Painted Quilt Blocks Tour

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