Point Me Home

Driving around the countryside, I am always intrigued by the many barn quilts in our area and wish that I had one to hang...especially since we have a barn.  Sadly, painting just isn't my thing so it is not in my wheelhouse as a quilter to make one...or is it? 

The idea stuck in my head for the better part of a year trying to figure out how a cotton quilt could hang outside and not be destroyed by sun and rain.  I experimented with several different methods before hitting on the very easiest and obvious which should have occurred to me in the first place. ;)  This spray waterproofing is used on canvas tents and things like patio cushions, is inexpensive, and widely available in Canadian hardware stores.  I found it at Home Hardware, Kent, and Canadian Tire.  There is enough in the can to do several projects.

I chose the fabrics and then tested scraps with the spray.  The results were positive and water beaded up on the top.

I chose to make my Mariner's Compass from only three, high contrast colours so that the design would stand out from a distance.  It went together easily as the pieces are quite large.  You can find a tutorial on how to inset the centre circle here.  Instead of batting I chose a fairly rigid foam so that the piece would have good body and not droop when hung.  The quilting was kept very simple, mostly stitch in the ditch.

Once complete it was time to add the spray waterproofing.  I took it outside and taped plastic to protect our picnic table and proceeded to spray the top.

Following the instructions on the can I left it to dry the required time, then flipped it over and did the back.

For the recommended second application I sped things up by hanging it from a tree so I could do both sides.  This worked really well and was all that was required to make this weatherproof.

The compass is a square but I decided to hang it on point on the front door.  

To do this, I added a short hanging sleeve on the back about 4" down from the top point and inserted a short dowel  Then I used zip ties to secure it to the screen door.  The picture below was taken almost 2 months of it being outside through snow, rain, and lots of sun.  I really like that it says "a quilter lives here" and I have gotten lots of comments from folks driving by who have spotted it.   Brainstorming for an appropriate name, my son suggested Point Me Home.

You can order a printed pattern from my website, or email me to use etransfer.  Digital downloads are available at this link.  The pattern is also available at quilt shops (including locally at Sunrise Trail Quiltery) so please ask there first...and if they don't have it, ask them to order it for you,