Barn quilts, the colorful patchwork designs on barns and other outbuildings in several counties around Iowa, have really caught on in Hancock County. Not officially part of the Iowa Barn Quilt Project, Hancock County's barn quilts are due to individual efforts to brighten the countryside. Pam Kerns, of rural Garner, said she attended a reunion in Plover, Iowa last spring and saw many quilt patterns painted on area barns and it set her to thinking. Perhaps the first barn quilt in the county, a large American flag, can be seen on the County Threads Quilt Shop in rural Garner. The Iowa Barn Quilt Project began in Grundy County in 2003 as a way to invite residents and tourists to &#8220take the road less traveled,” and from there the idea spread to a number of other Iowa counties, including the counties of Pocahontas, Greene, Sac, Fayette and Humboldt. read more

Tags: quilts, barn, county, quilting patterns, kerns, painted