The Barn Quilt Story

The history of the American Barn Quilt can be traced back almost 300 years to the arrival of immigrants from the central regions of Europe; Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. 

A woman named Donna Sue Groves started what are now the oversized, brightly colored barn quilt squares appearing on barns throughout the Midwest and East. In Ohio in 2001, she made the first remodeled block of a barn quilt square in honor of her mother and to help a friend draw attention to his business from the nearby four-lane highway.  

Today barn quilts have become popular again with more and more becoming visible. Quilt trails have been developed in many states. After a number of barn quilts have been displayed in an area, a map is developed that guides the viewers to the location. The map will have an address, maybe a picture of the square and a name or explanation of its meaning. A few of the states that have developed quilt trails include, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa and ,Michigan.

The quilts can be put on any type of building, from houses, garages, sheds or just mounted on two posts and displayed in the yard or a park.

 

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My Story

I am a retired teacher located in Iowa and Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. I have been painting barn quilts for 10 years. I use a high quality 1/2 inch exterior grade MDO plywood. Each quilt is sealed with 2 coats of exterior latex primer and painted with 3 coats of exterior latex semi-gloss in the colors of your choice. My patterns have been scanned into my computer and can be colored and previewed with my digital paint program.

 

Prices:    1X1   $25

                2X2   $50

                3X3   $100

                4X4   $150

                6X6   $200  (in 2 pieces, requires a frame not included)

                8X8   $300  (in 2 pieces, requires a frame not included)