Fall Into a Quilt-A-Long Block 11
Love this quilt block. The red barn. The blue sky. The green grass. Such great primary colors.
This piece is from Sparkle On with Abbie. Along with the tutorial, the designer shared some photos on her blog of her favorite red barns in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Which made me reminisce about my childhood.
I spent my first 18 years on a farm in Western PA. I think my Dad bought the 80 acre farm so his oldest child could have a horse named Beauty. My big sister was horse crazy and I got a pony at some point and we also kept two of Beauty’s foals. Besides the horses, it was a real farm with cows, calves, chickens and pigs. I even had a sheep at one point and there were two goats that Dad bought for the oldest grandkids. Anyhow. At some point it was too much for my parents to take care of and they sold off all the animals except for Beauty and when she passed away, they sold the property.
Here’s a snap from Beauty’s last days way back in 1982. That’s me and my kids Alan and Jessica and Buffy the dog. We moved to Florida shortly after this and then my parents followed us eventually.
Five years ago Terry and I went back to see my brother and his wife who live on a 5-acre parcel that was part of the original farm. That’s when I got this snap.
The barn wasn’t very red anymore and it was no longer a working farm. But it was nicely cared for.
I digress….
Back to this quilt block.
While I loved all the primary colors, I just couldn’t bring myself to introduce two new colors (red for the barn and blue for the sky) to the quilt when there is only one block left. So I picked out the most reddish-orange prints from my color palette and just used my light tan fabric for the background.
There were no barn quilts in Western Pennsylvania when I lived on the farm but I think they are pretty cool. I added one to my barn block following the instructions by Tuna Quilts. If I had a barn, I would definitely have a barn quilt! (I do have a pretty little blue shed. Hmmmmm….)
And here is my ELEVENTH block!
Messed up a little the pinwheel on the barn quilt. Dang. I’m usually pretty good at that!
Still cute, though!
And here are the first eleven blocks for the Fall into a Quilt-A-Long!
LAST BLOCK will be released on the 16th! Yippee!
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The quilt is looking GREAT. Love the picture!
Thanks Lauri! That is one of my favorite snaps of the kids and me. It was a happy autumn day and we were soon to head to new adventures. They were so little!
Hi Kathy, I’m so happy you enjoyed making the barn block! It’s nice to meet someone with Pennsylvania roots too and to learn you lived on a farm. The photo of you and your children and beloved animals made me smile, thanks for sharing your memories.
I love your version of my block and I’m so happy to see the added barn quilt. What barn shouldn’t have one? I thought of adding it, but couldn’t get such a little pinwheel to work for me. Your’s looks perfect to me.
Thanks for sharing my blog link and quilting along in the Fall Into a QAL. It’s people like you that make it so rewarding to all the designers.
Your quilt will be gorgeous! I’m looking forward to seeing it all finished.
~Abbie
Thank you so much for your kind comments. I look forward to every block that comes out. I did the “Wish you a Merry QAL”, too. Actually made two of them and gave one as a wedding gift and the other as a Christmas gift. I truly appreciate all of the designers and love all of the blocks. I have learned so much!
This is so wonderful to hear!
I loved seeing your pictures and reading about your memories. It sounds like a wonderful place to grow up.
Your barn looks so good! I also chose to leave the blue out of my block since it wouldn’t have fit in with my quilt. All of your blocks go so well together!
I wanted a bright red barn and the beautiful blue sky but also wanted the block to go blend in with the rest of the quilt. I think it turned out great! Thank you so much for your comments and for sharing your designs!