BENTLEY BARN - 4 LOG CABIN

This is a follow up post to the one I did back on July 2nd about the barn quilt that hangs on the end of my parents barn.

Log Cabin quilts come in quite a variety of different names. It just all depends on how you lay them out. The blocks are usually all made the same, but can be put together in many different designs. The little pink square is where it is all started and is the "hearth of the home".

Mom was working on her very first large quilt (king-sized) and decided beings dad was raising the barn, she would use that design for her quilt and was the most appropriate. Dad made and painted this barn quilt with the 4 Log Cabin blocks, with a bit of help from one of his grandsons, Corey Wood.

The pictures show the barn quilt mounting which was done the end of June 2008. I think it was probably one of the first, if not the first, barn quilts in Scott County. Corey's dad Marty helped out with getting it installed.

I was going to add some pictures of the barn when it was being built but have yet to find them. Once they're found I'll post about the history and building of the barn.

Thanks for looking and have a blessed day!

THE PENCE FARM - IH 54-40 OR FIGHT

My son-in-law Justin and I mounted the barn quilt on his grandfather's utility shed a few days ago. It is on display at the Don and Shelby Pence farm located between Winchester and Manchester, IL. Don and Justin both have old Farmall tractors that they put in parades at times.

It looks really nice from the road.

















Here's a picture of Justin, Landon and Don, with their tractors in the Whitehall 4th of July parade.

IH 54-40 OR FIGHT

This is a barn quilt that one of my son-in-laws wanted me to make for his grandfather’s birthday. It was fitting because both Justin, and his grandfather Don, both have antique IH Farmall tractors. I found this barn quilt design on line that someone else had made. I alternated my variation just a little.

I didn’t know the history behind the “54-40 or Fight” pattern so looked it up on the net. Here’s what I found out from Wikipedia.

“The Oregon Dispute became important in geopolitical diplomacy between the British Empire and the new American Republic. In 1844 the U.S. Democratic Party, appealing to expansionist sentiment and the popular theme of manifest destiny, asserted that the U.S. had a valid claim to the entire Oregon Country up to Russian America at parallel 54°40′ north. Democratic presidential candidate James K. Polk won the1844 election, but then sought a compromise boundary along the 49th parallel, the same boundary proposed by previous U.S. administrations. Negotiations between the U.S. and the British broke down, however, and tensions grew as American expansionists like U.S. Senator Edward A. Hannegan of Indiana, or Congressman Leonard Henly Sims, Missouri, which urged Polk to annex the entire Oregon Country north to the parallel 54°40′ north, as the Democrats had called for in the election. The turmoil gave rise to slogans like "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" and the catchphrase "Manifest Destiny".”

Not sure who chose the name for this pattern but I really like the design. This barn quilt is now hung at Don’s farm and I’ll post pictures soon. Thanks for looking.

THE SEIFERT BARN - STARS AND SQUARES

Here are some pictures of the Stars and Squares barn quilt mounted on my son-in-laws parents mini-barn. It is a 24" block and I think the size really goes well with the proportions of their little barn. This one is located just north of Jacksonville, Il.

The chicken coop really adds a nice touch to the country look as well.

STARS AND SQUARES

This is a nice 2' barn quilt I just finished that my daughter Heather, her husband Caleb, and their son Aiden gave to Calebs mother Mary Jo & father Steve for their birthdays. The 61 small stars were quite a challenge but I think it came out nice. They really liked it.

Above is a picture of the barn quilt next to the pattern they picked out from a comforter on one of our beds.

This may end up being a popular design for me to make.

THE MEYER BARN - HARVEST STAR 4

I was asked to make this barn quilt as a wedding anniversary gift from Vicke Meyer to her husband Steve. It was to be placed on one of their barns as a surprise but Vicke said that Steve caught their boys installing it. He was surprised though and liked it.

I recently took my wife, daughter and grandson out to see it. The barn sits about a quarter mile or so to the west of the town of Concord Illinois.

From the information that I’ve gathered, the farm was owned by the William Alvin Martin family and was bought by them back in the late 1940’s. It was purchased in early 2005 from the Martin Family Estate by Bob Freesen thru the Alice Freesen Trust fund. He owned it until sometime in 2010 and sold it to the Meyer family. The barn was originally used to house horses and livestock but was later configured for grain storage.

I think the barn quilt looks really nice on the barn and people entering Concord from the west can very clearly view it. Though I try and use the best paint and materials on each barn quilt I make, the weather in Illinois is harsh and barn quilts won’t last forever. This will be a good example for me to monitor over the next few years to see just how well they will do, especially since this barn quilt faces the west.

I hope to add many more pictures and some brief histories of structures where my barn quilt creations are displayed.

Thanks for looking.

Mark

FLIP SIDE

Here are a few pictures of my mom and dad's barn after I flipped the two barn quilts I made them. Contrary Wife is the left and Father's Choice is on the right. I think it would be a neat for someone to have a couple reversible ones made that were the Four Seasons pattern and rotated them out with each new season.

I'll be posting some history and some pictures of the building of this barn soon. Also, some pics of the mounting of the Log Cabin Barn Raising barn quilt on the end.

Don't forget to click on the images to see them bigger. Thanks for looking.