Barn Quilt Project of Iredell County

I took this photo last August at a dairy farm in Sweetwater, Tennessee. Tennessee has a fabulous Quilt Barn Trail program. (A quilt barn is one that displays a quilt block, like the one above.) These programs are cropping up in states across the country. You can read more about them at American Quilt Barns or the Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail blog.

Last August, Johnny Elliott of Harmony, NC, mounted a beautiful replica of his great-grandmother’s quilt on the side of the barn he is renovating. He got help from Taproot Artisans, a marketplace for work by Piedmont-area artisans. You can read more in the Statesville Record and Landmark’s article from August 2010 here. His efforts led to the start of Barn Quilts of Iredell County.

The group was supposed to meet on Monday, but their meeting was canceled because of the snow and ice storm that hit here earlier this week. The new meeting date is Monday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Harmony Community Center, 3286 Harmony Highway, Harmony NC 28634.

On Jan. 22 and 29, the group is holding a workshop to make barn quilt blocks. Here are the details:

BARN QUILT BLOCK WORKSHOP

Jan. 22 (starting at 9 a.m.) and Jan. 29 (wrap-up)

Participate in this hands-on workshop and take home a finished barn quilt block! You choose pattern (Basic!) and colors.

Materials furnished - everything you need to complete the project.

4' x 4' MDO 1/2" Plywood block with finish paint coat. Ready for pattern to be applied.

Paint for pattern, brushes, tape, scale sketch, layout instruction, painting assistance.

PVC Edge Capping

Cost - $225. Must be paid at registration.

Location: TBA, in the Harmony area

Instructor - Cora Ellen Stroud, Taproot Artisans (336) 492-2234

Pre-registration is required. 

I wish I had a barn so I could do this! Do you think my neighbors would object to a big quilt block mounted on my house?

The Sketchbook Challenge: Sketch #6

I’m inside for the second full day today, following a big snowstorm that hit the Charlotte area on Sunday. Ice followed on Monday, and this morning, it is a mess. I took the photo below on my side porch, and sketched it for for The Sketchbook Challenge.

Events like this make me think about those who are homeless and outside in the elements. And about those whose jobs take them outside, like people who work on downed power lines, people who pick up our trash, and those who clear the roads. I am so very grateful that we have power, and that I have a warm house in which to weather the storm. We went five days in the winter without power one year here in Charlotte after a big ice storm.

Ice and water are hard to sketch, and I need to work on them more. I chose a bright blue background (wishful thinking that the skies were actually blue and the sun shining), partly to make the sketch prettier. I also eliminated the tree, although adding those additional lines might have been interesting, and drew fewer icicles. Part of being an artist is deciding what elements to alter, add or leave out. 

I’m not so sure that my power lines look like power lines. I’m going to go back in and highlight each a bit at the top, and make them somewhat thicker.