Kendall's Barn Quilt

Two years ago Bonnie and her granddaughter Kendall

took one of Lynne Tyler's barn classes 

at Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH. 

Bonnie had a hard time getting it 

but Kendall got it right away. 

Bonnie sewed. 

Kendall told her what to do. 

Kendall made this quilt as a project and gift for a friend. 

They knew Lynne would be teaching 

on a specific day last May so they 

took the quilt to the shop to show Lynne.

Lynne and her class of barn building students

were totally impressed.

So am I.

You can read Lynne's post about it HERE.

And be sure to supersize the photos

to see even greater detail.

Shared by a Recent QT Student

Anne's class project barn

This post is shared with permission 

from a recent BUILD A BARN student:

Lynne asked me to send you a picture 

of the barn I recently made in her class

at Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH.

I had so much fun making it! 

It is unlike anything I have done before 

and I know I will be making more. 

At your suggestion, 

I've been looking at the book blog 

for inspiration on how to quilt the piece.

As far as the story behind it - 

my original intent when I signed up for the class 

was to make a quilt inspired by my grandfather's barn. 

I wasn't able to get a hold of any pictures in time 

so I looked around the town I live in for inspiration 

(waiting until the last minute, of course...). 

I took photos of a small white barn, 

thinking I would add some interest 

by piecing the sky and ground, 

similar to ones in your book. 

1 week before the class, I went to a local fabric store 

and on the way saw the back of the barn pictured below. 

I didn't turn around but made a mental note 

to find the barn on the way home. 

I wasn't able to find any barn fabrics I loved 

but purchased some I knew I could make work with my plan. 

On the way home, 

I stopped and took the photo below 

and wondered if I could do it justice 

with what I had purchased (I couldn't). 

The night before the class, 

I was prepping my supplies and decided 

to poke through my fabric stash one last time 

and saw the stripe, which I had previously looked over. 

I knew it would be perfect!

I ended up purchasing the blue sky and green ground fabric 

on the day of the class (with Lynne's assistance) 

because what I had brought did not work with the striped barn.

Inspiration barn for Anne's class project

I still plan to make a quilt inspired

by my grandfather's barn

 as well as others -  

they are just so fun to make!

Thank you!

Anne J.

Walpole, NH

* * *

If you have created a barn

inspired by the book BUILD A BARN

please share photos and your thoughts on the process

using the email link in the ABOUT ME profile box.

I would be delighted to share your work here.

* * *

And for those who live in the greater Memphis area,

plans are underway to teach barn building

at Fabric for the Flock later this summer.

Keep an eye on the shop's Facebook page

for class registration information.

A Really Good Class

Here is another example where a student

did a great job of choosing fabrics - 

including her scrappy sky.

I love photos with student hands at work.

Someone printed out multiple photos

of real barns to bring to class

for added inspiration . . .

Double click to enlarge this photo

and notice the stone barn 

being constructed on a hill.

As an aside - this classroom space 

is outstanding with plenty of room

for each student to work.

This student even opted to include 

a security light while building her barn.

* * *

(These photos are from a class taught by

Lynne Tyler at Quilted Threads in Henniker NH)

* * *

If you've never tried building a barn of your own,

get an autographed copy of my book 

BUILD A BARN-No Pattern Construction

 directly from me for almost the same 

price as Amazon Prime.

 ($15.00 plus $7.50 domestic USPS Priority Mail shipping)

Work in Progress

Look at the way this student used her fabrics

to add detail to her free pieced barn -

flowers along the stone wall, 

a rock foundation for the barn itself, 

a stone path leading in and out of the barn,

and even a barn quilt on the barn.

Another example of using a photograph

for inspiration while building.

(I love that sky fabric)

This student included some wonderful details 

like the transom above the barn door

and the area to the right of the barn.

Free piecing gives you so many ways 

to personalize your work.

And at the end of the day,

THIS can be the result!

(These photos are from another of the classes taught

by Lynne Tyler at Quilted Threads in Henniker NH)

* * *

If you've never tried building a barn of your own,

get an autographed copy of my book 

BUILD A BARN-No Pattern Construction

 directly from me for almost the same 

price as Amazon Prime.

 ($15.00 plus $7.50 domestic USPS Priority Mail shipping)

Barn Building Students at Work

More photos from another of

Lynne Tyler's barn building classes

at Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH.

This is Brenda with her barn.

(double click for more detail)

Another student designing her second story

and how it will join the first story.

Contemplating a divider between

the first and second story . . . 

Working from a photograph

to recreate a real barn in fabric.

Be sure to double click/supersize this photo

to enjoy all those smiling faces!

* * *

If you've never tried building a barn of your own,

get an autographed copy of my book 

BUILD A BARN-No Pattern Construction

 directly from me for almost the same 

price as Amazon Prime.

 ($15.00 plus $7.50 domestic USPS Priority Mail shipping)

Making It Work

Despite going off on her own 

while Lynne was working with other students,

Michelle managed to work out the issues

to build this beautiful barn.

Photo take July 2017 in Lynne Tyler's Barns class

at Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH

* * *

If you've never tried building a barn of your own,

get an autographed copy of my book 

BUILD A BARN-No Pattern Construction

 directly from me for almost the same 

price as Amazon Prime.

 ($15.00 plus $7.50 domestic USPS Priority Mail shipping)

Another of Lynne's Students and Her Barn

July 2017 

Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH

Another happy student with her barn.

Lynne has mentioned a number of times

how students come in nervous and afraid

that they can't free piece a barn.

But time and time again, they do!

* * *

If you've never tried building a barn of your own,

get an autographed copy of my book 

BUILD A BARN-No Pattern Construction

 directly from me for almost the same 

price as Amazon Prime.

 ($15.00 plus $7.50 domestic USPS Priority Mail shipping)

Beth's Barn

This was Beth's barn under construction

in one of Lynne Tyler's classes

at Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH.

(her design was inspired by a real barn)

And this is Beth with her finished barn

several weeks later after she found Lynne

during another class to show off her work.

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!

Congratulations to Wendy!

Wendy's free pieced barn quilt is a winner!!

Wendy was part of one of my local barn building classes

and I was so impressed with all the little extras she included

like the triple edged roof line,

the fussy cut and double-framed haymow,

and a secondary shuttered window with flowers.

She quilted her piece on her DSM

and took full advantage of the many different stitch styles

to lend even more interest and texture.

You can double click this last full-view photo

to enjoy all the details.

CONGRATULATIONS, Wendy -

WELL DONE!

Another One Begins

Mari over at The Academic Quilter

is planning her next free-pieced church.

Go read all about it HERE.

You can read about her other efforts HERE.

Go, Mari, GO!!

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!!

Lynne's Latest Barn Building Class

photo will supersize if double-clicked
Photo taken at Quilted Threads, Henniker, NH

Read all about Lynne Tyler's 

recent barn building class 

by clicking HERE.

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!

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!!

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!

Lots to Share!

Check out this post 

on the AQS On Point Blog to see lots of 

newly-constructed free pieced barns!

More Student Barns from The Folk School

This is Brenda's second barn and her very first silo.

Be sure to double-click these photos

so you can enjoy the details.

This is Sandra's second barn adorned with

hay bales and pumpkins, a dog and a tractor,

and a haymow sign for Farm Fresh Eggs.

This is Sandra's third barn

which ended up being nicknamed

 "The Psychedelic Barn"

The fabrics themselves inspired this one 

and we all enjoyed watching it come to life.

Instead of using the candy-colored stripe in its original form,

it was cut into 4.5" squares and sewed back together 

rail fence style before it was used to light up the sky.

* * *

We had so much fun during our week together!

First Barns

There were three new-to-free piecing students in my Folk School class -

Brenda and Sandra and Marlene.

This is the first barn that Brenda built.

She plans to machine appliqué the chickens, trees,

weathervane, and tractor scene.

This is the first barn that Marlene built.

She's planning to hand appliqué the chickens and tractor.

double click to supersize photo

This is the first barn that Sandra built.

When she laid out her ground fabrics 

she kept saying "they're too straight . . . "

so she successfully added some gentle curved piecing. 

The horse and his window are free pieced.

She brought several barn quilt blocks

she had prepared using Printed Treasures -

this one was framed and then machine appliquéd in place.

The sheep will be machine appliquéd.

* * *

Over the course of the week

a total of seven barns were created.

I'll share three more in a few days.

The seventh barn is undergoing modifications

so we'll wait to share "before" and "after" photos.