Heidi Burkhardt

Collage will supersize if double-clicked

Tobacco Shed

Original free pieced design by Heidi Burkhardt

Ispringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany 

http://libellenquilts.blogspot.com

Free motion quilting by Chris Ballard

27.25" wide x 27.75" long - shown here before quilting
Photo will supersize if double-clicked

Heidi writes: 

After Julie asked me if I would like to join 

the Secret Society of Barn Builders, 

the first barn that came to mind was a tobacco barn.  

When I moved with my parents to 

this little village almost 50 years ago, 

there was a barn that had been used to dry tobacco leaves 

before tobacco farming ended in the region.  

At some point, the barn disappeared.  

It turns out that the barn was taken apart in 1973 

and moved 100 miles south into the Ortenau region 

of the Rhine valley where tobacco is still grown.  

After piecing my Tobacco Shed, 

as I made one of my 2-3 annual trips 

through the Rhine valley, 

I saw a sign for Ortenau.  

Minutes later, 

I saw a tobacco barn at the side of the road 

that I had never noticed before.  

I am convinced it is the barn transplanted from our village.

Shown here after quilting - photo will supersize if double-clicked

DESIGN NOTE:  

Skies do not always have to be blue.  

Heidi’s use of a vibrant batik conveys 

the feel of a hot, late summer day.  

QUILTING NOTE:  

Thread play adds wonderful shutter and door details 

while horizontal quilting adds realistic texture to the barn’s siding.