Things To Do With Julie's Build A Barn Book

(Pre-Note)  Julie was so excited about the stories of your own barns, she thought it would be fun to see them.  If you want, you can email photos of your favorite barns to her at

  orders@sefton.info and she will put them on the book's blog!

Julie put the work on her award winning quilt into words and photos that are complied into this really beautiful book.  She walks you through making barns from photos (and your head) and assembling them to make a unique quilt.  Whether you make a small quilt or put 12 barns together, you will have a masterpiece.

So rebel that I am, of course I thought what else can I use Julie's book for?

You can use it as a Door Stop.



 You can use it as a Dog Bowl Mat.








It can even be a sofa pillow. (Ignore the dog hair)

But the best way to use it is to READ it!  LOL.

I figured I could use the same techniques Julie uses to make some Cajun Camps.  All good Cajuns here in Louisiana have somewhere they can get away to and do some fishing.  Or hunting.  Or alligator jigging.

Camps in Cocodrie in Terrebonne Parish

Generally, a fishing camp is a bare bones structure that will
accommodate 2, 3 or 4 testosterone filled, bearded men armed with an array of barbs, sticks and firepower.  Sometimes there are bunks in a room or two, sometimes there is just a corner to throw down a couple of sleeping bags.

Some camps, however, are nicer than my house! 

From Bayou Ducks' page

 The first one i did was the duck blind. I put a duck on top.








My duck blind has a leaning cypress tree nearby so you can tie up your pirogue.  But you have to watch out for the cypress knees, they can wedge your pirogue in and you will be stuck.

Watching out for snakes that fall from the trees is always important as well.  I always told Frank, the minute  snake comes  in this boat, I am out of it.  Luckily it never happened.  Because logically, there are probably more snakes IN the water then the boat.




Most camps are sitting on pilings since they are in the swamp.  Much of the area below I-10 are alluvial soils and thus filled with water which creates swamps and low areas.

If you drive between my house and Charlene's house in Lafayette, LA you will have to cross the Atchafalaya Swamp. (Remember the serial killer who was dumping bodies in Whiskey Bay?  That is the Atchafalaya.)  But most of the Cajuns back in there are good people.



This camp started out as my houseboat block.  I was never happy with it.  I need to make a flat bottomed boathouse.

So now it is a taller camp.   but you really don't need much floorspace.  Just somewhere to toss your sleeping bag and clean your catch.

The grey roof is tin, so it will need to be quilted with ripples!




The block I did today  is interesting.  I can tell you how I made it.



I found this great tree fabric, we don't really have huge fir trees here in Louisiana, but the fabric is cool.








I cut a square of muslin and am going to use it for a base upon which to build my structure.


And I found a fat quarter of woodgrain fabric I have been hoarding saving.  It was tough, but I used it.
 



I cut the woodgrain and a second darker piece to add some interested to the boards.

My glue stick was useful in helping the strips to stay in play while I worked. 


I laid out the boards in a pleasing fashion.  When I quilt it I will sew down each board and add some work on the wood grains maybe.






 All the pieces of the block itself are cut out and ready to be sewn.


Things always look better with some appropriate seam-age!







Here are the four Cajun Camps together  I am thinking to add some flying geese in between the blocks.  And do some paperpieceing like an alligator and maybe a pelican block.

Once you have the book, you can brainstorm so many different things you can do with it.  Or you can make barns!


This is the last day you will be able to leave a comment and get a chance to win an autographed copy of Julie Sefton's Build A Barn book.

How about:  Do you have a stash of materials to Build A Barn?