut:

5 - 6 1/2" squares

17 - 3 1/2" squares

From the trunk print cut:

1 - 6 1/2" square

3 - 3 1/2" squares

Begin by setting aside 2 of the

 3 1/2" squares from the 16 

that you cut so that 

you have 14 remaining.

Grab 14 of the 3 1/2" background squares 

and pair them up to make

 14 half square triangles.

Mark a line or use the 

Seams Sew Easy Guide

Sew from corner to corner...

Trim off excess leaving an 

approximate 1/4" seam allowance.

Of course I cut 1 1/2" squares

 from my trimmings and added them 

to my 1 1/2" scrappy squares bin. 

After pressing open...

you should have 14 half square triangles

 that measure 3 1/2" square.

Now take one of those half square triangles...

and one of the 3 1/2" squares 

that you set aside and 

one of the 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles.

You will sew them together like this...

And grab the remaining

 rectangle and square...

along with another half square triangle 

and sew another 

segment together like this.

This is what your two segments

 should like like.

They should both measure 6 1/2" square.

Mark a line from corner to corner

 on two of the 6 1/2" background squares.

Lay them on top of these 

two segments and sew a big 

easy corner triangle onto each one....

Like this:)

Trim and press.

Set these aside and 

let's make 4 more segments fo the tree.

Use the 12 remaining 

half square triangles and 

3 background squares and 

one trunk square to make

 these four segments.

Each of the 4 segments should

 measure 6 1/2" square also.

Now take 2 of the 

large background squares and 

2 small trunk squares...

And sew an easy corner triangle 

onto each one like this.

Make a large half square triangle

 from these 2 remaining squares.

Mark a sewing line onto

 the wrong side of the 

background square first.

Trim off excess 

(and cut into squares)

And press open.

This should also measure 6 1/2" square.

Now all of you segments are completed

 and you can lay them out like this...

And sew your Shade Tree block together!

Here's the back of mine:)

YAY!!

You grew a tree!

SHADE TREE

should measure 18 1/2" square

 before we sew it into our quilt.

I really wanted to make this block big 

to represent Grandma's tree:)

Thanks so much for chatting with me

 about my grandma this week:)

Come back next week 

for another of

 grandma's vintage quilt blocks!

xx

Lori

If you are just joining us...

click on each block that we have

 done so far to go to the tutorial:

1. Grandma's Star

2. Pattern Basket

3. Around the Corner

4. Little Farmhouse

5. Rhinestone 

6. Vintage Lily

7. Star Shine

8. Humble

9. Egg Money

10. Quilting Bee

11. Sunday Star

12. Sweet as Honey

13. Bear Hug Block

14. Front Yard Flower

15. Memory

16. Farmers Daughter

17. Potluck

18. Spool and Bobbins

19. Picnic

20. Sparklers

21. 4th of July Flag

22. Playing Card

23. Penny Candy

24. Mercantile

25. Family Reunion

26. Parade