Look, It's A Quilt!

This was such a fun project to do! If you have a shed or barn or just want a really different "yard art" installation, you must try this.

I started with a design, which I transferred onto graph paper and played around with colors. The quilt block design is called "Hens and Chicks": The large blue triangles are the hens, smaller blue triangles are the chicks, both are heading to the turquoise 'feed' square at the center. Then, I found a 2 foot by 2 foot oak plywood square and gave it two coats of creamy, butter-yellow paint.

After transferring my grid onto the painted square with a yard stick, ruler and pencil, I used painters tape specifically made for delicate, already painted surfaces to mark out the shapes for painting. I was able to find the blues and turquoises of my color palette at the hardware store, in the small $2 each sample sizes. A set of foam brushes from the dollar store worked great to dab on a nice, thick layer of paint to fill in the spaces. A good trick for precise lines is to really press the tape down tightly, particularly on the edge that joins with another painted shape, and remember to peel off the tape while the paint is still damp. Works great every time!

After letting the first painted shapes dry for a couple of hours, I was able to lay down more tape to paint the other shapes--first the big triangles, then the small triangles. Here come the chickens!

After all the different shapes are painted, it really looks like a quilt block! In order to ensure that my lovely shed quilt will stand up to all the weather Wisconsin can throw at it, a couple coats of a good outdoor sealant, such as marine varnish, will keep the paint and the wood intact for years to come.

As you can see, the final product is mounted on the shed (a couple of 2x2 boards work to support it on the wall and allow for airflow behind the quilt, so it won't rot). Doesn't it look great?!? My new Hens and Chicks shed quilt--the perfect accessory for my backyard homestead!