What is the Appalachian Quilt Trail? It is history and community displayed across states with beautiful giant quilts nestling on barns throughout Appalachia. These quilts provide beautiful and scenic sights as one travels along the quilt trail. You can read more about the trail here.

In 2010, I was able to participate in this celebration of community and history. At the time I did not live along the Appalachian mountains. However, Dr. E. Kathleen Booher owns a long-running family farm that is along the quilt trail. She commissioned 20-year-old me to paint a beautiful barn quilt. Not only was this my first commission, but to date, it is the largest piece I have ever created.

Dr. Kathleen Booher chose the Drunkard’s Path quilt pattern in red and white for her barn quilt. Using a stencil created from a 1 foot square board, I traced the pattern onto four 4 feet by 4 feet square boards. Once the pattern had been traced onto the boards, they were primed and painted with outdoor quality house paint.

Once completed, the four quilt boards were transported from my childhood home in Michigan down to Dr. Kathleen Booher’s family farm in Kentucky.

It was an honor to work on this piece and I love knowing that it is not only a quilt on a beautiful barn on a family farm. It is part of something bigger that embodies history and community.