BY HELEN B. FOSTER, Correspondent
Attending this month’s Concened Neighbors Connecting meeting were, from left, Lorraine James, speaker Joyce Coons, and Linda Baroni.
Joyce Coons, owner of the Craft Barrel in New Milford, was the guest speaker at the April meeting of Concerned Neighbors Connecting held at St. Mark’s Church Hall.
Coon gave the history of quilts in general and Barn Quilts in particular which are quilt squares painted on wood.
She explained how the Barn Quilts can be used to decorate houses, sheds, barns, proches and many other areas of houses and yards. Joyce said she is not a quilter but a painter and has 5,000 classic quilt block designs for people to choose from. Anyone interested in knowing more about barn quilts may call Joyce at 465-7483.
Coons said that 300 years ago immigrants from Germany, including the Amish, used barn quilts to decorate their unpainted barns. These barns along with others in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana were included in the early Barn Quilt Trail.
There are now 900 barns in 16 states making up the quilt trail. There are an average of 20 squares (guilt blocks) in an average quilt so 20 barns was the goal for the first quilt trail. This was devised as a way to get people out in the countryside to see what the farmers and craftsmen had to offer. One early farmer reaped a benefit as he was known to tell visitors, “For years I got up went to work, it got dark and I went to bed. Now people want to know all about me because I have a quilt on my barn.”
Those attending the April lunch were given Fortune Eggs, instead of Fortune Cookies and as the contents were read they drew laughs and as well as nods of agreement. Some of the ladies attending wore Easter hats they had decorated for the occasion.
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