Our Barn Quilts are made with high quality MDO (Medium Density Overlay) exterior sign board material. This gives the Barn Quilt a smooth finish and will last for years.
The boards are first sealed with two coats of exterior primer. Then the backs receive two coats of exterior paint to additionally seal out the elements. Now the pattern colors are carefully applied.
Barn Quilt prices are based on the complexity of the design and number of colors used to complete the quilt.
48" x 48" Is our most popular and is perfect on almost any mid or full size building. Starting at: $250 SORRY, wE NO LONGER DO 8' X 8' BARN QUILTS
Barn Quilt Information
Source for Barn Quilt Information, Suzi Parron Author with Donna SueGroves of Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement
The concept of barn quilts began with Donna Sue Groves
and her wish to honor her mother, Maxine, and her Appalachian heritage by having
a painted quilt hung on her barn in Adams County, Ohio.
As is often the case, good ideas fall by the wayside when work and other
obligations intervene. Donna Sue mentioned the project from time to time
for several years until she was encouraged by her friends to go ahead and
paint that quilt square. Her work with the Ohio Arts Council and other community organizations inspired Donna Sue to alter her plan. Rather than creating a personal tribute, she suggested that a "sampler of twenty quilt squares could be created along a driving trail that would
invite visitors to travel through the countryside. A committee of volunteers worked together to both plan the trail and to for
form guidelines as to how the project would be managed. Several barn owners signed on, and the work began.
So it happened that the first quilt square on the American Quilt Trail
does not hang at the Groves farm. The Ohio Star was painted by local artists and installed on a building at a greenhouse nearby, a location that allowed for a public celebration
of the inauguration of the quilt trail. A Snail's Trail quilt square
was later painted by an artist and mounted on the barn where Donna Sue and Maxine Groves reside.
That first quilt trail was hardly begun when a group of quilters from
neighboring Brown County, Ohio, started their own project. For several years,
Donna Sue worked with organizations in Ohio and Tennessee to foster
the growth of new trails.
She also served as advisor for dozens of individuals who were either creating a painted quilt for their own property or planning a quilt trail in their community.
Donna Sue traveled to Iowa to introduce the concept. Each year more and more trails
are created in that state. Kentucky was the next to join.
The Bluegrass State is home to about 800 painted quilts.
Quilt trails are created by quilt guilds, civic groups, local arts councils, 4H clubs, school groups, and other organizations.
Most are a countywide effort, which allows for a distinct trail in a single area
and creates local pride in the project. This simple idea has spread to 48
states and to Canada and the trail continues to grow.
Over 7000 quilts are part of organized trails;
dozens more are scattered through the countryside waiting to be discovered.
I'm often told that barn quilts must be part of the wonderful Amish quilting
heritage or that they came to America from some European tradition.
Although both of those theories are interesting and
have been published from time to time, they just are not based in fact.
How can I be so certain? The answer is a rather simple one.
No one has been able to document the location of a painted quilt square that
existed prior to the Ohio Star that was painted in Adams County, Ohio in 2001.
Donna Sue Groves' idea continues to inspire folks across the country to join what has become the largest grassroots public arts movement in our history.
