Having spent quite a lot of time cruising along narrow two lane country highways, enjoying the bucolic fields of green crops, counting "Red Barn, White House" and "Red House, White Barn" and "White Barn, White House" to myself... I have to say that I found such travels much improved when I got to Hamilton and Sac County Iowa - I was not prepared for the gorgeous artwork applied to the barns in conspicuous locations, highly visible from the road. You see - I love quilts. I like making them but I find other people always do it so much better than I - and I was sorely disappointed to realize that I missed out on shopping in "quilt country' because it was a SUNDAY and all the quilt shops advertised on big billboards were CLOSED! Foiled! I also like big old barns. They are cool. Barn Quilts - combines both of these interesting things to enhance the scenery on my drive through Iowa. Most Barn Quilts are about 8' x 8' - and easily visible from the road, with signs indicating the name of the quilt block pattern near the end of the driveway. I saw so many gorgeous works of art on barns here and stupidly failed to photograph every single one of them! Fortunately - the Barn Quilts of Sac County website has a fantastic catalog of all the murals - and it's very easy to access by location or to just do a slide show. There's even an excellent Google map and a downloadable PDF for ease of use for the casual day tripper. Great way to spend a summer afternoon - this was my favorite part of the Midwest "flyover" states - and I might even consider going back to see more barn quilts sometime! read more

See all