Hey, Everyone!
I am thrilled to participate tonight in the release of not one, but TWO fabulous books that go hand in hand.
It is completely KISMET that both of these books ended up in my hands the very same week and I love how these TWO books compliment each other so greatly that we are posting about them both at the same time!
I present to you Build A Barn by Julie Sefton and Following the Barn Quilt Trail by Suzi Perron!
Suzi herself is a quilter, a folk art collector and an avid kayaker. A native of Florida, Suzi has no stationary home –the bus holds everything that Suzi needs to travel with Glen as she speaks to quilters and civic groups across the country.
Doesn’t that sound amazing? You can find out more about Suzi at her website BarnQuiltInfo.com.
Following the Barn Quilt Trail!
In cooperation with Donna Sue Groves, Suzi documented the massive public art project known as the barn quilt trail in her 2012 book Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement. The first of these projects began in 2001, when Groves and community members created a series of twenty painted quilt squares in Adams County, Ohio. Since then, barn quilts have spread throughout forty-eight states and several Canadian provinces.
In Following the Barn Quilt Trail, Parron brings readers along as she, her new love, Glen, their dog Gracie, and their converted bus Ruby, leave the stationary life behind. Suzi and Glen follow the barn quilt trail through thirty states across thirteen thousand miles as Suzi collects the stories behind the brightly painted squares. With plentiful color photographs, this endearing hybrid of memoir and travelogue is for quilt lovers, Americana and folk art enthusiasts, or anyone up for a good story.
I have been a Barn Quilt lover since I saw my very first one and they still captivate me. You will smile at each beautiful photo as you turn the pages, following Suzi’s words as she tells you about each barn quilt discovery.
A must-have coffee table book for quilt lovers and barn lovers alike, this book boasts 178 pages of quilt enhanced country life.
Jenny Doan and I gush on the back cover!
In fact if you look up Following the Barn Quilt Trail on Amazon you will find my testimonial on the page:
“Barn quilts are rural gifts, a bright spot along America's highways and byways. As a quilter myself, the simple sight of a barn quilt has often made my heart smile. We recognize the blocks, they speak to us without words. This book captures everything I love about barn quilts with beautiful photos and captivating details. Where will you spy your next barn quilt?” —Bonnie K. Hunter, Quiltville.com
My Memorial Day Barn Quilt discovery!
We went to Tennessee yesterday on the motorcycle in search of Barn Quilts! Isn’t this one gorgeous? I am excited to share these to really have you catch barn quilt fever! What could be better than a string star on a barn? And look at all of that green!
This barn sports THREE!
I dare you not to smile. I dare you!
Now that we have followed the Barn Quilt trail, you can turn what you see into what you quilt with Julie Sefton’s new book Build A Barn!
No Template Piecing!
It’s all free-form! Yippeee!
Visit Julie’s Free Pieced Barn Project for more info!
See Rock City close up.
Julie’s Story:
Every book has a back-story
and BUILD A BARN is no exception.
I received a phone call from AQS in late 2013
asking if I would be interested in creating a
Block of the Month pattern for
my free pieced barn quilt SEE ROCK CITY.
For those of you familiar with free piecing,
you know that there are no patterns
because each creation is a completely unique original.
One thing led to another until late spring 2014
when I submitted a book proposal to AQS
featuring the creation of SEE ROCK CITY
as a case study for the free piecing process.
See Rock City, Full
Julie’s thought process!
Remember, no patterns! Just free style piecing!
With Julie’s encouragement you can start with a shape, add some to it, trim it off, or add some more, keeping in mind the look of a barn you would love to recreate in fabric.
Actual barns and silos can be your starting point, but the options are endless!
When asking Julie “Why Barns?” She replies:
I've always loved barns, especially the slightly derelict versions that lean and sag and proudly show their character/age.
I love the stories and imaginings of events and situations those barns have witnessed (and survived).
I love the juxtaposition of rural and urban where "mall sprawl" has crept close but not yet gobbled up farmland.
I've been a liberated, free-piecing quilter for quite a while now, but I'd never done any "wonky houses" (they just didn't intrigue me quite enough).
But, when the "light-bulb" went off and I connected the idea of free-piecing "houses" with free-piecing "barns," I was hooked.
Free Pieced Tree!
Free tutorial for Free piecing this tree! What? You’ve never tried piecing without templates, without a pattern? GO HERE! It’s just a little tree. Not that much fabric, just a little bit of time, and you can get your feet wet, and get all excited about the possibilities in the process!
Back Cover!
Visit the following blogs to see their own barn blocks made with the same free-piecing techniques, and read the stories behind each block. Some of the dates have passed and give-aways have ended but there are many more to come through the summer! Visit them all!
Monday April 25 – Lynne Tyler
Giveaway winner - Judy in MI
Monday May 2 – Brenda Suderman
Giveaway winner - Lisa in Port Hope -
https://lisainporthope.wordpress.com
Monday May 9 – Nancy Stevens
Giveaway winner - Kat Scott
Monday May 16 – Julie Post
Giveaway winner - Anna McCurdy
Monday May 23 – Glen Parks
Giveaway winner - Alice Turcotte
Monday May 30 – Belinda from Texas
Giveaway pending this week
Monday June 6 – Cherie Moore
Monday June 13 – Valerie Levy
Monday June 20 – Cathy Labath
and Lynn Carson Harris
Monday June 27 – Kathy French
Monday July 4 – Heidi Burkhardt
Monday July 11 – Hilda Bakke
Monday July 18 – Chris Ballard
Monday July 25 – Debbie Voigt
Monday August 1 - Julie Sefton
This is a Double Special Give-Away!
I’m looking for one lucky winner who not only LOVES Barn Quilts, but would like to incorporate them in some free-piecing of their own! One lucky quilter is going to receive a copy of Suzi Parron’s Following the Barn Quilt Trail and a signed copy of Build a Barn by Julie Sefton!
Free Piecing and Barns and Barn Blocks.
The perfect combo!
Good luck,everyone! Drawing will happen next Monday, June 6th during my time in Moline, IL!
Have a great Tuesday evening, everyone!
Suzi recently came to my guild (Newtown Quilters Guild). We really enjoyed her presentation. Heartily recommend her to any guild out there.
ReplyDeleteBarb
Suzi came to our guild meeting a few months ago, Crossroads Quilt Guild, and we really enjoyed the talk she gave. She had some amazing pictures of Barn Quilts, wish I had time to take her class that weekend. The ladies that did had such a blast and made some really cool Barn Quilts.
ReplyDeleteI love barn quilts,and the book looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteI love old barns also, and ones with quilt blocks applied to them! My favorites are the beautiful brick end barns. We have some very unique barns here in MD, including an octagonal barn. My husband and I just went to a talk featuring the Barn Quilt trail guide in Carroll County, MD, although there are barns across the state adorned with quilt blocks. Some of the families who own these barns were present at the presentation. We were lucky enough to hear them discuss their barns, how they came to be on their property, the history of the barn, and how they selected their particular quilt block pattern.It was great!!
ReplyDeleteI love old barns, especially since I spent so much of my youth in one - milking cows, feeding calves, stacking hay, etc. Sadly our old barn (along with 7 other old barns in a 15 mile area) that was in pretty good shape succumbed to 100 mph straight line winds nearly 20 years ago. There are so many barns that are not used in our area and have been left in disrepair and are falling down, it makes me sad, but I understand the economics of maintaining a building that is outdated and has no use on a farm that has no livestock. I am so delighted when I see a well kept barn and a barn quilt makes it even more special! These books look wonderful too - I've made redwork barns into a quilt, but freestyle barns look like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteI adore quilt quilt barns and would love to win!! Thank you for another great giveaway!!!
ReplyDeleteI love barn quilt blocks. Thank you so much for the chance to win these books.
ReplyDeleteThe Barn book looks beautiful- I was a lucky winner of Julie's book from an earlier blogger. I am thrilled as I am a Canadian prairie girl with parents who grew up on farms. I am not sure I have ever seen quilt blocks on barns here on the prairies but I would love to see them. I will have to check out the first book- As always you continue to share your passion for quilting with others. Thanks for sharing that love of fabric and quilts with us all
ReplyDeleteWarmest regards from Western Canada,
Anna
I got my American Patchwork and Quilting today. The August 2016 is dedicated to scrap quilts. I was delighted to see their recommendation of your blog for information on scrap quilts! Happy to see you acknowledged!
ReplyDeleteI've known Suzy since her first book- hi suzi! Now in smokeys, w.n.c. From Cumberland isl., ga 3 yrs.
ReplyDeleteWant to catch up... So nice to see another book and you traveling!
Cumberlandquiltchick@yahoo.com
Suzi was also at the a local quilt guild in Reading, PA and my sister and I were invited to attend the meeting, actually they inviited our quilt guild from Kutztown,PA to attend, Was a great meeting, my sister and I are attempting to make a 4x4 barn quilt to hang on our house or shed when completed,
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful books. with over 1100 entries so far I probably don't have much chance of winning but I do love barn quilts and quilts with barns on them. And you are so right, seeing one as you travel does bring joy to the journey.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to learn about these books. I recently put almost 700 miles on the car driving around Wisconsin looking at barn quilts. What a fun experience. Can't wait to do more exploring and to try making a small one for our shed.
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to make a barn quilt quilt ever since I saw the ones up near Jefferson, NC. The town of Landrum SC has a quilt trail through downtown too. Love them all. This book might just be the motivation to get going on a new project. (Like I need another one. Ha)
ReplyDeleteThank you Bonnie for the giveaway chance.
There is a community at 6,500 ft elevation which is private property inside kings canyon national park in California.
ReplyDeleteThey have established a beautiful quilt trail on some of the cabins. It started with only the quilters in the community and then others, who cannot even thread a machine, have added quilt boards to their cabins! A fun walk or drive each time.
Hope some of you might be able to see it when you visit the park!!
Kay
What fun to win. This would be a great excursion.
ReplyDeleteThank you
We just did a barn quilt tour in Shawano, WI. Would love to have these books. Thanks for offering them, Bonnie.
ReplyDeleteI love old barns too. The local quilt shop here is having "barn quilt" paintings this summer, where you can go and paint a plywood square to hang on your barn, shed or whatever. They've all looked great.
ReplyDeleteWould love to win the books. I've got my eye on the nearby barn that would be great in a quilt!
I'm not sure if this is international? Where I grew up on a small farm with 100 acres, we had a huge shed, but guess I could call it a barn, one for machinery, and a taller larger one for storing hay, the older type of oblong bales one girl could handle all by herself, This book would bring back all those times of helping my Dad feed out the hay to the cows and calves. Another so generous give-away. Greetings from Jean in New Zealand, Southern Hemisphere where we are ion wintertime.
ReplyDeleteI am an old barn lover and find barns are taken better care of when they have a barn quilt. I re4ally like seeing the quilts.
ReplyDeletegandn74@ymail.com
I'm too late for any give away darn it but how awesome! I love old barns, love quilts and I love seeing the barn quilts. Maybe I'll see some as we travel thru Tennessee next week. Who knows.
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