Bucket List :: Barn Quilt ✔

For years I've thought about making a barn quilt and now I have finally checked that off my bucket list!  Sometimes you have to wait for the stars to align before things happen!

STAR THISTLE BARN QUILT
24" X 24"

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!  The entire process was a lesson in patience and literally watching paint dry.

The hardest part was picking a block and the colors.  I'm going to admit that ego may have played a part in my block choice.  After all its a block I designed in 2016 called Star Thistle.  I figured if I was going to do this I wanted my block to have special meaning if I was going to look at it day in and day out!  

Credit goes to Sarah @cedarforksarah for getting me on my way with this project.  Sarah has a link in instagram 'Barn Quilt 101' that goes through each step, gives great tips and was very helpful to me.  

It's hard to see, but after painting primer on my board I drew the lines of my block using a pencil and a light touch.  

I grabbed my painters tape and a razor blade to begin the tedious process of laying it straight and slicing perfect points where needed.  

Nothing about painting a Barn Quilt is fast!  I'm not the best at being patient, but by the end of this process I learned to be.   

I used acrylic craft paint from my local craft store for all of my paint colors.  I decided to paint two sections using coral and yellow to begin with.  They don't touch and it seemed like a logical choice.

Here's the watching paint dry part!  I put down three coats of paint in order to get good coverage.  After the last coat I forced myself to wait an entire day before peeling the tape off.  The last thing I wanted was the paint coming off with the tape!  Plus, it needs to be very dry because I was going to put tape on the paint in order to paint the next section.

Peeling the tape was exciting and fun, but scary!  Every line was perfect in the end...whew!  Round one completed!

Round two was taped over the previous paint and sealed with primer in order to get good crisp lines.  This round I was also able to paint two colors at once.  Time saver!  

The center pink color of round two was three coats, but the spiky sections of violet didn't go as well as I would have liked.  I must have painted six coats!  In the photos of the violet you can see it looks splotchy and it is, but not quite as glaring in person.  

Another issue I had was when I removed the tape even being super careful there were places I'd have to touch up.  I kind of expected that would happen so I wasn't too bummed out about it. 

The final round was the center square and border in a dark pavement gray.  Same process, tape, seal, paint, dry, paint, dry, paint, dry...peel tape!

I am planning on putting a clear sealer on the edges, front and back.  The plan is to hang in on the side of my house in the backyard.  It'll be under the eave and for the most part rain protected.  Although I might hang it in the screen porch...decisions!   

I love how it turned out!  The colors are me and the block is mine!  I made something that is still quilting related but I didn't have to use my machine or machine quilt it.  That's a win!

It feels good to finish a 'bucket list' project after so many years!  Have you ever painted a Barn Quilt before?  I'd love to hear what block it was and if you had any tips to share!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

Slice & Dice :: Much Better!

Every so often I start a project with good intentions and high hopes only to have it feel like a big flop!  Improv if a funny and fun technique that can be hit or miss, but with a little courage it can change in a matter of seconds.

SLICE & DICE
15 1/2" x 17 1/2"

Looking at the final quilt you'd never guess that it only came together after having to slice and dice one little block to get me on my way!

I was in the mood for more improv circles and curves using a different color combination and came up with this.  It hung on my design wall and for weeks I'd look at it and feel...nothing.  Not one ounce of inspiration or desire to take it further.  I was actually thinking the trash would be the best place for it!

Then one day it was sink or swim!  Figure it out or toss it.  What's it going to hurt to slice it, dice it, quarter it, mangle it?!  Whether it worked or not didn't matter.  Something had to be done.

I ended with something quite different from the original block and it was enough to give me the inspiration and desire to take it further.  That's one of the reasons I love improv.  If you don't like something you can cut it up and alter it.

All that being said, I was excited to keep going and in the end I made a wall quilt that I love.  

A combination or curves, color, inset circles and triangles are some of my favorite elements to add to most any improv project.   

You'll notice that the gray fabric is all but obliterated!  The circle above is the only place where I left it.  I couldn't bring myself to use more and I love gray in quilts!

It wouldn't be complete without a lot of crazy dense quilting!  I cannot resist when I have a small project like this!

The back in all its glory!  I'm glad I used a dark backing so you could see the 'doodle' quilting.  Pebbles and matchstick quilting is a winner in my book.  

One of my dreams and desires is to take a design like this and super size it to a big lap quilt.  Seems simple, right?!  When it comes to improv my tendency is to always go small.  Hopefully one day I can change that!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

Circle of Love Revisited :: Heart of the Home

I'm not going to lie...I love making my mini 'Heart of the Home' houses!  Big, small, one or two at a time, I just enjoy the process.  So it's no surprise I filled some down time with making another Circle of Love wall quilt.  

The first 'Circle of Love' I made was in December of 2020.  Naturally because it was the first it received a lot more quilting detail.  The excitement of having it turn out spurred me to go all out with lots of quilting detail.  With the second version, I wasn't quite as detailed but the main idea is the same.

'CIRCLE of LOVE'
20" x 20"

I still went with a rainbow of hearts, 3 1/2" houses, as well as different window treatments, roofs and chimneys for each dwelling.  One thing I added for this one was a sun smack dab in the middle!  You gotta give each one it's own personality I think!

The sun has eight (8) shades of yellow randomly placed around the center.  It gives this neighborhood a playful happy vibe.  With each house sporting its own charm I can't help think about how everyone is unique and is what makes a neighborhood special.  

Much of the fun of making this quilt is picking the fabric.  I cannot believe I'm saying that!  I usually agonize over fabric selections, but with this...you can't really go wrong.  I tend to have plenty of small print scraps, and as you can see it doesn't take much to build a house of this size.  Finding eight (8) prints even for me is pretty simple.

As for the quilting, I stitched in the ditch around each house, heart, roof, and chimney.  Did a geometric star motif in the center of the heart and free motion loop stippling.  Ending with a geometric design around the perimeter 'neighborhood'!  

If I'm making single homes I get more detailed with the window treatments by adding tiny animals or people.  With the circle houses I don't find it necessary.  Plus, it would drive me crazy trying to find sets of animals or peoples times eight (8).  Which would result in me not finding the joy or excitement of making it.

The backing is a piece of fabric I got years ago from Ikea.  I love the funky geometric design and figured why not?!  For the binding I used a Kaffe Fasset stripe, at least I think it is.  And of course, I finished it off with my go to hanging system of corners and loops!  You can find my tutorial here: Hanging a Mini Quilt.  

I seem to be on a wall quilt craze right now!  I don't know about you but I go through phases like this.  I'll make a few wall quilts at  time, or runners or even a batch of mini mini quilts.  As much as I want to make a quilt, a real full size quilt...I don't have a plan or idea to work with right now.  So I'll fill my time with 'things and stuff' until I come up with a great idea!

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY

'Hills & Valleys' :: Finished!

The sweet smell of victory!  You know that feeling!  Anytime you can claim a finish it's a great feeling and a victory in my book especially these days!  It might be a small finish, but one nonetheless!

HILLS & VALLEYS
15 1/2" x 15 3/4"

In my last post I shared what went into making this quilt.  The parts and pieces, the contemplation and process.  Now is the time for the finale by sharing the quilting of this one little quilt.

I love when the stars align and you feel like all the work you put into a quilt paid off.  This quilt is a mere 15 1/2" x 15 3/4" which gives me the opportunity to have some quilting fun.  Dense, detailed and free-motion!

Starting with the center I choose 1/4" vertical lines using a bright orange thread.   It was a great start and it set me up for the next section to tackle.

For the inset circles section I went with a 1/2" grid for part of it and continued with 1/4" lines for the rest.  Inside the circles I free-motion quilted a super dense swirl.  All very simple designs, but exactly what I was after.

What I like to call the 'hills' section, the improv half-ish circles, I went what looks like sun rays on the side.  Again, simple but effective.  

The top 'hill' section ended up with organic matchstick quilting.  When I have a quilt this size, or maybe any quilt for that matter, I often see and do the quilting in sections.  My mind goes there and I follow!  

The final section!  Naturally I went with pebbles.  The texture and look alone is enough to brave the free-motion adventure!

I used about 5-6 different thread colors, all 50 wt Aurifil.  One second I wanted contrast with the thread on the fabric, the next second I was all matchy-matchy.  No rules, right?!

The back is always a beautiful sight and I always add hanging corners for a simple way to hang a quilt.

For one fleeting moment I considered adding some kind of matching binding.  Thankfully I came to my senses and decided an orange binding would be just fine!

I am quite content and pleased with this finish!  Now if I could only try another color palette...

If you haven't had your machine serviced in a while...I highly recommend that you do!  My quilting was on hold while my big Janome was taking a well earned two week sabbatical.  While I missed having it by my side, I was blown away at the difference a deep cleaning and servicing made.  It was much quieter, smoother and the stitches are better than ever!  

LINKING:

OH SCRAP! ● MAIN CRUSH MONDAY ●  MONDAY MAKING 
MIDWEEK MAKERS ● NEEDLE & THREAD 

PEACOCK PARTY  ● TGIFF ● WHOOP WHOOP FRIDAY

BRAG ABOUT YOUR BEAUTIES ● FINISHED OR NOT FRIDAY