I’m just going to say it- I am fascinated by barn quilts! The funny thing is that I have only seen a few in “real life” but I could look at barn quilts on Pinterest all.day.long. We drove by this funky modern one in Gorham, Maine last week and my wonderful hubs turned the car around and went back so I could get a photo- without me asking! I think I’ll keep him.
I have a barn, but making a huge barn quilt is a little overwhelming. For those of you who are new to the idea of a barn quilt, it is a painted quilt block. They are usually made of two pieces of plywood to make a huge 8’x8′ block and hung on a barn to be visible from the road. The phenomenon began around 2001 as a tribute to a lost quilter and has continued and flourished- especially in the Midwest. You can find barn quilts in all sizes and you can even find printed ones on corrugated plastic (like campaign signs) which are lightweight and durable. I have pondered printing a few and selling them in The Shoppe. Would you be interested? Let me know. . .
Anyway. . . we are in Maine and we have an old shed that used to be a garage that has definitely seen better days. It was full of junk. Actual junk- not upscale junque. We hired a junk removal company to come empty it out and they filled a 30 foot trailer with 6 foot sided on it. I think that may be some of the best money we have ever spent. There has been a critter living among the junk who has been evicted, but I am sure that once we are gone and things quiet down (as in, there aren’t two big dogs roaming around) it will be back. I think it was a fox because we have see one several times.
On Monday I decided to paint the shed doors. I had wire brushed them last week and realized that they had been green, even though they were painted white for at least the last 40-50 years. A gallon of Valspar paint in Vegas Green made things look a lot fresher, but I had a vision.
Our local Home Depot sells 2′ square pieces of 1/4″ plywood, so I bought a couple. I base painted them with the leftovers of a can of Kilz we had and then I put on a coat of white acrylic paint. Of course I was too busy creating to take any photos and I like to work at night so the Hubs was sound asleep.
I used my quilting ruler to mark the grid with pencil and free-handed the painting. I know that a lot of people use painter’s tape, but I have a pretty steady hand, so I just went for it. I used three colors of acrylic paint giving a little ocean vibe that is totally appropriate in this area. I didn’t realize until I looked at the photos that the middle color has an interesting sense of transparency with the other colors. Happy accident!
The backyard was kind of a mess not too long ago, but this summer we added a large deck and now we have a stylin’ freshened up shed. We lost a huge tree (yes. . .damaged the house but fixed now) last fall and we are having a few trees taken down in a few weeks that look like they have rot issues and could damage the house if they fell. That will result in some sunlight reaching the ground, so maybe we will be able to get some grass growing again. When my Uncle was alive and in his prime this yard looked like a golf course, so we have our work cut out for us.
If you have a spot on a porch, a shed, a garage, or best yet, a BARN, make yourself a barn quilt to add a little color. I had fun and saved myself a pile of money over buying one. I think the barn in Utah will be getting one soon.
