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.

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!

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!

Lynne's Green Barn Block

Approx. 32" tall x 36" wide

This is Lynne's green Town Line barn block

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.

Lots to Share!

Check out this post 

on the AQS On Point Blog to see lots of 

newly-constructed free pieced barns!

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)