Lessons Learned from my First Barn Quilt Block

“Please bring a smile and wear comfortable clothing you don’t mind getting paint on.” wrote Mary Reed in her introductory email.  With this one sentence, Mary deftly set the tone for her recent Quilt Block Painting workshop.  The one-day workshop was part of the popular Festival of LearnShops held in Berea, Kentucky.
An enthusiastic group of eight students gathered on a Wednesday morning at Berea’s Russel Acton Folk Center.  Several students had painted quilt blocks before and were adding to their collections.  Others, like me, were new to the activity.  Mary made everyone feel welcome.  Then she explained the materials and tools we would be using.
We used 2-foot square panels of aluminum composite material to make our quilt squares.  This is the same material used by professional sign makers.  It is specifically designed to withstand harsh weather and is lightweight, bend-resistant, durable and moisture-resistant.  Commercial brands include DIBOND® by 3A Composites and PolyMetal™ by Nudo Products.  Mary had already primed our metal sign boards with Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3 Primer so we were able to start marking our patterns right away.
Most barn quilts (see my previous post Have Barn Quilts Made a Comeback?) feature traditional patchwork quilt patterns with repeating, geometric shapes in a carefully-defined color scheme.  This barn quilt, spotted on a dairy barn in Wisconsin, is a case in point.

As reported in the 1935 book, The Romance of The Patchwork Quilt in America, “The pieced quilt (made of pieces of fabric cut after patterns and sewed together to form a block or repeat) was familiar to most households where economy was a necessity, as it was created of scraps of material not otherwise of use.  The pieced quilt in pioneer days provided means of turning to good account the precious scraps of printed cottons, at that period so rare and costly.  The use of so many tiny pieces in one quilt and the pride with which the number-often in the thousands-was announced, gave evidence of their patience and frugality.”
The below quilt, in a Courthouse Square pattern, illustrates the beauty of a patchwork pieced pattern.  It was made in northern Illinois and given to Mary Catherine McCool as a wedding gift in 1849.

We were able to choose from various quilt block patterns. Mary provided a variety of options for anyone who had not brought one from home.  Mary patiently guided us through the steps of drawing our patterns and then taping and painting our designs.  It’s not a difficult process although it does require patience and careful attention to detail.  In today’s post, I’d like to share some of the lessons I learned while painting my first barn quilt block.
Lesson #1 – Simplify the Design
I looked at a variety of patchwork quilt blocks and painted barn quilts online before deciding on a pattern.  The many hummingbirds visiting our feeders lately inspired me to seek a pattern featuring one of these flying jewels.


Elements from a few different patterns were merged into a single design.  Then using special software, called Rapid Resizer, I created a line drawing of the design, resized it to the desired 24” x 24” square format, and printed it.  This is the same software I used in a previous project to make a tiny door (see Make Your Own Tiny Door – DIY Tutorial Part 1).  It worked very well for this project.  Shown below are the printed pattern elements I brought to the workshop.

In hindsight, this design was a little too ambitious for a one-day workshop—especially for a beginner.  I did manage to get a good start at the workshop but wasn’t able to finish the project.  I drew the pattern, painted the background, and painted the first dozen or so parts.  Most importantly, I learned the process and gained the confidence to finish it on my own.  Here’s how my barn quilt block looked at the end of the workshop.

I took my partially-complete barn quilt block home and set about finishing it.  The first thing I did was rework the design.  After seeing the pattern laid out, I decided the original design was too busy and complex with too many small, fiddly pieces.  So, I enlarged the flowers and the hummingbird, removed the rows of diamonds, shrunk the border and simplified the center element.  The revised pattern is bolder and more streamlined.  The below photo shows the main elements of the revised pattern.

Lesson #2 – Plan Color Scheme
The Quilter’s Recipe Book offers this advice about color selection. “In any pieced block, the variations you can create by changing and rearranging colors and tones are almost infinite.  It is useful at this stage to make a quick sketch of your block and photocopy it several times.  Use colored pencils or fiber-tipped pens to try out different color schemes.”  Alternatively, you can use colored paper to test color combinations as Mary helped me do at the workshop.

At home, I spent a little more time planning my color scheme and mixing paints.  I selected three analogous colors, blue, violet and red, for the three large flowers.  Then added white paint to create a tint for each and black paint to create a shade for each.

To add a little drama and sparkle, I selected yellow and orange as accent colors for the small flower in the center.

Lesson #3 – Tape Precisely
Every element of the barn quilt block design is painted independently.  Painter’s tape is placed around the outside edges of each part to ensure neat, clean painted lines.  There are a few tricks to avoid bleeding (as seen on the top black edge shown below) and get perfect edges (as seen on the bottom black edge shown below).

One trick is to use a sharp X-Acto knife with a metal ruler to cut the painter’s tape.

Another trick is to use a bone folder (credit card or similar tool) to burnish the edges of the tape.  But the best trick is one Mary shared with us—seal the edges of the tape with a small amount of Acrylic Matte Medium.  Simply paint over the medium.  It’s important to apply the medium sparingly, though, to avoid ridges and bumps under the paint.

The final trick is to remove the painter’s tape, before the paint dries, by pulling it away from the painted area at an angle.

Lesson #4 – Paint Carefully
Mary recommends exterior latex semi-gloss paint for barn quilt blocks.  Small foam rollers work well for large sections and foam brushes work well for small sections.  I like to line my roller tray with foil to ease cleanup.

Start with the lightest color, taping and painting all the elements in this color at once.  Allow the paint to dry before adding a second coat.  Then remove the tape, allow the paint to dry and move on to the next paint color—working from light to dark.

After lots of taping and painting, I finally finished my first 2-foot square barn quilt block.  Here’s how my personalized Lilies & Hummingbird design turned out.

And here it is beside the peppy orange bench I plan to hang it above.  I’m really glad I took the time to rework the design and super pleased with the results!  I’m also grateful to have attended Mary Reed’s Quilt Block Painting workshop.  Many thanks to Mary and the other participants for a great workshop and a fun day!

More Info

To learn more about barn quilts and see several examples from Kentucky, check out Have Barn Quilts Made a Comeback?
The charismatic town of Berea Kentucky hosts the Festival of LearnShops every summer.  The LearnShops are short workshops on a wide variety of subjects such as sustainable living, Appalachian crafts, fiber arts, jewelry making and quilt block painting.  To learn more about Berea, the Folk Arts & Crafts Capital of Kentucky, check out the Visit Berea website.  Information about the annual Festival of LearnShops is also available there.
The quilting reference books mentioned in this blog post are available for free on Archive.org:
. The Romance of the Patchwork Quilt in America by Carrie A. Hall and Rose G. Kretsinger
. The Quilter’s Recipe Book by Celia Eddy
To learn more about the Rapid Resizer software used in this project, see my previous post Make Your Own Tiny Door – DIY Tutorial Part 1 and/or the Rapid Resizer website.

Today’s Takeaways

1. Painted barn quilt blocks typically feature traditional patchwork pieced quilt patterns.
2. Simplify the design and plan the color scheme for a painted barn quilt block.
3. Take time to tape precisely and paint carefully when painting a barn quilt block.