Quilt Blocks

As we drive around northcentral Pennsylvania it’s not unusual to see decorations on barns. Sometimes one side of a barn has been painted to advertise chewing tobacco, sometimes a sign promoting a particular brand of tractors, gasoline or chainsaws has been nailed to the siding. Those are ads, intended to encourage the viewer to purchase a product.

Then there are the quilt blocks painted on plywood and nailed to barns or outbuildings. The quilt blocks are purely aesthetic, not intended to sell anything to anyone.

Here’s a selection of the quilt blocks we’ve seen on barns over the last few years –

Some of these quilt blocks have been up for years, exposed to sun and rain they’re fading. Others are fairly new, still bright for now. Will anyone repaint the fading quilt blocks? As the old barns deteriorate and gradually disappear many quilt blocks will go too, but for now they add a pleasant bit of color to the rural landscape.