Thursday, June 25, 2009

All Things Patchwork

So what can you do with an 11" X 11" square piece of wood? One with perfectly beveled edges I might add. (Thank you, Gary.)

You can spend hours painting several base coats of exterior paint. Then draw, measure, mark and tape.
 

Paint patches. Give them a second coat, and a third coat. Re-tape. Paint, re-paint, and paint again. Then, do it all again. Repeat six times!

Make these garden decorations. 
I saw them for sale at a quilt shop, and smugly thought, "I can do better than that, and for a lot less money." Hmmm. Not so much. Per board, my investment was inexpensive, but the time... makes them about a Benjamin Franklin ($100) each! 
Still, I like them. But can you believe it? They need another coat...
of sealant since they'll be outdoors, poked in the ground, exposed to Iowa UV rays and rain.

Lastly, each patchwork board will need a rod affixed to the back so they can stand in my front flower(less) bed. 
But gosh, won't they look nice?
I learned several lessons through the process. The most important one was to accept advice. "Buy that new green tape that keeps paint from bleeding." I didn't; I wish I had. 

Please admire from a distance. 
Hey, I bet the next time you're in my neighborhood you'll be able to guess which house I live in!

1 comment:

  1. Even more fun - instead of sticking them out in the freezing cold/boiling sun place you could tile your quilt room with them. I am going to draw12" squares on my yellow tongue flooring in my studio and people can 'make' a quilt block when they visit! It will be like a visual visitors' book.
    They look lovely even from this distance!!
    Jas

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