| In Iowa, quilt blocks on barns create | | | | Volunteers painted the blocks and the |
| community cooperation and tourism dollars. | | | | community's rural electric co-operative |
| | | | volunteered its boom trucks to help hang the |
| These aren't your common quilt blocks. The | | | | large Iowa quilt blocks on barns. |
| Iowa quilt blocks on barns are created with | | | | |
| paint instead of fabric scraps, but they | | | | Volunteers also helped Peyton's Iowa quilt |
| replicate many traditional quilt patterns - | | | | blocks on barns project by suggesting barn |
| something all quilting enthusiasts can | | | | criteria. The volunteers recommended that |
| appreciate as true works of art. | | | | the barns or corncribs be at least 50 years |
| | | | old and sit on farms that were active and |
| Iowa quilt blocks on barns range in size, but | | | | attractive to passers-by. The barns were also |
| are generally 8x8-foot wooden squares painted | | | | required to be on hard surface roads and |
| in quilt block motifs. The colorful quilt | | | | visible from both directions, making the tour |
| blocks are hard to miss and they're addictive | | | | easy and enjoyable for tourists. |
| - once you spot your first, you'll want to | | | | |
| keep searching for more of them! | | | | Barns play an important role in Iowan |
| | | | heritage. The Iowa Barn Foundation ( makes |
| The project began in Grundy County Iowa and | | | | grant money available to restore barns to |
| spread to other communities. One very popular | | | | help preserve the state's agricultural |
| area is Sac County, Iowa. There are 55 barn | | | | heritage. Quilting is another part of Iowan |
| quilts and 19 community quilts across Sac | | | | heritage, so in Iowa, quilt blocks on barns |
| County, located in west-central Iowa. The | | | | go hand in hand. |
| museum honoring the birthplace of crooner | | | | |
| Andy Williams hosts one of Sac County's | | | | Peyton says his idea was not an original one. |
| community quilts. The quilt block there, | | | | He was inspired to start the barn quilt |
| "Mother's Choice," was painted by Jackson's | | | | project in his own community after reading a |
| 4-H club. | | | | newspaper article about a barn quilt project |
| | | | in Grundy County, Iowa. The Grundy, Iowa |
| That's what makes the Iowa quilt blocks on | | | | quilt blocks on barns project started with an |
| barns and at community locations so great. It | | | | idea that an extension agent brought back |
| became a project for the entire community. | | | | from a conference. She'd heard about a |
| Started in 2005 by Kevin Peyton as a 4-H | | | | similar project in Ohio. |
| project, he anticipated that the success of | | | | |
| the project would depend on the number of | | | | If you are planning a trip to Iowa and want |
| people who got involved. With the help of his | | | | to drive through barn quilt country, U.S. |
| family, Peyton started asking for community | | | | Highway 20 is a good road to drive. Sac |
| involvement. | | | | County starts the big barn quilt display from |
| | | | the west and Grundy County kicks off the |
| Quilting enthusiasts advised to use primary | | | | display from the east. |
| and secondary colors for the Iowa quilt | | | | |
| blocks on barns and to use simple lines. They | | | | The idea has spread to quilters and tourism |
| selected quilt block patterns that depicted | | | | leaders in other states. In addition to Iowa |
| aspects of their community's heritage - | | | | and Ohio, parts of Kentucky and Tennessee |
| agriculture, horticulture and family. Some of | | | | have also jumped on the barn quilt wagon. If |
| the quilt patterns you'll see on your Iowa | | | | you plan to make a day trip or weekend out of |
| barn quilt tour include classics like "Turkey | | | | one of the barn quilt tours, make sure to |
| in the Straw" and "Hovering Hawks"." To see | | | | allow time to stop at the local quilting and |
| photos of the Iowa quilt blocks on barns, | | | | souvenir shops to browse mementos like barn |
| take a look at You can see actual photos of | | | | quilt postcards, stationery and cookbooks |
| the proudly displayed barn quilts. A map of | | | | featuring local food favorites. By making a |
| participating barns and community buildings | | | | little time to stop, you'll get to meet the |
| is also provided in case you are planning a | | | | people who made the barn quilts a reality - |
| trip to the area. | | | | and those people are as priceless as the |
| | | | community art they created. |