The first time I saw a barn quilt, I knew there was something significant to it. It just did not seem like a typical piece nor a typical place to put a piece of art. So I did a little research and learned that the first barn quilt was made by Donna Sue Groves in Ohio. Ms. Groves made the barn quilt to honor her mother who was a quilter.
From that barn quilt came barn quilt trails. These trails can be seen throughout the U.S. Interestingly enough though, Izard County has its own barn quilt trail, which is featured here http://arkansasquilttrails.com/izardcounty/
With my love of woodworking though, I wanted to make a barn quilt out of scrap wood, not just painted. A quick visit to my favorite woodworking tutorial site and I found a How To Video – A Wooden Representation of a Barn Quilt.
Mostly I used scrap pieces of cedar that were milled from cedar trees on our property. The four squares are made from fencing on the property that used to be used as a corral. The large triangles are from 2×6 pine scraps.
Don’t ask me why, but I like to decorate our chicken coops and this barn quilt was perfect for the latest one my husband built. Unfortunately though, none of our buildings, including the chicken coop, can be seen from the street. So I won’t have the pleasure of being a part of a barn quilt trail.
