Friday, January 1, 2016

The Tree of Life Barn Quilt





I have always been intrigued by and loved the
quilt pattern called
"The Tree of Life"

To me, trees signify stability, deep roots, shelter, and hope
for generations to come.
They enrich the air we breath and provide fruit for us to eat.

Many years ago, in 2003, we had a very large international family
reunion and I was inspired to make a Tree of Life quilted wall hanging
to be auctioned off at the event.
Years later, as in a couple of years ago, I incorporated that same
pattern into a small quilt I pieced for our RV trailer.




This pattern was also the inspiration for me to paint 
a very large "barn quilt".






2 4X8 pieces of plywood were set up in our driveway and painted with 4 coats of primer.

The process had begun!














The "quilt" took up most of the garage which was a good incentive to keep working at it because we do like to park our car in there!















The basket of my old folk art paints was hauled out of the upstairs closet and the colours were chosen.
I hadn't used these paints for a long, long time and some were completely dried up.
This was a great project for using up these colours.
The summer flies and mosquitoes also made their "impressions" on this work in progress.







The intention was to mount it on the West side of our old barn
(the side that faces the house and just for us to see)


The other 3 sides of the barn had been covered with steel soon after 
we moved here (36 years ago).
As we talked about where to hang the "quilt" we realized that perhaps
this side of the barn should be sided with steel too before we do that.
The mounting was delayed and the very heavy 8 foot X 8 foot Tree of Life
was moved into the barn till further notice!

A couple of weeks ago, the end of December 2015, the workmen came to remove
the old worn barn boards and to put up the new steel siding.
The weather was perfect - unusually mild for this time of year.


They came with the self propelled boom and we asked them if they would do one more thing
for us before they leave - you can guess what it was.
I was super excited!


These young, strong and fearless Amish workers were willing and able.
We just stood back and watched as they hoisted that heavy quilt and bolted it into place.


On the last day of the year 2015, my barn quilt has finally been mounted.
It will aways remind me of the year our darling Granddaughter was born
and of how blessed we truly are.

This is my "YES" picture ....


Now - what can I make with those beautiful old and worn barn boards?
I think the farmer is worried.

This is the first day of 2016, the snow is falling, the wood stove is glowing,
and I'm still in my PJs (and it's 5:30 5:53 p.m.).
Oh, and there's a quilt outside my window!




HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!







12 comments:

  1. Yes!! That is fantastic Rosella. I love barn quilts and yours is a beauty. Good for you for following through with this project. You'll never forget the year you put that on the barn! Happy New Year!

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  2. He has nothing to fear! Whatever you make with those old boards is going to be amazing if your Tree of Life Barn Quilt is any indication. It looks fabulous!

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  3. wow ... that is absolutely FABULOUS!!! What an amazing accomplishment and a joyful thing to look at every single day. Brilliant & beautiful!

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  4. Love your barn quilt! The 'Tree of Life' quilt you stitched is amazing too. You are an artist...with a needle or with paint! Happy New Year!

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  5. Oh... I love it! I've never heard of a barn quilt, but I can see why you are so happy about it!
    A daily reminder when you look out, to give thanks for God's mercy and grace.

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  6. Rosella, your barn quilt is a work of art!! I love its beauty and its symbolism. I know it was well worth the wait! And how wonderful that the Lord even provided help for you to get it in place!

    Happy New Year to you! Looking forward to seeing what's next. :)

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  7. Happy New Year, Rosella! The barn looks splendid with it beautiful quilt! Great idea!

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  8. Wow, you are multi-talented! The barn looks fabulous donning your artwork!

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  9. Are you ready for tourists to stop by to enjoy your barn quilt? (I'd enjoy seeing it when I'm in the area.) Amazing and wonderful!

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  10. Oh Rosella, what a beautiful project and what a fantastic place to display it. Your barn looks brand new. I feel a bit jealous of all those old barn boards. You just can't buy that kind of special!

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  11. Thank you for the inspiration. I've been playing with the same idea for a few years for our barn in PEI. We saw lots of them traveling through Wisconsin this past summer. Yours looks great!

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