A sampler of Wisconsin’s barn quilts

On our road trip back from visiting some of her family in Eagle Valley, my lovely photographer friend Trudey introduced me to another of her fascinations: barn quilt squares.

As the name suggests, these are like the squares used in quilting, but are instead painted on large pieces of board and hung on the sides of barns all over the United States. You can read a brief history and more information about this wonderful phenomenon here.  

We weren’t following a particular trail, just passing through areas where Trudey had seen the quilts before. I loved the bright splashes of colour and the celebration of local and personal heritage. And I can see I would easily get addicted to following trails and photographing these beauties if I lived anywhere in the 48 US states that have them.

Here’s a selection from the road in Wisconsin.