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In Iowa, quilt blocks on barns lead travelers off the major highways and back through once forgotten communities. The Iowa quilt blocks on barns have become a celebration of the participating community's heritage while generating tourism revenue.
These aren't your common quilt blocks. The Iowa quilt blocks on barns are created with paint instead of fabric scraps, but they replicate many traditional quilt patterns - something all quilting enthusiasts can appreciate as true works of art.
The Iowa quilt blocks on barns are generally 8 foot x 8 foot squares of plywood, painted to look like a traditional quilt block, then mounted on the sides or fronts of barns. The colorful quilt blocks are hard to miss and they're addictive - once you spot your first, you'll want to keep searching for more of them!
The project began in Grundy County Iowa and spread to other communities. One very popular area is Sac County, Iowa. There are 55 barn quilts and 19 community quilts across Sac County, located in west-central Iowa. The museum honoring the birthplace of crooner Andy Williams hosts one of Sac County's community quilts. The quilt block there, "Mother's Choice," was painted by Jackson's 4-H club.
That's what's so great about the Iowa quilt blocks on barns and at community locations. It became a project for the entire community. Started in 2005 by Kevin Peyton as a 4-H project, he anticipated that the success of the project would depend on the number of people who got involved. With the help of his family, Peyton started asking for community involvement.
Quilting enthusiasts advised to use primary and secondary colors for the Iowa quilt blocks on barns and to use simple lines. They selected quilt block patterns that depicted aspects of their community's heritage - agriculture, horticulture and family. Some you will see on your Iowa quilt blocks on barns tour include "Turkey in the Straw," "Country Farm," "Blazing Star," and "Hovering Hawks." To see photos of the Iowa quilt blocks on barns, take a look at http://www.barnquilts.com/2359.html. You can see actual photos of the proudly displayed barn quilts. A map of participating barns and community buildings is also provided in case you are planning a trip to the area.
Volunteers painted the blocks and the community's rural electric co-operative volunteered its boom trucks to help hang the large Iowa quilt blocks on barns.
Volunteers also helped Peyton's Iowa quilt blocks on barns project by suggesting barn criteria. The volunteers recommended that the barns or corncribs be at least 50 years old and sit on farms that were active and attractive to passers-by. The barns were also required to be on hard surface roads and visible from both directions, making the tour easy and enjoyable for tourists.
Barns play an important role in Iowan heritage. The Iowa Barn Foundation (http://www.iowabarnfoundation.org/) makes grant money available to restore barns to help preserve the state's agricultural heritage. Quilting is another part of Iowan heritage, so in Iowa, quilt blocks on barns go hand in hand.
Peyton says his idea was not an original one. He was inspired to start the barn quilt project in his own community after reading a newspaper article about a barn quilt project in Grundy County, Iowa. The Grundy project began after an extension agent there brought the idea back from a conference where she had learned about a similar project going on in Ohio.
If you are planning a trip to Iowa and want to drive through barn quilt country, U.S. Highway 20 is a good road to drive. Sac County starts the big barn quilt display from the west and Grundy County kicks off the display from the east.
Quilters (and tourism leaders) in other states have picked up the idea, too. In addition to Iowa and Ohio, parts of Kentucky and Tennessee have also jumped on the barn quilt wagon. If you plan to make a day trip or weekend out of one of the barn quilt tours, make sure to allow time to stop at the local quilting and souvenir shops to browse mementos like barn quilt postcards, stationery and cookbooks featuring local food favorites. By making a little time to stop, you'll get to meet the people who made the barn quilts a reality - and those people are as priceless as the community art they created.
