Looking Ahead

As many of you already know,

AQS has stopped publishing new books.

For those of us with books

already published by AQS,

the future is murky indeed.

* * *

Recently I've notice this phrase in

the book-related print-media ads by AQS. 

"Order now while they last!"

* * *

Given this uncertain future,

if you have been wishing for a copy of

BUILD A BARN,

my suggestion would be to place your order 

sooner instead of later.

You can order a signed copy directly from me.

(see order info in sidebar)

BUILD A BARN is also available from

ShopAQS.com

Amazon.com

(affiliate link in sidebar)

and

 Barnes and Noble online

And, if you prefer an e-book,

there is one available through AQS.

(see link in the sidebar)

Thank You and So Much More

Photo will supersize if double clicked -
Chris Ballard (L) and Julie Sefton (R)
with the SSOBB Gallery Quilts at Davies Manor

Thank you . . . 

To the Charter Members of the

Secret Society of Barn Builders

for making such extraordinary quilts

for the BUILD A BARN Gallery.

TO our SSOBB long arm quilter

Chris Ballard (on the left above)

for her exquisite custom free motion quilting

on the SSOBB and BUILD A BARN quilts.

TO Nancy McDonough and everyone at

Davies Manor Plantation 

for helping us showcase and share

the Quilts of BUILD A BARN and the SSOBB

one last time before the gallery quilts

travel home to their makers.

TO the publishing staff at AQS

who turned my manuscript

into a beautiful book.

TO the entire AQS Show Staff for featuring  

the Quilts of BUILD A BARN and the SSOBB

at their shows in Chattanooga and Des Moines.

And, most importantly,

to everyone who made the effort to come and see

our quilts in person at any of the three venues.

Your responses, stories, and comments

mean the world to all of us.

Thank you!!

* * *

And do stay tuned . . . 

there are more barn adventures 

waiting in the wings!

Today is the Last Day . . .

Today is the third day of the 3-day quilt show

at Davies Manor Plantation 

in Memphis, Tennessee.

It is also the last day when

the Quilts of BUILD A BARN

and the Secret Society of Barn Builders

will all be on display together.

Come and see the quilts,

read their stories,

and spend some time

with the quilt that started it all,

SEE ROCK CITY.

The show is open 10am to 4pm today.

$5 admission

includes the quilts on display at Hillwood,

the Manor House decked out with vintage quilts,

and so much more.

What a beautiful day to visit Davies!

See You at the Show

Please double click

to supersize the flyer

for easier reading.

See The Quilts of the SSOBB at Memphis, TN

The Quilts of the SSOBB 

will be on display one final time

November 4-5-6 during the 20th Annual 

Davies Manor Association Quilt and Fiber Art Show.

10 AM to 4 PM all three days

Admission is $5 for one day

or $8 for all three days.

I will be there most of the weekend

with the SSOBB Exhibit

and

signed copies of BUILD A BARN 

will be available

for purchase during the show.

The weekend includes 

contest quilts, quilts, and more quilts at Hillwood

(3570 Davieshire Drive)

plus displays from the Hoffman Trunk Show,

vendors and demonstrations,

guided tours of the Manor House,

 numerous vintage quilts,

food and door prizes.

(click here for the Davies Manor website)

Brenda Visits the Quilts of the SSOBB

SSOBB Charter Member Brenda Suderman

traveled many (MANY) miles to visit 

the SSOBB Special Exhibit 

at AQS Quiltweek Des Moines.

CLICK HERE 

to read her blog post

and enjoy her photos!

They Saw The Quilts at AQS Des Moines

Two members of the SSOBB 

shared photos from last week's

AQS Des Moines QuiltWeek -

Brenda Suderman

and

Julie Post

See Rock City was there

along with all of the SSOBB Gallery quilts.

Here is Brenda with her quilt -

The Back of the Back 40.

Here is Julie P. with her quilt

Make Life Simple.

Julie P shared this photo of the show floor

and circled the SSOBB Special Exhibit.

The Seasonal Sampler was on display 

in the AQS Author Showcase area.

* * *

Thank you Julie and Brenda

for sharing photos with all of us!

See the Quilts at AQS Des Moines

The SSOBB Gallery Quilts

will be on display

at AQS Des Moines

October 5-8, 2016

Initially planned to be part of the book,

the gallery quilts have taken on a life of their own.

They were shown at AQS Chattanooga.

They will be on display at AQS Des Moines.

Their final public appearance as a group

will be November 4-6, 2016

in Memphis, Tennessee.

This photo show the gallery quilt TOPS

before they were quilted.

Now, everyone who sees these finished quilts

goes on and on (and on) about  

HOW WONDERFUL they are.

COME SEE FOR YOURSELF

AT AQS DES MOINES.

And be sure to stop by the Shop AQS booth at the show

to pick up your very own copy of BUILD A BARN.

* * *

If you see the gallery quilts in Des Moines,

please take a selfie with the exhibit

and send it to me.

(email link in my profile - see sidebar)

I'd love to share your smiling faces here.

A Real Life See Rock City Barn

photo will supersize for additional detail

Have you ever seen one of the SEE ROCK CITY barns?

I saw one on our way home from Chattanooga

but it was just off the side of a very busy interstate

with no place to pull over for picture taking.

I've also see the one shown above

 just outside Murphy, North Carolina.

photo will supersize for additional detail

Here it is taken from a bit further away.

Gotta love that Ruby Falls sign.

(both attractions are located on Lookout Mountain)

I also think the chevron design of the barn's 

weathered gray siding is very striking.

photo will supersize for additional detail

This was the view as we pulled off the highway.

(the one that runs along the left side of the photo)

Finding a barn like this "in the wild"

 might not seem exciting to some people,

but it was an awesome experience for me.

If you are out and about and happen to spot

a SEE ROCK CITY barn,

be sure to stop and get photos.

They are such a part of our cultural history.

* * *

CLICK HERE 

to enjoy more 

SEE ROCK CITY barns

courtesy of Google Images.

AQS Chattanooga - A Recap

Signage for the SSOBB Gallery Quilt Exhibit

at AQS Quiltweek Chattanooga 2016.

From the Chattanooga Show Book.

(double click photos to supersize)

A panoramic look at our Special Exhibit

at Chattanooga.

What a thrill to see our quilts hanging together!

The Seasonal Sampler 

from BUILD A BARN was on display

in the Author Showcase.

It was hanging beside the cover quilt

from Gwen Marston's Free Range Triangle book.

Left to right:

Lynn Harris 

Heidi Burkhardt

Cherie Moore

Julie Sefton

(taken at the end of the all-day class

taught by Lynn on Abstract Quilts in Solids)

Heidi, Cherie, and Julie posing

with fellow SSOBB Charter Member Lynne Tyler's 

Honorable Mention wall quilt Too Much Chicken.

* * *

Next stop for the Gallery Quilts?

AQS Quiltweek Des Moines.

AQS Chattanooga -- Come See The Exhibit!

I'll be carrying this tote bag

AQS Chattanooga

September 14-17, 2016

And while you are at the show,

be sure to see our

SPECIAL EXHIBIT

featuring the SSOBB Gallery Quilts.

* * *

While you are there,

take some photos of yourself with the quilts

and email those photos to me.

(email in profile in sidebar)

The SSOBB would love

to hear your reactions to their quilts

and see your smiling faces.

Inspiration Photos From Eunice

double click to supersize

Eunice sent these photos recently

after a trip to Virginia.

double click to supersize

'

All four of these photos were taken from a moving car's window -

I especially love this old broken but still useful barn.

double click to supersize

These barns are all in the Shenandoah Valley area

near Harrisonburg, VA.

double click to supersize

This barn with its red sliding doors

intrigues both Eunice and yours truly.

THANK YOU, Eunice!!

* * *

Have you seen any intreating barns lately?

Send me your photos

and I'll share them here

for all of us to enjoy!

(email in profile)

News for Chattanooga and Des Moines Exhibits

Barn + Quilts = WOW

The Secret Society of Barn Builders is 

an international group of quilters 

who created original free pieced barns 

as part of the testing process for 

Julie Sefton's amazing book, Build-A-Barn. 

Don't miss this amazing exhibit.

(from the AQS On Point Newsletter)

* * *

AQS Chattanooga (September 14-17, 2016)

and

AQS Des Moines (October 5-8, 2016)

CLICK HERE for more information

Sharing Our Barn Photos

Now that the SSOBB Blog Hop has ended,

it is time to start sharing barn photos.

As you are out and about,

grab your phone/camera and take photos 

of the barns, silos, sheds, shacks, 

and other interesting buildings you see.

Please email your photos

(email is in my profile in the sidebar)

and I will share them here.

I'd also love to share photos of your free pieced barns

(or other work inspired by BUILD A BARN)

and/or links to your posts about your work.

For those of you on Instagram,

feel free to share your photos there

using our primary IG tag #freepiecedbarnproject 

along with  #freepiecedbarns and #build_a_barn

and #buildabarnnopatternconstruction

There's also a general tag for #freepiecing

Let's each do our part

to keep the free piecing community 

alive and well!

Wrap Up Week for the SSOBB Blog Hop

This week marks the conclusion

of our extended SSOBB Blog Hop.

CLICK HERE for Julie Sefton's Post One

CLICK HERE for Julie's second post

CLICK HERE for Julie's third post

* * *

(P.S. Note added late Sunday - This week's giveaway winner is Joy Murphy)

Blog Hop Week 11 - Debbie's Turn

Dragonfly Summer - the SSOBB Thank You quilt / quilted by Debbie Voigt

This week,

the SSOBB's 

featured Charter Member 

is

DEBBIE VOIGT.

CLICK HERE

for Julie's intro post

and

CLICK HERE

to read Debbie's blog hop post.

TWO Ways to Enjoy BUILD A BARN

Now there are 

TWO ways 

to enjoy BUILD A BARN!

You can order a physical book

through me 

(see note in sidebar) 

or through AQS

or through Amazon

(affiliate link in sidebar)

You can also order an e-book

through AQS

by clicking HERE.

Blog Hop Continues -- Chris Ballard

This week on the blog hop,

our featured SSOBB Charter Member

is our long arm quilter

CHRIS BALLARD.

CLICK HERE 

to read the post.

And The Winner Is . . .

Raewyn from New Zealand!

Her autographed copy of

BUILD A BARN

has a long journey

in its immediate future.

Congratulations, Raewyn!!

Did You See This?

Check out this post 

shared by Lynn Harris.

Thank you Lynn

for sharing your photographs

with all of us.

Blog Hop - Round Barn at Ojo

Round Barn at Ojo by Hilda Bakke

This week's featured SSOBB Charter Member is Hilda Bakke.

Due to a series of unforeseen circumstances,

Hilda has asked me to share her blog hop post here

on the BUILD A BARN blog.

Hilda was quick to join 

the Secret Society of Barn Builders

in December of 2014.

A few weeks later, she shared the following 

in an email to the SSOBB members:

"There aren’t a lot of barns where I live, 

so I searched online for a New Mexico barn 

I could interpret in cloth.  

I was inspired by the 

Ojo Calilente Mineral Springs Round Barn, 

the only round barn in New Mexico.  

It is also said to be the only remaining adobe 

round barn in the United States – 

but why, oh why, didn’t I realize that a round barn 

would pose significant challenges in the interpretation!" 

Pre-renovation Condition of Adobe Round Barn
Photo will supersize if double-clicked

While preparing this post,

I found this information:

"Built in 1924, the Adobe Round Barn is one of 

Northern New Mexico's architectural treasures. 

In 1985 the barn was added to the 

National Register of Historic Places and in 1988

the barn was featured in the film "Young Guns." 

A complete restoration of the barn was completed in 2002, 

successfully preserving the historical features of the barn 

while creating a modern spiritual setting. 

The restoration project was awarded New Mexico's 

"2003 Building of the Year - Restoration" 

by the Associated General Contractors 

as well as the Restoration Award from the 

New Mexico Preservation Society. 

The barn has a 2,600 square foot wood-plank floor 

upstairs in what was the old hayloft and

2,000 square feet on the adobe-surfaced ground floor."

If you visit the website for Ojo Spa

and click on the Photo Tour option

(upper right corner of the page),

you'll find a set of six images of the renovated

Adobe Round Barn.

Hilda also shared this link to her 

inspiration photo for the Adobe Round Barn

when she shared this work in progress photo with the SSOBB.

Hilda's Round Barn Under Construction
Photo will supersize if double clicked

You can read more about 

Hilda's SSOBB barn on her Gallery Page.

Just look for her name tab in the blog header

or CLICK HERE.

* * *

If you would like a chance to win

an autographed copy of BUILD A BARN

so you can create your own barn in fabric,

please leave a comment on this post.

Winner will be announced here on Friday July 8.

(No-reply bloggers will not be included in the drawing

unless you include your email address in your comment)

* * *

CLICK HERE to see the full SSOBB Blog Hop Schedule.

Pennsylvania 4-H Group and BUILD A BARN

I had a chance to talk with Nancy M.,

(our local quilt appraiser)

after my Author Showcase presentation 

at April AQS show at Paducah.

Nancy had purchased a copy of BUILD A BARN

and sent it to her niece in Pennsylvania.

Her niece lives on a farm with a beautiful barn

that Nancy wants to free piece one day.

Nancy was so excited to share her niece's response to the book.

Her niece is heavily involved with a 4-H group

and plans to share BUILD A BARN with her kids

and have them stitch some free pieced barns.

I think THAT is just awesome.

If photos are shared with me,

I will be sure to share them here.