Nov 17 2009
Iowa’s Barn Quilts
I want a barn quilt.
My husband thinks I’m crazy, but he hasn’t seen what I’ve seen.
Driving through Iowa, I found a lot of surprises along the way.
Barn quilts were one of them.
You see, I’d read about the barn quilts awhile ago, but I’d never actually seen one.
Until Sunday.
And now I want one.
If you think I’ve lost my marbles and am planning to buy an awful lot of fabric in an effort to keep the barn warm, don’t worry. It’s not that kind of quilt.
It’s this kind of quilt.
One quilt square on one barn. Another quilt square on another barn. And so on and so forth until the entire area is a patchwork of barn quilts.
I thought the idea of barn quilts had originated in Iowa several years ago, but the Fairmont, MN, Sentinel, reports that barn quilts have been around for hundreds of years. It’s just that Iowa has recently done a good job of promoting this project as a part of their state’s agricultural heritage.
While driving in northern Iowa, I saw several barn quilts. And then, crossing the state line, I found some in Minnesota. If I get a barn quilt, it would probably be the first one in my county, but then, I’ve done unusual things before, like writing a travel blog when I live in the middle of nowhere and opening a twitter account when few around me know what twitter is.
So I think a barn quilt would do quite nicely for me. After all, I already have a barn.
I just need a quilt for it.
Absolutely! There was a farm near Faribault, MN that had a gorgeous barn quilt on the front. I admired is so often. I love your collection!
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Those remind me of Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs, which could also be construed as being kind of quilt-y. The hex signs warded off evil spirits from the barn in the PA Dutch farm country. Even though I grew up in Western PA, my grandmother had one above the garage on the house.
I love little pieces of Americana like these.
I have never seen one of those before, and I have lived in Iowa and Minnesota my whole life!
Those are beautiful! Is there a place that sells them, or are these people all making their own? They look pretty big!
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It looks like there are groups that will assist you in making them. In some counties, they can be sponsored by a group of community organizations to assist the farmer with costs. Some places give directions for making your own.
It seems that they are mostly along the norther tier of Iowa. I found these between Highway 30 and the Minnesota border.
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Aren’t they beautiful? I’ve seen quite a few around Iowa, but I wasn’t sure about the story behind them. If you don’t get a quilt for your barn, you could definitely blow up and frame the photos you took. I love the (I hope you do get a quilt though.) How do you decide what quilt pattern to use? Are there any “rules,” or can you just choose whatever one you like? I’d love to have one, but alas, we don’t have a barn. It would look quite nice on my garage, though…
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Paula, that issue of which quilt pattern I’d choose may have been solved. My cousin saw my post and reminded me of a quilt that ladies from our church made in the 1930’s and presented to a pastor who was moving away. The quilt recently found its way back into our family, so my barn quilt pattern would be modeled off my grandmother’s quilt square.
I really need to find out the costs involved in this, because I think my barn (or your garage) would look beautiful with a quilt on it.
I love the barn quilts. I see them every time I drive into Iowa and I think, “These people have their own secret club that provides interest to the rest of us.”
I definitely think you need a barn quilt.
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Too cool! I’m bummed I wasn’t able to attend the conference with you (hopefully next year will work out). I love to explore road side attractions and have MANY photos taken through the windshield while I was driving. If we were together it would be much safer for both of us! One drives, one snaps the shots.
)
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Your husband may change his attitude when he sees your barn with a big new quilt block. I would like to suggest a couple of groups (communities) on the web that are devoted to Barn Quilts (Quilt Barns), and what is a new arts movement… a little different than what was done in the past.
http://www.americanquiltbarns.com/
http://barnquilting.ning.com/
Good luck on the project
Bruce
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Bruce, thank you for the links. Hopefully I can show off my finished product someday!
Love ‘em! I’ve been admiring them throughout KY, TN and OH for years and finally got a trail started here in SC with the help of lots of friends. This weekend I’m doing the detail work on a square that is remarkably like the one on the big open gray barn! It’s in red, gold, purple and turquoise. Keep your eye out for it on our website! We’re doing some small ones to auction off as fundraisers.
We have 3 hung so far and are working hard. Go get yours! I’m doing a Grandmother’s Flower Garden on my old barn to honor the lady who used to live here.