Barn Quilt

Don't you think barns deserve a quilt, too?   Huh???   I know, I know.   Some of you think I have finally gone around the bend one too many times.    For those of you who are the uninitiated I will offer up an explanation.   A barn quilt is a painting (on a square piece of exterior grade plywood) of a quilt block that would usually be done in fabric and made into a quilt.   Except it's a painting.   On wood.   To be hung outdoors.   Get it?

Barn quilts come in all different sizes and colors and vary greatly in the choices of designs.   Recently our quilt guild had a guest speaker, Suzy Parron, who has written two entire books about barn quilts, how they came to be, and where you can drive in your state to see them.   Here in Cumberland County we have a barn quilt trail.......you can drive thru certain rural areas and you'll spot a barn quilt on barns and outbuildings.   How cool is that?

After Suzy gave her lecture to our group she also taught a class on how to create your very own barn quilt.   I've been wanting to make a couple of barn quilts almost ever since we bought our farm, so, I was all in!!    Since taking the class I've been thinking about what barn quilts I would like to create for some of our buildings here at Whispering Oaks.   To that end, this is what I painted yesterday.

 And Joel loved it, too!    I painted it with him in mind and we decided to hang it on the end of his workshop.   It seemed to fit right in there.

Of course, while we were there taking pictures the dogs had to come see what we were up to and get in on the action.   Shadow just loves a good scratch on the head.

When Jeremy and Hannah visited us a couple of weeks ago I asked Hannah if she would put her artistic talents to use for me and make a chalk board sign for Spring for our porch.    Didn't she do an awesome job?   I love it!

So this week I brought out my bunnies and sprinkled them around the house and screened porch.   This Peter rabbit fit right in with our Spring theme.    I'm so glad winter is behind us and I can "decorate" the outside of our house once again.  

Look for more barn quilts in our future,
Debbie

Calling All Quilters

You girls are going to love this, I promise.   Now that we are retired and living our dream here in Tennessee we have connected with many like-minded folks who are also retired.   But everyone here seems to be from somewhere else.....many from states in the upper midwest, a few from New England and the rest are from various states scattered around the U.S.

That usually means road trips are involved to go visit family a few times a year.    Some choose to fly "back home" while others gear up for the long hours on the road as they head toward their loved ones.   Recently I came across the perfect way to make those miles go faster.   At least it would make the miles fly by if you're a quilter.  

And here it is:

Yes, girls, this lady obviously has a very handy....and understanding....husband.   It looks like he built this special table to fit inside their vehicle, complete with a drop down for the lucky lady's Singer Featherweight sewing machine.    And he even rigged up a system to get her plugged into power so she could sew the miles away!   Just imagine how many quilt blocks you could piece as your hubby drives down the interstate for hours on end!

All you would have to do before your trip is prepare your quilt block pieces by getting them all cut out.   Then when you begin your trip you could simply pull out your zip lock bag of prepared pieces and begin sewing!   I would have loved to pass by this vehicle on the road to see her sewing in action.

Sigh....why didn't I think of this?

Jealous quilter,
Debbie