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Quilt Blocks on Barns Aim to Draw Drivers Off the Beaten Path
barns, culture, kentucky quilt trail, quilt blocks,
A stunning display of quilt blocks can be seen in an art gallery of sorts along Montgomery County’s back roads. The display of five 8-foot quilt blocks on local barns is intended to get Montgomery County residents and tourists off the beaten path.
“It’s supposed to get you off the highway and onto the two-lane back roads‚ to follow the trail of blocks‚ stop a little‚ shop along the way‚” says Becky Hill‚ a quilting-supply shop owner who coordinates the Kentucky Quilt Trail-Montgomery County project with fellow quilter Sharon Johnson.
The project is an offshoot of the original quilt trail project in Adams County‚ Ohio. A barn behind Hill’s quilting-supply shop‚ Sterling Thimble Quilt Shop‚ on Maysville Road‚ was the location of the first quilt block‚ Churn Dash. Other quilt blocks include LeMoyne Star at Hilltop Farm on Owlingsville Road; Tree of Life at Bramble Ridge Orchard on Osborne Road; Double Pinwheel on New Cut Road in Jeffersonville; and Star of Hope at Hope Hill Children’s Home on Spencer Pike. Another two are in the works‚ and Hill says the plan is to have 12 blocks.
The quilt blocks‚ mounted on aluminum signboard with vinyl‚ are each sponsored by an individual or business.
“Ten years from now‚ they will look just as good‚” Hill says.
The project has gained a lot of local support. Sign maker Steve Calvert of City Blue worked with the quilters to make the signs. Another company‚ Clark Energy‚ hangs them. The Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Tourism Commission is putting together a driving brochure that will contain the location and description of each quilt block. The brochures will be available at Hill’s quilt shop and the Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce‚ among other locations.
Story by Nancy Humphrey
Photo by Greg Emens
