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"A Soldier's Star", king-size quilt featuring Barn Quilts line of fabric by Tara Reed for Riley Blake Designs |
Look, it's a Barn Quilt! This one will be for my bed though, not for a barn! Love the rich colors of these fabrics so much that I used three of the same prints to make my big barn star quilt. Haha, I love the fact that I've just made a Barn Quilt quilt using Barn Quilts fabric!
I also used RBD's Wide Back Shades in Slate for the background and backing.
A "Barn Quilt" is basically a 6 to 8-foot quilt square painted on wood, and mounted to barns, corn cribs, granaries and the like, symbolic of that particular family or farm. Like a logo, or family crest. Something that has meaning.
Usually painted in bright, clear colors, barn quilts have experienced a revival in the past several years in a variety of ways. To encourage tourism, some communities have created Barn Quilt Trails. Several years back, a friend and I took a Barn Quilt Trail as we made our way from Paducah, KY to Nashville, TN. Happy times! Do you have a Barn Quilt Trail where you live? I think I should start one here in my valley!
Small DIY barn quilts have shown up in boutiques and retreats, and I painted one myself using reclaimed wood from a pallet. I have it sitting on my front porch.
This particular design was my entry in the 2011 AccuQuilt Barn Quilt Design Contest. It won 2nd place in their contest, and a 6-foot replicate of the design was mounted on their company headquarters in Fremont, Nebraska!
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At the time of the contest, my son was serving with his combat engineer unit in Afghanistan, and the design was symbolic of his service.
The pattern comes with a chart to make in any size! I've even made it using 1" blocks for a potholder! Cut with an AccuQuilt die cutter, of course! You can find the pattern at Quiltscapes' Etsy Shop.
Love the sweet mini barn quilt motifs for the border! I think it finishes off the quilt nicely!
Quilting design: Squared, by Leisha Farnsworth.
Ask for Barn Quilts fabric at your local quilt shop or find it from an online retailer.
This line even comes with a couple of printed panels and a great boxed kit to make a Quilt Trail Quilt. So cool!
Happy Sewing,
Look for more inspiring projects from these gals on this RBD Project Tour:
8/16 Julia @ Riley Blake Designs
8//23 Jennifer @ Bee Sew Inspired
Lovely Barn quilt, thanks for the explanations about them. I love these fabrics too!
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing Barn Quilts on Iowa and Nebraska. There is a Quilt Barn trail in Oregon and Washington, but I haven't seen them all. Cute fabrics!!❤
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome, Mary! Sounds like I need to come check out your Barn Quilt trail!
DeleteThose colors are great for this quilt! And how fun to have had your Barn Quilt recognized in such a way.
ReplyDeletePerfect fabrics for this giant quilt block!
ReplyDeleteKathleen - kakingsbury at verizon dot net
I love what you created! It's always so much fun to see how people take the fabrics I've designed and then use them in quilts and other projects - thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLove Love this quilt! I've looked for youtube instructions but have had no luck - is there one out there? Thanks
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't have a tutorial on YouTube, but you can find the pattern at Quiltscapes' Etsy Shop. www.etsy.com/shop/Quiltscapes
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