QUILT PAINTING—Quilters Guild Member Lois Edwards (left) and volunteer Rosalee Atwood paint a "Dutchman's Puzzle" pattern for the guild's barn quilt project.
|
Local quilters take part in county "Barn Quilt" project
By LAURA THORNBURG
Staff
Members of the Alleghany Quilters Guild—along with friends and volunteers—have opted to take part in a barn quilt project they hope will result in a barn quilt trail throughout the county in honor of Alleghany County's 150th anniversary.
At present, individuals are gathering at the Emerson Black Exhibition Building and painting and sketching a variety of 4x4 feet square quilt patterns randomly selected by members of the guild, according to Delta Peterson, who serves as the chairperson of the Barn Quilt Project.
The patterns that have been selected to be placed on barns in the county include "The Moon Over the Mountain," which Peterson said is the logo of the Alleghany Quilters; "The Pine Tree" to represent the Christmas tree growers in the county, and "The Maple Leaf" because of the number of maple trees in the county. Others include "Sisters," "The Eight-Pointed Star," "The Honeybee," "The Churndash" and "Air Castle." Peterson commented that each pattern is traditional and it has been handed down through the generations.
About the Project
Peterson explained the idea of a barn quilt project started in Ohio when a resident was bringing her mother home from the hospital.
"She was coming home and she loved the barns and she loved quilts," stated Peterson. "Her daughter decided to have a quilt painted on the barn so that when she came home, she could look out her window and see the quilt. From that, someone else saw that and they wanted one and it just mushroomed and grew. We're hoping it will do that in Alleghany."
Peterson mentioned more than 900 barns in the states of Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio are adorned with painted quilts. To her understanding, there are also 60 barns in neighboring Tennessee that have quilt patterns
|
