Sunday, December 17, 2017

Mari's Free Pieced Chapel



Mari from The Academic Quilter
has created her very first free pieced building
using the process notes in BUILD A BARN.

You can read her post about the block HERE.

Way to go, Mari!!!

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Sandra's Newly-Quilted Barns



Sandra was one of my Folk School students earlier this year.

She created three barns during our week together.

This is the first of the three - quilted and bound.




This is the second now-finished quilt.

What really made my heart happy was
not only did she finish all three quilts,
but she shared them so that they were part of 
the recent Davies Manor Quilt and Fiber Arts Show.




This is the third finished quilt - The Psycho Barn.

If you double click each of these
you should be able to see more of her quilting.

She already has places chosen in her house
to hang all three quilts.

CONGRATULATIONS, SANDRA!!

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Sunday, October 8, 2017

AQS Des Moines 2017



SSOBB member Julie Post shared this photo
from the recent AQS Des Moines show.

I made The Seasonal Sampler 2.5 years ago
as the example quilt for BUILD A BARN's process notes.

Since the book's publication in early 2016,
 the quilt has been traveling from one AQS event to the next.



I took this photo in "the dome" aka "the Pavilion" 
during last month's Fall Paducah show where
I presented three times in the Author / iQuilt Showcase.

It was good to see the quilt in person again!


* * *


With this year's series of shows at an end,
I suspect the quilt will be returning home soon,
at least for a little while.

Thanks, Julie P. for sharing your photo!


Sunday, September 10, 2017

Kaja's Lighthouse Quilt is Finished!



Kaja has finished her hand-quilted free pieced lighthouse quilt
that was inspired by BUILD A BARN.

You can read the finished reveal post
for her ALL AT SEA quilt

will take you to the whole series of posts
she shared during the making of her quilt.

Well worth taking the time 
to read back through her process.

Congratulations, Kaja - ALL AT SEA is fabulous!


Monday, August 21, 2017

Barbara's Barn Photos

Photo by Barbara Stanbro


If you haven't visited Barbara's blog Cat Patches,
I highly recommend checking it out.


Everywhere she and her husband travel,

Photo by Barbara Stanbro

Some are drive-by shots.

Others like the one at the beginning of this post are still photos.

No matter - they're all FULL of inspiration.


Photo by Barbara Stanbro

And she and her husband have a long trip planned
during which she'll be sharing lots more barn photos.

So be sure to visit her blog every so often
to get another burst of barn-goodness.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Any Time Now . . .



Be on the lookout for the September issue
of American Quilter magazine.

WHY??

The Secret Society of Barn Builder's
amazingly wonderful gallery barns
from BUILD-A-BARN
are featured in this issue!

Be sure to read pages 80-83.

* * *

SO EXCITING!!

Saturday, July 22, 2017

SSOBB Quilts and AQ Magazine - BIG News!

SSOBB quilt tops pinned on my design wall - early 2015


Remember the SSOBB gallery quilts?


THEY WILL BE FEATURED IN
THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE 
OF AQ MAGAZINE!

* * *

To celebrate,
please take a fun photo of the page 
with your favorite SSOBB barn
and post it on Instagram using the hashtag
#freepiecedbarnproject

(selfies and on location shots are encouraged)



Monday, July 10, 2017

Lori's Ohio Barn Photos

Photo of Ohio barn taken by Lori D. 



recently spent some time in Ohio.

She shared three blog posts
loaded with photos including LOTS of barns.

Photo of Ohio barn taken by Lori D.


THIS ONE featured the Ashtabula Barn Quilt Trail
with ever so many photos of inspiring barns.

THIS ONE featured more information on the barn quilt trail
including a link to their database of barn quilts.

and THIS ONE featured quilts, buildings, and barns.


Photo of Ohio barn taken by Lori D.


Have YOU built a free pieced barn?

If so, please email me a photo.

We all enjoy seeing work  inspired by BUILD A BARN!




Monday, July 3, 2017

Lynne Begins to Build a Barn



SSOBB Charter Member Lynne Tyler
recently visited her brother in Colorado.

The photo above is his barn.

Lynne has plans to free piece his barn --

And while you are on her blog,
you should scroll back through the last several posts
to see lots more photos from her trip.

And, if you happen to live in New England,
Lynne will be teaching a free pieced barn class
at Quilted Threads in July.



Monday, June 26, 2017

Carol's Recent Farm/Barn Post


Photo by Carol E.

In case you missed it,
to read Carol's recent post
about visiting two of her family's farms.

There are some really good barn photos
that just might inspire you.


double click to supersize photo


Carol's free pieced barn quilt was donated to a group
that does cleft palate surgeries.

She recently spotted it in this photo taken in a clinic in Tanzania.

How cool is that?!?!

Monday, June 19, 2017

Marlene's Peach Farm Barn



Marlene was one of my students at The Folk School last April.

Due to outside commitments,
she had to miss two days of class
so she took her partially-constructed second barn
home and worked on it during the evenings.

When she returned for our final half-day session,
she was unhappy about the way her barn's upper story
didn't line up correctly necessitating the chopping-off of her 
marvelous (small!) pieced haymow sign block.




I kept thinking about her dilemma as we drove home,
completely understanding her disappointment with the finished block.

Except - was it really finished?

The next day I called her and suggested that she unstitch a few seams
so she could remove the chopped off segment
and replace it with something else before re-assembling the block.




Just recently she sent me this late-at-night photo
of her newly updated barn block.

Well done, Marlene!

I love your bold winter barn under that fabulous night sky.


* * *

Note to all free piecers:

You are  never really done until you are happy with the results.

You can ALWAYS take it apart and make changes
so that you are happy with your work.

Be brave - take it out and do it over!

Sunday, June 11, 2017

See Rock City Visits New Hampshire


Photo by Lynne Tyler


SEE ROCK CITY is currently on display 
at Quilted Threads in Henniker, New Hampshire.

Lynne Tyler teaches there on a regular basis.

Yesterday she taught a free pieced barn class.

She also took SEE ROCK CITY outdoors
to get some on-location beauty shots.

She took some fabulous photos!

CLICK HERE to see for yourself!



Monday, June 5, 2017

Wendy's Wonderful Barn



Wendy's haymow sign began like this.




A week or so after class,
she showed me her additional progress on the sky.

We also talked about options to finish out her block.




The next week, she shared this!


Be sure to double click so you can appreciate the details
like her flower farm sign on the barn
(ready to be hand appliquéd in place)
and the flower cart on the path through the fields of blooms.

This was Wendy's first ever free pieced barn.

I think it is splendid!!



Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Cherie's Illinois Barn



SSOBB Member Cherie Moore
shared this Illinois pole barn
during the SSOBB blog hop last year.

CLICK HERE to read her post about its construction.




When I taught at The Folk School earlier this year,
Cherie sent me her pole barn block
so I could share it with my students.

Of course, I took a few detail photos
while it was in my studio.




Cherie is known for her wonderful use of thrifted shirtings
and this barn is a terrific example of her work.




I especially like the way she added the top on her silo.



If you ever wonder whether small details make a difference,
just look at the impact of that narrow inserted strip above her barn door
and the very narrow inserted strip along the barn's roof lines.

The answer is YES - little details DO make a big difference.






Monday, May 22, 2017

Kathryn's Beautiful Barn



You will definitely want to double click on this photo
to supersize it so you can enjoy the details.

Kathryn was one of the students in 
my recent local barn building class.

Like many quilters, she was concerned
about the liberated nature of free piecing
since she prefers points that match
and blocks that are symmetrical.

Happily she discovered that free pieced barns
can be liberated and symmetrical at the same time.

I think her barn is gorgeous.

Congratulations, Kathryn!

Monday, May 15, 2017

Lynne's Red Barn Block


This is the second barn block that Lynne loaned
to me for use in two recent classes.

The red Weare barn block measures 25" tall x 31" wide.

If you double click the photo, it will supersize.




I love how she pieced the floodlight.




Just look at the tiny details she pieced into the barn doors and windows.




Fabric choices really do matter.





Thank you Lynne for sharing your barns with my students!

Monday, May 8, 2017

Lynne's Green Barn Block

Approx. 32" tall x 36" wide

hanging on my design wall - double clicking will supersize the photo.

That large leafy print in the background
does such a good job of setting the barn
into its heavily wooded surroundings.




Before I sent it home,
I took a couple of detail photos
to show you how each small decision
impacts the overall free pieced result.

Look at the window above the blue barn door.

See how she used two fabrics to indicate broken window panes?

And look at the framing for the small window
in the barn's peak.




She used three fabrics to create the light pole,
each adding texture and dimension.

Subtle but oh so effective.



Monday, May 1, 2017

Debbie's Harvest Barn

double click to supersize photo


Last year during the SSOBB Blog Hop,
Debbie shared her Harvest Barn in this post.

We all know it is one thing to see a quilt through photos
and another, very different, thing to see the quilt in person.

Debbie kindly shared her Harvest Barn 
with my class at The Folk School last month.

Of course while the barn was there I just HAD to take these photos.

Enjoy!













Thank you, Debbie for sharing your barn quilt with my students.


* * *

Have YOU built a barn?

If so, I'll be happy to share your work here.
( email address is my profile in the sidebar)

Monday, April 24, 2017

On the Road Again



Nancy from Blogging Near Philadelphia shared this photo
of BUILD A BARN's Seasonal Sampler
at the recent AQS Lancaster show.

Thank you, Nancy!




Wendy from The Constant Quilter
also shared photos of The Seasonal Sampler
from the Lancaster show in a recent blog post.




Here is Wendy's photo of the name tag
that travels with the quilt.




Thank you, Wendy!

* * *

Two of this year's AQS shows have come and gone
but there are still four more shows on the 2017 calendar:

Apr. 26 – 29 will be Spring Paducah, KY

Aug. 16 – 19 will be the show at Grand Rapids, MI

Sep. 13 – 16 will be Fall Paducah, KY

and

Oct. 4 – 7 will be Des Moines, IA

If you go to any of these shows and see 
The Seasonal Sampler in the Authors' Exhibit,
please take a photo (serious or silly) and email it to me.

Thanks!