This week I've been working some more on the construction of my "barn" quilt. Here's where I am now:
It doesn't look like much, but it's big progress for me. All of this represents a lot of trial and error on my part. I got a couple of different fabrics to try this weekend and ended up using a butterscotch batik for the sandstone around the doors. It blends better in person than it appears in the picture.
First, I made another set of doors, which gave me the opportunity to add in some gray at the bottom for a little of the porch, most of which will be added in later. Then I spent quite a bit of time making the curved section at the top. All of those are straight seams, but it definitely looks curved, which I consider a win. I'm not sure I'm really happy with this and I may tweak it so more.
The hardest part of this project is not the actual sewing, but figuring out the proportions without measurements. To figure this out, I mostly just laid pieces on top of each other until I got something that looked good. I tried to cut everything really generously to give myself room. That did mean that I did a lot of cutting down, though. I'm trying hard to stick to the process outlined in Julie's book and so far it seems to be working out. You know I'm going to fuss with this some more, though, right?
The next step for this is to make some side pieces to mimic the stones at the sides of the chapel. If you look, you can see that this is a subtle feature, but one that I want to preserve. I think I'm going to have to make a strip set with another fabric that is very close to the chapel fabric, and then rely on the quilting to make the "stones" stand out even more. Then comes the top part of the chapel and the roofline, and then landscaping. Progress!
Wow, this is a pretty monochromatic post, isn't it? Well, here's the other thing I accomplished so far this week--I finally got around to sorting the basket of scraps:
Yep, that was pretty full. Very few beiges, which made for a colorful afternoon. Looks like it's time for a yellow quilt, doesn't it?
Hope everyone is having a good week!
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5 comments:
I had a great birthday celebration last weekend as well....although my actual birthday was on Thursday. I love the progress on the door.
I know what you mean about bad selfies. I cropped a big chunk off my backside in the last photo of myself on my blog. I swear it was just the way my skirt was hanging and not my actual backside forming all that bulk! Or maybe I'm just fooling myself :)
Your chapel barn is looking good! The subtle stones along the outer walls are a really pretty feature of the chapel, so I'm glad you're going to preserve them. You can do lots of fine detail work with the quilting.
Louise is right - the quilting can add so many tiny bits that piecing doesn't. Keep that in mind as you work. What you have so far is looking good! (and remember that you don't have to make your fabric version exactly like the real thing - just enough to let a viewer fill in the blanks to "get" your intentions).
This is quite the project Mari. It is looking great and isn't it crazy how long each little part can take? But there is no hurry. It is going to be really pretty and I look forward to watching your progress.
My scrap pile needs to be sorted too. Soon... I will get to it soon.
I've been away for a while, and missed some great blog posts. Trying to catch up and am glad I stopped here! Happy Birthday (again, if I forgot to say something before I left town.) Enjoy the process. These kinds of quilts really need to simmer I think, so they are fun to work on in between other projects. Those stones on the edges of the chapel will be great fun to make. I agree that the details can be suggested and then enhanced with quilting.
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