Friday, July 19

barn/shed quilt

Barn quilt:  a single quilt block painted on a sheet of plywood hung on the outside of a structure.  (my definition)

I'm fascinated with these so I decided to make my own.
I don't have a barn to hang it on, but I have a shed. 
That will work!



I started by choosing my favorite quilt block - "Spin Cycle" by Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew.  (Hi, Allison)
I needed to enlarge it so I just 3 x's the finished size of each piece.  It didn't exactly work with the large diamond shape so being the "challenged" math person that I am...I just kept trimming it down and forced it to fit!  It worked!
 
I grabbed a 3'x 3' piece of plywood...(you can use any size you want - I've seen them 8' x 8' hung on barns)


 
My husband was painting our kitchen a very light grey which was the same color I wanted my background for my barn quilt so I sweetly asked him, "hey sweetie - while you have the paint out, will you please brush some paint on my plywood?"  He wrote this message on the kitchen wall....just for me.  (GIANT red fluffy heart!)

 
Prime it first.

Uh huh - the husband painting grey on my plywood.....love :)

 
Next:  Draw your pattern pieces on paper, cut them out, tape them in to place on the wood and trace around them.  Label each area with the color you wanted to use.

 
Now the fun part....
 
Tape out your areas - I used newsprint to cover the outside areas because I'm going to use spray paint:

 
My favorite spray paint color and it's indoor/outdoor.  You should let it dry for at least a day before painting the next area - if you have the patience to wait!

 
After you have all the areas painted be sure to label your "quilt". 
I used a Sharpie permanent marker.

 
Here's the deal at our home....the husband has his hobby:
 
 
...and I have mine!


There she is...hanging on the side of my shed.
I love it!

 

22 comments:

  1. That's a great barn quilt!!! I may have to make one for our shed too.

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    Replies
    1. DO IT! It was so fun and such a happy site to come home to!

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  2. That's awesome!! Great job Kathy....I love it!!

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    Replies
    1. I know - I think every single quilter out there should have one...then we could tour the country and visit all of them!

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  3. Replies
    1. oh - is there a word that means "more than awesome"??? thanks!

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  4. Oh my goodness! This is so awesome!
    I totally want to do this! Thank you
    for showing us how! :o)
    What a precious husband to roll the
    paint on for you. A good man indeed!
    Have a wonderful weekend. Trish xo

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    Replies
    1. Yep - my husband is honestly the sweetest man I know....sigh.

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  5. This is really cool!
    I've never seen a barn quilt before.
    Something for me to think about...

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    Replies
    1. Oh - they are all over the Midwest....so wonderful!

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  6. Saw a couple of these in the Midwest. Yours is lovely! Sorry to have missed you and Cathy Wednesday! Thursday was so fun and much was accomplished! What a good group!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks - the retreat was fun...didn't get a thing sewn, just got caught up with great friends!

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  7. I have a shed!!! :D I need to doooo this....

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  8. Great barn quilt. Gotta make one, the hardest part is deciding what pattern/block you want to do :)

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    Replies
    1. It is hard to make that decision....SO many to choose from. Good luck! I'd love to see which one you decide on.

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  9. Replies
    1. I think every quilter out there needs one for their house!

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  10. I really want to paint a quilt block on our barn door. We have a long driveway, no one would see it but us..but who cares ;) One of my neighbors has a tiny barn quilt on her chicken house, makes me smile every time I drive by.

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    Replies
    1. DO IT!!! Then you can smile every time you come home!!!

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  11. I love it, too! I want to make one when my new quilting shed is finished. I'm still contemplating the block. Thanks for giving me some ideas!

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