We just returned from a trip to Iowa. Between Caledonia and Hokah, MN we saw several barns with approx 8 X 8 squares, painted, which appeared to be quilt squares. One was a pinwheel, another hour glass, etc. One barn had multiple squares. Is this some type of quilter insignia or has quilting just gone to my head? We also saw one or two in WI.

We just returned from a trip to Iowa. Between Caledonia and Hokah, MN we saw several barns with approx 8 X 8 squares, painted, which appeared to be quilt squares. One was a pinwheel, another hour glass, etc. One barn had multiple squares. Is this some type of quilter insignia or has quilting just gone to my head? We also saw one or two in WI.

Some counties do this through the quild guild. You can check out Green County Barn Quilts. My local quilt store actually does classes to do these blocks too. :)

Yup. Posted this twice. Sorry!!

There are books written about the barn quilt blocks on barns. They are becoming popular around the nation. I googled it a while back. Lots of info.

I wondered if it was some type of guild. My husband refused to believe quilters would do this. He thinks I just see quilt squares wherever I happen to look. lol.

Eleanor Burns has a book out on this -- This series is also currently running on one of our satelite stations.

Caledonia is in O'Brien County, and they have a Web site for their barn quilts: http://www.obriencounty.com/tourism/oc_bq_index.html

Several other counties in Iowa, as well as in many other states, also promote barn quilts.

I made a small one for my shed I think there are alot of them is certain places I know Ohio had a lot

This blogger has been taking pictures and keeping track of barn quilts in Wisconsin:
http://cre8tivequilter.blogspot.com/...ilt-trail.html

There are many "barn quilts" in Iowa. If you google when you are traveling you can find them in all states. They are fun to find.

Here in Ky you see them alot. I think they are beautiful.

I sure would love to see them. Maybe a trip is in the future? Also, I think a canvas painted with a quilt block would be great to hang in the house somewhere.

http://americanquilttrail.blogspot.com/

http://www.quilttrailswnc.org/ North Carolina

http://www.countrybarnquilttrail.com/

http://www.quilttrail.org/ Northeast TN


There are many, many listed. Just Google "barn quilt trails". I've posted a few to give everyone the idea of what we are discussing.

Yep. The landscape of Kentucky is dotted with them.

We have them all over the place here.

http://www.quilttrail.org/ Northeast TN

Love seeing them every day.

Love 'em!

Theres alot around here too. Some of the LQSs have them too!

This is an excellent idea...will have to do one for our shed!

Have seen quite a few areas with barn quilts - it's always a wonderful surprise :)

Here is a link to a community close to home, in SouthWestern Ontario, who have a nice crop:

http://wardsvillebarnquilts.wordpress.com/

For people attending either the Quilt Ontario show in London at the end of May ( http://www.canadianquilter.com/event...anada-2011.php ) or the Ailsa Craig Community Festival with Quilts of the Netherlands
( http://ailsacraigquiltfestival.org/exhibition )
will be able to take day trips to tour these barn quilts!

Enjoy,
Linda

Accuquilt is having a contest about the barn quilts. You can read a brief history and enter. www.accuquilt.com

I love them. I am in NY on Long Island. We don't have that, but we will! When hubby asks what I want for my birthday I am going to tell him to do this for the front street facing wall of our garage. Take that, you development "all the same house" owners. A rebel with a cause.

There is quite a story of how these blocks began showing up on barns.
A woman named of Donna Sue started what are now the oversized, brightly colored barn quilt squares appearing on barns throughout the Midwest and East. In Ohio in 2001, she made the first remodeled block of a barn quilt square in honor of her mother and to help a friend draw attention to his business from the nearby four-lane highway. In the nine years since, the modernized, oversized barn quilt squares have popped up as far East as New Jersey, with dozens of county and state quilt trails in between.

I know here in East and upper TN you will find blocks on most barns. There are many that people can stop and visit. To find out more just do a search for Barn Blocks.

Google Barn Quilts and read all about it. this is happening all over. I want to do one on our shed, just havent gotten there yet.

There are a lot near Hocking Hills Ohio also.

Try going to Barn Quilts.com
or Barn Quilts of Sac Couonty Iowa
You will get LOTS of options

These barn quilt blocks are over the country. Our office did a project about them (hoping to improve tourism in the area). A very knowledgeable lady who is an authority on quilting and is pictured in Eleanor Burns' book about barns was a lead contact in the study. Some Chamber of Commerce office have maps detailing the routes of these blocks on various barns.

This is very traditional and as there is a revival, many people are conducting barn quilt tours and competitions.

Here's info we put in a recent guild newsletter on an upstate New York Barn tour:


Here’s a little more info on the Barn Quilt Tour, a first-of-its-kind travel experience for New York State – a 22-mile loop tour off the Great Lakes Seaway Trail byway to see more than 40 quilt blocks painted on barns in the Town of Kendall. Travelers can follow a free audio tour accessible by cell phone or collect a map available at Seaway Trail Inc. member Partyka Farms Market at 1420 County Line Road, 3 miles south of the Seaway Trail.

The Country Barn Quilt Trail has grown to include more than forty barns and other buildings adorned with hand painted quilt squares throughout the farming communities of Orleans County, near the southern shores of radiant Lake Ontario.

http://www.countrybarnquilttrail.com/

Pennsylvania is also loaded with them. Also 'hex' signs, too. They're not as neat as the brightly-colored quilt blocks.

Accuquilt is having a contest to design a barn quilt. There are a lot of them in the midwest.

The idea of Barn Quilts began in with the Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants way back when. Then it kind of peaked and disappeared. In 2001, Donna Groves in WV, bought a farm with her mother and painted one on the side of the barn to honor her mother's love of quilting. That set off a movement to paint them so there would be a trail people could follow. It was an community PR thing. Now there are Barn Quilt Trails all across the United States.
In my home county, our quilt trail was begun last August and we have 15 now hung with contracts signed for another 17. You can see them in Facebook under Daviess County Barn Quilt Trail. Many times an individual will paint one and put them up. Frequently, a local Extension Service through a University will sponsor them, and sometimes a quilt guild will. In our case, the local extension service with some guild members got it started. They order a special metal sign board and special paint through a place in Chicago. The ones that are painted on wood and hung do not last very long. The elements are not kind. The metal ones they are hanging now, should last a long time. I've just loved driving through the state finding the quilt trails. In Kentucky, if you google The Kentucky Barn Quilt Trail, you can find counties maps that tell you exactly where to find them. It's so much fun to see one as a surprise! We charge $300 for an 8' X 8' one. It's sort of become a status symbol in Daviess County, KY.

During the civil war the underground railroad use to hang quilts to show the slave where to find safe haven. Maybe that is the reason the barn block have come fashionable

aahhh so you were up my way, they are called Barn Quilts and is the rage these days. There are several areas across the country where you will find these.
Generally, the block depicts some heritage of the people or the farm.
Joan

I am working on Eleanor Burns' Barn Quilt now. I have several blocks done. It is wonderful.

Tennessee is full of them. They are beautiful and really a nice sight.

Hi
I'm from Ohio and have taken a picture of one on Rt 77

Northern Indiana in Amish country, Napanee and Shipshewana areas have numerous ones. Quite lovely. It was done as a promotion by their local tourist board, I think.

On the way home from Michigan last year, coming through Indiana we spent a half day on their Quilt Trail. We got a map and followed part of it. The map had the location obviously and a little info about the design etc. We tried this in RI, but got to the town to late to get the map and couldn't stay til the next day. I hope my next trail to visit is in Kentucky, got some of their info off the web and it looks like fun. Also a good way to see some areas you might not get to otherwise, (not all in the country on barns either). I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you follow one.

This is the one we went on, only did about half of it though, time constraints and 13 yr old GS with us, he wasn't to interested.