It's week two of the Little Joys Quilt Along! Join me, some of my favorite bloggers and Fat Quarter Shop as we make the Little Joys mini quilt together. It was designed by Elea Lutz of Penny Rose Fabrics. We're making a tree block this week, a ribboned gift next week and a wreath the following week. Then we can assemble the quilt! I hope that you've gathered your Christmas prints and are ready to sew along with us. (The fabric requirements are here.)

I'm using the kit which includes red and green prints as well as the ivory background. I'll enhance it with Elea's pink prints next week. (I need my pink and green!)

Could this fabric be any cuter? Nope, I don't think so. It has that perfect retro, vintage look that I love. You'll also want to print out a copy of the tree block pattern. It's available for free here for a limited time, so get yours soon.

This has to be one of the easiest, and most classic tree patterns ever. Simple stitch-and-flip corners form the tiers of the tree. I also did a small amount of strategic cutting when I cut my print strips. I wanted to get as many deer into my tree as possible without cutting off their heads. Decapitated deer aren't very Christmasy :-)

You'll make just three trees.

You can reuse your scraps in a future block or in another project. Here's how I store mine. Simple and not too elegant, but it works...

The bag serves another purpose. I lightly starch my fabrics right before I cut them. Now I know that the fabric in the bag has been starched, while the other fabric still needs to be treated. So, no guessing about which fabric I'm using. And see how great the red and green look next to the pink?

Next Wednesday we'll make the gift box block!

If you share your blocks on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #LittleJoysQuiltAlong. And look at who is sewing along! Such a talented group of ladies, and I'm happy to be included with them.