Thursday, December 22, 2016

Merry Christmas!

NEW

KSFHQT 2017 Calendars



The Kansas Flinthills Quilt Trail
2017 Calendars
are now available!
$20, including shipping
Mail a check payable to KS Flint Hills Quilt Trail to:
Sue Hageman, 8440 Alembic Rd, Riley KS 66531
Be sure to include your mailing address!


Sunday, September 11, 2016







Memorable morning with Suzi as she visited with barn quilt enthusiasts and personalized
their copy of her new book, "Following The Barn Quilt Trail."
The Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail hosted the event
Saturday, September 10th at the Flint Hills Discovery Center.




Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat, opened the program
telling the story behind their barn quilt
and family heirloom quilt
at the Lazy T Ranch. He then recited
his poem, "Stalking the Elusive Barn Quilt"
Suzi has a special talent of finding the stories
behind the barn quilts, and putting those stories
in to words. Her program highlights her travels
across the country in search of those stories.









Stalking the Elusive Barn Quilt

In Honor of Suzi Parron
And the Flint Hills Barn Quilt Trail

By Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat

It’s not exactly hunting, in the sense of bow or gun,
But it does involve a search, and it is a lot of fun.
It’s a quest to find Barn Quilts at which you definitely want to look,
As told by Suzi Parron in her wonderful new book.
They're found on Barn Quilt Trails, now located across the nation,
As people seek them out as a tourist destination.
It starts with people choosing a nice quilt square design,
And painting them on panels in colors nice and fine.
Then those panels are hung on the side of barn or shed,
Where they’re available for viewing by the public, as I said.
And when there’s several in a region on a route that might entail,
It becomes what people now refer to as a Barn Quilt Trail.
It started in Ohio and the concept traveled west,
Where many quilts now stand as they await the traveler’s quest.
And it's not just the beauty of these eye-catching designs,
It's the back story of these families and the legacy they find.
So it's a wonderful experience in this quest to prevail,
As we learn heart-warming stories along the Flint Hills Barn Quilt Trail.


www.ronscowboypoetry.com
© Copyright 2016

Friday, September 2, 2016

Don't Miss

Suzi Parron's Presentation & Book Signing!

Saturday, September 10th & Sunday, September 11th


Wednesday, August 17, 2016






 

 Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail

Well Represented At The

National Quilt Trail Gathering

August 10 - 13, Greeneville, TN



Saturday, June 25, 2016

Enjoy Ron Wilson's recent columns. The Wilson's Lazy T Ranch has its own barn quilt trail. You may see them listed on the "quilt trail" tab in Riley County.

Cowboy Up!
By Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat

Barn Quilts - Part 1

The package came in the mail.  After a quick glance at the return address, we knew just what it was.  It was a book we had been waiting to see.  We tore open the package, opened the book, and were delighted with what we found inside.

The book is titled Following the Barn Quilt Trail.  It is written by Suzi Parron, with a foreword by Donna Sue Groves.  In the foreword, Donna explains how barn quilts came about.

Donna’s fascination with barns began at an early age.  When she was a little girl, her mother invented a game of counting barns in order to keep Donna and her brother entertained on long trips in the family car.  (This was long before handheld electronic devices or video screens in vans.)    That kept Donna on the watch for barns.  Most of those trips were to visit family, including two grandmothers who quilted.

In the 1980s, Donna was living in Ohio when she and her mother bought a farm with a barn on it.  Donna commented to her mother that the barn looked plain and it needed something colorful to brighten it up.  Donna wrote, “I halfheartedly said a big quilt square would look nice and promised her that I’d paint one for her someday.”  That promise took 14 years to come true.

The idea of a painted quilt square design to be hung on a barn would become the phenomenon now known as a barn quilt.

Meanwhile, Donna went to work for the Ohio Arts Council.  One of her projects was to encourage public murals in communities.  While traveling, she came to realize that most rural communities did not have large blank store walls on which to put a mural, but they did have nearby barns.  “To me the barn walls looked like empty palettes waiting to be decorated,” Donna Sue wrote.  “Why not make use of those barn walls specifically for a community project decorating them with barn quilts?”

In 2000, Donna finally got around to painting a barn quilt for her mother.  In fact, she suggested to her friends that they paint several of these designs to hang on barns and then invite tourists to come see them.  These groupings were called quilt trails.  The idea of barn quilts and quilt trails for visitors caught on so effectively that it has swept across the Midwest, as described previously in this column and other articles in Grass & Grain.

As Donna Sue Groves worked with barn quilt trails across the nation, many people wanted to write a book about them, but Donna wasn’t comfortable with any of these prospective authors.  Then one day she met Suzi Parron.  “When Suzi and I first chatted, I immediately knew she was the right person to tell our story,” Donna wrote.  Suzi was a teacher, a traveler, a southern girl, and an excellent writer with an eye for detail.

In 2012, Suzi published her book, Barn Quilts and the American Quilt Trail Movement.  After the book was done, she continued to explore barn quilts across the nation.  That led her to publish another book which came out in 2016.  This book includes several more states – including Kansas.

So we were excited about the package when it came in the mail, and we opened up the new book with anticipation.  I’ll describe the results in a future column.

  
Stalking the Elusive Barn Quilt
By Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat
 It’s not exactly hunting, in the sense of bow or gun,
But it does involve a search, and it is a lot of fun.
It’s called a Barn Quilt Trail and they’re found across the nation,
As people seek them out as a tourist destination.
It starts with people choosing a nice quilt square design,
And painting them on panels in colors nice and fine.
Then those panels are hung on the side of barn or shed,
Where they’re available for viewing by the public, as I said.
And when there’s several in a region on a route that might entail,
It becomes what people now refer to as a Barn Quilt Trail.
It started in Ohio and the concept traveled west,
Where many quilts now stand as they await the traveler’s quest.
It seems there’s been a lot of action on the barn quilt front,
As people seek them out for a tourist barn quilt hunt.
You don’t need a hunting license in this quest to prevail.
A book, website or friend can guide you on the Barn Quilt Trail.

Happy Trails!

www.ronscowboypoetry.com
© Copyright 2016
Shared with permission 6-25-16.

  


Cowboy Up!
By Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat

Barn Quilts - Part 2

Just as the original white American settlers migrated west in the 1800s, so came the idea of barn quilts and barn quilt trails in the 2000s.  The concept of barn quilts - the decorative panels painted with quilt square designs and hung on the sides of barns - began in Ohio and moved west.  Donna Sue Groves of Ohio is considered the founder of barn quilts and the creator of the first barn quilt trail.  In 2012, Suzi Parron wrote a book about barn quilt trails.  As explained in my previous column, Suzi has now published another book called Following the Barn Quilt Trail.  This book is essentially the journal of her travels visiting barn quilt trails across the U.S. – including Kansas.

But it wasn’t a covered wagon which first brought the barn quilt idea to Kansas.  In her new book, Suzi explained that such credit goes to Chris Campbell in Franklin County.  According to Suzi, Chris is a farm wife and mother, avid quilter and quilt shop owner.  One year Chris went to a quilt show in Oregon – for real quilts, the soft cloth kind – and took a side trip to a nearby barn quilt trail.  Chris came back from the trip thinking that somebody should start such a project in Kansas.  As Suzi Parron wrote, Chris finally decided, “That somebody became me!”

Her first barn quilt was mounted on Chris’ Corner Quilt Shop near Ottawa.  The Franklin County Barn Quilt Trail has grown to include more than 40 quilt blocks!

So Franklin County was Suzi Parron’s first stop in Kansas.  The book chronicles her continued visits across Kansas to such families as the Krambecks, Olberdings, and Sylvesters.

Then came the Flint Hills Barn Quilt Trail. Leaders like Sue Hageman, Connie Larson, Abby Amick, Lori Bammerlin, and Marcia Rozell promoted the development of a barn quilt trail for the Flint Hills region.  These women have done an outstanding job, as described by Suzi Parron.

One of Suzi’s stops in Kansas was at our ranch.  My wife told Suzi the story of her great-great-grandmother Maggie Thompson Beam, who made a quilt using the pattern of Lancaster Rose a century ago.  That quilt eventually found its way to our family, and we still have it.  We even have a black-and-white photo of a stern-looking Maggie working on this very quilt, and the design is prominent in the photo.  That was the design that we used for our first barn quilt.

We were so surprised and pleased to find that the barn, the quilt, and the photo of Grandma Beam are featured in Suzi Parron’s new book.  The book covers 17 states plus Canada.  Of the 259 pages describing barn quilts in various states, 15 pages are devoted to Kansas.  This colorful, engaging book is available from Swallow Press of Ohio (www.ohioswallow.com).

What explains this flurry of activity around barn quilts?  I think it is an intersection of art, tourism, and rural heritage.  As the following poem indicates, people have deep feelings for their family quilts.

I commend the women of Kansas who have promoted barn quilts and barn quilt trails in Kansas.  As Suzi Parron found, it is not just the eye-catching designs which make these so interesting.  It is the touching, heartwarming stories behind the quilts which make them especially meaningful.

I’m thankful that this idea migrated west.


Grandma’s Quilt
By Ron Wilson, Poet Lariat
 Grandma’s quilt is soft and warm.  We hang it on a railing,
In tribute to her handiwork and family love unfailing.
There are surely other families who might have a family quilt,
Which displays the craftsmanship that prior generations built.
Perhaps a grandma stitched a quilt a lot of years ago,
And it’s been passed down through the years for us to have and show.
Just think about those women with their skill in decorations,
Who created these warm quilts for future generations.
To think they chose these patterns and stitched them with such care,
Not knowing their descendants would find such value there.
When winter nights are here and we go lay down our heads,
How comforting to find a family quilt upon our beds.
It’s not just these blanket layers which protect us from the cold,
It’s the inner warmth of reconnecting with these gifts of old.
So what makes these quilts so special to those who’ve gotten and displayed them?
I think that it’s the memory of the loving hands who made them.


Happy Trails!

www.ronscowboypoetry.com
© Copyright 2016
Shared with permission 6-25-16

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

KSFHQT Participates In
Quilts In The Courtyard
Outdoor Quilt Show
In the historic Courtyard Square, Holton
Program by Sue Hageman
Saturday, June 11
Sue received a barn quilt pillow
for her presentation.


Thursday, April 21, 2016



Suzie Shaffer, Woodson County Historical Society
barn quilter and Sharon Heidemann,
KSFHQT Wabaunsee County Rep, visit
about the Yates Center "Quilts Around
The Square" project.

KSFHQT Visits Woodson County
Sharon Heidemann, KSFHQT Wabaunsee County Rep, and Connie Larson, KSFHQT, visited the Woodson County Historical Society painters on April 20th in Yates Center. The group has been busy painting since their first barn quilt class given by the KSFHQT back in September, 2014. 

Soon the "Quilts Around the Square" will be added to the KSFHQT website, as well as many barn quilts through the town of Yates Center and out in the rural areas of Woodson County.

The Woodson County Historical Society painters are busy getting ready for the Sunflower Quilter’s Guild Quilt Show at the Riverside Community Building in Iola, Saturday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Sunday noon - 4 p.m.  The historical society will have 25 2' x 2' barn quilts on display and for sale. The proceeds of the barn quilt sales goes to the Woodson County Historical Society for special projects.


Sunday, April 17, 2016


 

KSFHQT Info Shared
KSFHQT Wabaunsee County co-chairman, Sharon Heidemann,
displayed barn quilts and the Wabaunsee County info
at Spring Crank Up! held at Ag Heritage Park, Alta Vista,
on Saturday, April 16th.

Tuesday, April 12, 2016



"Painted Quilts Across the Flint Hills"
exhibit at the Great Overland Station
had many visitors on Saturday, April 9th, including the Kaw Valley Quilt Guild, Wamego, and Crawford gals
from Grantville.

Friday, April 8, 2016





The Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail enjoyed presenting a program for the Perceptor Zeta Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi in Marsyville Thursday evening, April 7th, in conjunction with their annual salad supper. The Chapter had been busy painting barn quilts for the table decor and used for door prizes. Way to go!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Have you seen this quilt

in the barn quilt exhibit in Topeka?

If not, there is still time

Exhibit open through April 30.

Sue Hageman made this quilt

featuring a quilt block pattern

from each of the 22 counties.

See many barn quilt examples
as well as quilts that match barn quilts.

“Painted Quilts Across the Flint Hills”
An Exhibit
by the
Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail
FEATURING
The rich beauty and history of the Flint Hills
through the art form of barn quilts.
OPEN THROUGH APRIL 30
On Display in the Fink Exhibit Gallery
The Great Overland Station
701 N Kansas Ave, Topeka KS 66610
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10:00-4:00
Note Station Closings:
Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 1 pm
Friday, April 22, 2016
Friday, April 29, 2016  

Saturday, April 2, 2016

End of the Trail Quilt Guild's
"Sunflower Journey Quilt Show"
 At the fairgrounds, Sterl Hall, in Abilene
619 N Rogers St at Eisenhower Park
Saturday, April 2 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 3 12:00 - 4:00 p.m.

165 quilts on display 

Also featuring a barn quilt!
  "Sunflower" - appropriately painted for the show theme
4x4 foot barn quilt - painted by Lori Hambright.



The 3 ladies in the photo are part of the EoTQG committee who have helped put this event together. Photo by Lori Hambright.

Sunday, March 27, 2016


Exhibit_Announcement-_white
Station Closings:
Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 1 pm
Friday, April 22, 2016
Friday, April 29, 2016  
*************************************************


Friday, March 18, 2016

Still Time To Visit
"Painted Quilts Across The Flint Hills"
Open Through April 30


Barn quilters Jessica Wyrill and daughter, Lexi,
Cindy Zimmerman and Hazel Zimmerman
toured “Painted Barn Quilts Across the Flint Hills”
at the Great Overland Station on St. Patrick’s Day.
Connie Larson enjoyed sharing the exhibit by the Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail with the avid barn quilters.
Jessica is active with the North Central/Northwest
barn quilt trails and Cindy and Hazel are
both barn quilt painters.
The family museum and park, Ag Heritage Park, Alta Vista, is an exhibitor with antique farm artifacts
complementing the display.


The exhibit is open through April 30, Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m., and takes visitors on a tour
of barn quilts through the Flint Hills,
as well as featuring quilts that
complement the art form.

Located at The Great Overland Station
701 N Kansas Ave, Topeka KS 66610

Saturday, February 13, 2016

The Kansas Flint Hills Quilt Trail

Thanks Sponsors & Exhibitors

of the

"Painted Quilts Across the Flint Hills"

Exhibit at

The Great Overland Station