I've made some barn quilts too. I used 4' x 4' sheets of steel that were considered scrap by the company they came from. I used a limited pallette of pink, green, black, and white. I also did a few 2' x 2' ones that I sold. I put a couple of coats of marine varnish on them when I did them 6 years ago, and they still look good. I think I should probably put another coat of varnish on them this summer. I painted mine so that most of the pieces look like print fabric. One has paisley patterns in it. One has playful cats, and the other one has daylilies. Garden visitors really like them, and like someone else who posted, I thought that barn wall needed a focal point.
