Have you ever flown across Europe and looked out the window? For miles and miles, you'll see fields, towns and farmland, with patches of forest here and there.
And then you fly over Norway. And it's just the opposite: Trees. So. Many. Trees. And smaller patches of farmland scattered here and there.
Of course I'm simplifying things a little, but Norway really is a country of forests – and spruce is one of our most common trees. So perhaps it's not that surprising that spruce branches have found their way into our traditional crafts, too.
From Selbu knitting to quilt pattern
Norwegian knitting traditions are full of beautiful motifs. I've already turned two of them into quilt patterns: the eight-pointed star became Knitty North Star, and the ram's horn rose inspired Knitty Rose.
And now: Knitty Needles, with featuring spruce branches – granbar in Norwegian.
The mitten above shows just one example – there are maaaaany variations of this motif! Spruce branches can be used as a central motif on mittens, or repeated into wonderful all-over patterns on sweaters and other knitwear.
I love how traditional motifs like this have been interpreted by generations of makers. This time it was my turn to interpret it in fabric!
From knitting to scraps
Knitty Needles turns the spruce branch into a large, pixel-style quilt design, made entirely from same-size squares. Which makes it perfect for scraps.
For my version, I used lots of different greens and teals for the spruce branches, brighter greens for the cross motifs between the branches, and a scrappy mix of low-volume fabrics for the background. I often cut just one strip from each fabric in my stash and divide it into squares – and then repeat with new fabrics until I have enough. Any leftovers go straight into my 2 1/2" scrap box for another project.
Oh, and about the sizes: Choosing 2 1/2" squares will let you make this throw sized quilt – but simply by choosing squares in a different size, you'll change the size of the finished quilt, too!
You can raid your own stash, start with a favorite bundle, fussy cut it for a fun I spy quilt, or make it in just three (or even two) fabrics for a completely different look. The important thing is to keep the dark/light value pretty equal within each color group. More on that in this blog post!
What about all those squares?
Yes. There are quite a few pieces in this quilt. But there's a trick! Knitty Needles uses web piecing, a really fun technique that's perfect for pixel-style quilts. The rows stay connected as you work, helping you keep all those squares organized while you sew.
If you'd like to try the technique first, my Knitty Mini Star is a free pattern using the same method.
And of course I had to take the finished Knitty Needles quilt back to where the story started: into the spruce forest.
Knitty Needles comes in four sizes and is available as an instant PDF download.
Raid your scraps, choose your colors and make your own little Norwegian forest!