Barn Quilt Ideas

Mr. Kieffer suggested that I make a barn quilt for our white barn a while back, and my first comment was, "What the hell's a barn quilt?"

This city girl had never heard of one, and then we went up to Columbus a few weeks ago, and saw a couple of them along the highway on people's barns.

In case you're as lost as I was, here is what he was talking about:



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They're always square, and range in size from 2' x 2' to 8' x 8'.  Most have simplified geometric forms, like in a traditional blanket quilt, but some people have gotten really creative with their designs and incorporated hobbies or motifs that say something about their farm or family.

I like these nature-inspired quilts:

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And some people have made theirs really intricate or brightly colored:

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We decided that the best size for our barn is 4' x 4'.  We don't have a huge barn, and that size works out to be half of a sheet of plywood, so it'll be easier to make.

I started working on designs today and came up with 12 that I like.  Some of them are just small tweaks to other designs, and I tried to do a couple (the last 3 on the bottom row below) that have a more modern feel.  I was going for a chevron / herringbone pattern. 

I'm still trying to decide on colors, too.  I was trying to pull colors from the cow paint-by-number, but now I'm thinking it should be brighter and more fun.

We'll see what I come up with.  And I'll post instructions on how I did everything once it's all finished.