Thursday, August 20, 2009

Iowa Barn Quilts


This barn was photographed near Ankeny, Iowa
just off I-35

I noticed the lovely Barn Quilts for the first time when my family traveled to north-central Iowa in January, 2009, to visit my in-laws. My oldest daughter, who lives in Philadelphia, was convinced that these were hex signs (something that the Pennsylvania Dutch adorn their barns with). Apparently the quilts are an effort to draw attention to the dwindling number of old barns that still grace the Iowa countryside.

A member of the quiltart list mentioned that Donna Sue Groves is credited with starting
the project in Ohio to honor her mother and to help rural Adams County, OH. The project has grown and is now in more than 20 states. Here is her interview for Quilters' SOS-Save Our Stories, located on the Alliance for American Quilts website. I am a board member of this organization, and would like to encourage you to visit the site:

We returned from another trip to Iowa yesterday. I have been looking for information on the internet that explains the recent phenomenon. There doesn't seem to be a central site, but here is a bit more information:

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