A Barn Quilt.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

I have a confession... I have mild obsessions over a handful of things.  At one time it was pug dogs.  Hallelujah, that ship has flown.  Currently it is picture organizing (dang, I am two months behind), mandatory ice cream before bed (said the pregnant lady), and barn quilts.  Have you seen barn quilts?  They are those artsy designs typically hung on old barns/homes/workshops.  I first saw them a handful of years ago on a back road adventure through Wisconsin.  I didn't know what to call them.  Thank goodness Google can translate "graphic, square art designs on barns in Wisconsin."  It lead me to this--ding, ding ding!  I started researching the history behind them and realized that people have many reasons for hanging a barn quilt, but for the most part it is simply because they like them.  My mild type A personality wanted a play-by-play of... if your last name starts with S and you have three kids and you live in the Midwest this is the design that you are supposed to have and these are the colors you must use.  That didn't happen.  The thought of designing our own was exciting and yet a bit overwhelming.  Last spring, though, we ran into a sweet lady at a flea market who paints barn quilts -- fate, no doubt.  I held on to her card for four months, which is a miracle in the midst of massive renovations (whoops, need to blog about what we've been up to.  And no, it hasn't been watching New Girl on Netflix, though, that sounds awesome right about now).  We gathered inspiration from many different designs, but wound up designing our own barn quilt.  I wanted the colors to be significant and Kerry wanted it to somehow resemble a star shape.  At two in the morning a handful of weeks ago, we emerged with this colored pencil idea.
We worked with Lori from Baileyville Barn Quilts.  She had us choose our own paint colors and she color matched them exactly.  All of the above colors were from the Valspar line at Lowes.  We wanted a family crest of sorts.  Something depicting our family dynamic--two boys and three girls-- and our hope in the Lord.  There is no way to really describe our thought process, but to say we tried to represent each member of the family as they point to the hope we have in Jesus.  It is like a mega confusing puzzle where there really isn't a right or wrong answer.  This is how the design wound up.
We may or may not have jumped up and down when Lori sent us a snap shot.  And picture us giddy to finally get to pick our quilts up in a forgotten, little town.  We took back roads, because it somehow felt right.
  Kerry mounted thin pieces of wood and made key holes to slide the barn quilts into place.
They have been up for a couple of weeks now and they still stop me in my tracks.  There is something about a silly idea rummaging in your mind, and knowing in your heart that it will come to fruition someday.  Seeing it come to life at our forty year old farm house is something entirely different. 
The beauty of a barn quilt is that it doesn't necessarily have to be on a barn and it can look and feel like just about anything you can think of.  I could so see a pretty one hung inside a home, too. 

Anyone else barn quilt fans?  I have heard of a number of barn quilt trails to explore.  Next adventure, I am telling you.

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