Wednesday, February 4, 2026

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.

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4 comments:

  1. Jenn JilksFebruary 4, 2026 at 9:10 AM

    That is a terrific theme!

    ReplyDelete
  2. RosaleaFebruary 4, 2026 at 11:23 AM

    Something I want to do is make a barn quilt for our barn.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DreamingFebruary 4, 2026 at 1:44 PM

    A friend forwarded a link to your post about barn quilts. My husband and I have traveled through the US in a motorhome, and have enjoyed seeing barn quilts in many different areas of the country. It is like a scavenger hunt! We love the different areas that have advertised 'quilt trails'. I needed some decoration on my house so I have painted several different barn quilts to hang there. I actually made mine from 30" canvases, coated with lots of lacquer. I change them out seasonally. Glad to have found your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Barbara RogersFebruary 4, 2026 at 7:34 PM

    Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting "In Forest and Field" and thank you especially for commenting. It's always interesting to see other peoples' thoughts. Unfortunately, due to spam and trolls (not the kind living beneath bridges), comments must now be approved before being posted.

Woody

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