Book Review: Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement
January 27th, 2013 by Morna
Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement
by Suzi Parron with Donna Sue Groves
Swallow Press; $29.95
The American Quilt Trail, large colorful quilt blocks painted and mounted on barns, is truly a grassroots public arts movement. In this book, Suzi Parron travels across 25 states and Canada to visit the barn artists and barn owners to learn more about the movement, which started with Donna Sue Groves’ project in 2001 to paint barns in Adams County, Ohio. From those humble beginnings designed to honor Groves’ mother and draw economic attention to one part of Ohio, the quilt trail now encompasses 45 states and more than 3,000 “quilts.” The stories are fascinating, and the quilts are just fun to see. I was fond of a Grandmother’s Fan that wrapped around the side of a barn in Ohio and the trompe l’oeil Lone Star quilt on a barn in Illinois. Recommended.
Look for the book at your favorite quilt or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.
