Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
SCHOOLHOUSE — The Houlton Higher Education Center recently erected a “barn quilt block” on a shed at the school thanks to an effort with the RSU 29/SAD 70 Adult Education program and the Friends and Needles Quilt Guild. The guild is working on a Northern Maine Quilt Barn Trail. Showing off the new square are, from left, Chuck Ames, Toni Eppley, Jennifer Metzger, Jean Kervin and Bernadette Farrar.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Most people associate quilt squares with lovely patterns that are sewn together to make a warm, colorful cover for a bed or rack.
But many may not know quilt squares can also be found adorning barns and buildings on a much larger scale.
That is the premise of the Northern Maine Quilt Barn Trail, a project in the works by the Friends and Needles Quilt Guild of Houlton. The project features large wooden blocks, typically four-feet square, painted to look like squares on a quilt, that are then hung on barns and other structures to form a trail for people to view.
The guild, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is also gearing up for its annual quilt show, held Aug. 15-17 at the Houlton Higher Education Center, 18 Military St. The show is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 15-16 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17. Admission is $5.
The idea for a trail was presented to the guild back in 2011. The group pondered how it could pull off such a task and the wheels were soon put into motion. The first block, marking the start of the Aroostook County trail, is located at Rather-B-Quilting, 224 B Road, owned by Peggy Crane.
“We decided we wanted to do this because they can be a tourist attraction,” guild member Jennifer Metzger said. “People can plug these locations into a GPS and come from all over to see the them. It is a way to bring people to the area.”
According to Metzger, the original idea of quilt barn squares began with Donna Sue Groves with a wish to honor her mother, Maxine, and her Appalachian heritage by having a painted quilt block hung on her Adams County, Ohio barn. Groves, working with the Ohio Arts Council and other community organizations, was inspired to change her plan from a single block to a sampler of 20 quilt squares that could be created along a driving trail, which would invite visitors to travel through the Ohio countryside.
While some communities around the country have trails that lure people to downtown areas that can be viewed by walking, the majority of barn quilt trails are spread out through a countryside setting. Squares are most often mounted on farm buildings, homes, along fences or occasionally mounted on a post for people to search out.
Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
COMPASS — A barn owned by Mac Moody on the Bangor Road features the “Mariner’s Compass” design and is part of the new Northern Maine Quilt Barn Trail.
“A lot of people come and visit areas to check off their list,” Metzger said. “It’s similar to geocaching.”
Each block is designed to reflect some aspect of the building owner’s personality. The block on Crane’s home is designed in the shape of flying geese centered on a “churn dash” pattern, thus the square is named “Churning Geese.”
Crane designed the pattern on fabric and the image was then transferred to the large wooden board.
“We let the person who’s property the block is going to be mounted on decide the content of the square,” Metzger said. “We’ve studied them enough to get a good sense of what color schemes work best.”
The second block was placed on a storage shed at the Houlton Higher Education Center in November, 2013 and features a design in the shape of an old-fashioned schoolhouse. The staff of the HHEC participated in the project and it was co-sponsored by the RSU29/SAD 70 Adult Education program.
The schoolhouse block is a symbol of protest by the child labor movement, Metzger said. A similar block hangs in Kirksville, Ky. on an old schoolhouse.
A third square was erected on a barn owned by Mac Moody on the Bangor Road. Moody’s square is called the “Mariner’s Compass” block.
In May, the group received a $100 grant from the Maine Pine Tree Guild to assist with one of the blocks. The group is currently working on its next square, to be mounted in Mars Hill at the Bear Paw Inn and features, naturally, a bear paw print. Additional blocks are also in the works as the guild works to expand its trail.
For more information, visit the Friends and Needles Quilt Guild at www.friendsandneedles.org or follow them on Faceboook.
