Interesting things about barn quilts

 Last week (March 12 and 16th, 2024) here in Boelus, Nebraska, we had two barn quilt workshops.  The workshops were led by Rose Mapel of www.artisticinnovationsNE.com and we had 35 creators in attendance.  Rose provided all materials needed to create the barn quilts except for the tape. Barn quilts are painted on a square of wood or in this case, on aluminum composite, which holds up better in our Nebraska weather than wood does.  The patterns are varied and limited only to your imagination.  The boards came to us penciled in 2 inch squares on a 2 foot by 2 foot board.  We took a picture with our smart phones of the pattern we wanted to create.

We then selected our paint colors after erasing the unneeded pencil lines, and began taping.

Here are just a few of the finished barn quilts.

The barn quilt trails can be found all across America and Canada.  Donna Sue Groves of Manchester, Adams County, Ohio is credited with beginning the barn quilt trails movement in 2001.  She wanted to honor her mother, Maxine, a noted quilter with a painted quilt pattern on the family farm.  Donna then collaborated with the Ohio Arts Council and 20 more painted quilt squares were created.

However, barn quilt patterns go back even further in history.  There are two versions of barn quilt beginnings.  One is that during the revolutionary war, the barn quilts were a code to American soldiers to let them know they were on a safe property and what might be available to them there. Another version is that immigrants from the Germanic countries in Europe who settled in Pennsylvania would paint a barn quilt to let travelers know what family lived there and to celebrate their heritage.  Farmers believed that painted symbols would protect their barns from evil spirits and bring good luck.  Each design held its own meaning: eight-pointed stars symbolized abundance, rosettes safeguarded against famine, and oak leaves represented strength.  As paint began to be less expensive in the 1830's, barn decorating became a trade with specialized artisans.

Thanks to:

www.barnquiltheadquarters.com 

www.farmstayus.com 

American Barn Quilts Blog