Barn Quilts Are Big In Northeast Texas

I f you’re anywhere near Bonham, the county seat of Fannin County, you see a lot of quilt patterns painted on barns and other buildings. The paintings represent one square of a quilt.

“The history of barn quilts came about some years ago when barns in Kentucky and Ohio and different areas were coming into disrepair and residents wanted to brighten up their communities,” says Patti Wolf, who ranches near Ivanhoe north of Bonham. She created a barn quilt trail that winds through Fannin County.

“At any given time we have 150 to 170 squares,” says Patti. “It fluctuates because people are moving out or in and some are being repaired. It takes two days to see all of them. We provide maps.”

Most of the quilt paintings are four by four feet square but some are eight feet by eight feet.

“We have a few two feet by two feet but I didn’t go that direction because I wanted people to be able to see these from the road and enjoy looking at them.”

Some are painted directly on the buildings. Others are painted on wood or metal and screwed onto the structures.

“It’s outdoor paint of course. We have a huge tourist attraction here and have people come here from all over the United States and Canada. We’ve even had some from Italy. My goal was basically to celebrate this community and its residents.” She says it’s easy to paint a quilt square. “It’s all geometric. Get out your ruler and a pencil; draw your pattern on a board or something. It’s all between lines and stuff. If you can color, you can paint a quilt square. It’s great fun. We have several on our place and people are always driving by and looking at them.”

It’s also a great project for kids and family members to work together.

“Home schoolers can make them. At our high school in Bonham the geography teacher had his students paint a quilt square. It’s good for the kids because it’s numbers and measuring stuff. It up on their agriculture barn.”

Some people looking for ideas about quilt design turn to Google or other social sites. In earlier time the Kansas City Star newspaper put a quilt design in every issue of its publication. Many early quilters relied on the paper for patterns.

“O my gosh, there’s so many quilt patterns out there. Everybody has a quilt that grandma made and it’s a wonderful way to make her memory last a long time.”

The trail is twelve years old and is called The Fannin County Quilt Barn Trail, The Largest Barn Quilt Trail In The State Of Texas.