Monday, August 17, 2009

Barns & Quilt Blocks in the Heartland

As I drove through Iowa in June & July, I was thrilled to see a number of barns boldly displaying a large quilt block. Each one was different and stunning. This trend seemed to be most popular in Sac County and Fayette County. I don't remember seeing any quilt blocks in 2007 when I was in Iowa. As near as I can tell, each block is about 5 or 6 feet square.

What a unique idea! I love the way the quilt blocks and the barns are linked together in the history of Iowa. I don't know the story behind this new trend, but would love to hear about it from someone who knows.

I didn't see any evidence of this unique pairing in Minnesota. I'm trying to convince my dad that he should put a quilt block on his new barn in northern Minnesota!


Can't you just visualize a quilt block right above the garage door? By the way, that's Grandpa with two of his grandsons on the tractor.

4 comments:

Sandi said...

It's interesting that all your barn samples are red with white roofs. Did you know that Tobi was instrumental in convincing Grandpa to put a white roof on the barn rather than green as he had originally planned?

LoieJ said...

I posted a link to your blog with the question at http://www.quiltart.com/

There are about 2000+ members, so somebody should know the answer.

Mary Beth said...

I didn't know about Tobi's discussion with Grandpa, but it doesn't surprise me because he has a knack for knowing what looks good.

Tammy from quilt-pictures.com said...

I believe the barn quilts were an idea to promote the historical significance of old barns and quilting combined. It was to bring tourists to the area and the idea has spread across the country.

I think it's a great idea and definitely is generating alot of interest in both quilts and barns.