A group of 10 people zig-zagged across northeast Iredell County on Saturday taking in the colorful barn quilts that have gone up on various outbuildings during the past year.
The Quilt Trails of Iredell County and Taproot Artisans highlighted Grietje's Garden and Harmony Gardens Nursery along its debut barn quilt tour Saturday.
“The pictures are great, but they really don’t do them justice,” said Diane Holleman of Farmington.
Taproot Artisans owner Cora Stroud said she tried to include the history of each barn quilt square on the tour.
“We hope this will be a good trip for you,” Stroud told the group before they took off.
One of the first stops on the tour was Johnny and Glenda Elliott’s house on Houstonville Road. The Elliotts worked with Stroud to get the idea of a barn quilt tour up and running after she recreated the pattern featured on Johnny’s great-grandmother’s quilt for their barn.
“It looks great,” Johnny said to the tourists. “It looks exactly the way it did when they put it up.”
Johnny has since painted his own barn quilt, which is featured on another outbuilding on the farm.
The tour vans are a collaboration between Stroud and Iredell County resident Mike Overcash.
Overcash said he loves to show Iredell off.
The ride through the county gives people a chance to see some nice views and it also exposes them to some of the agri-businesses in the area, he said.
“This is beautiful,” he said, during a stop in Union Grove.
Holleman, who started quilting a few years ago, said she’d never heard about barn quilts until her friend Ann Cline mentioned it during a Quilters Guild meeting.
“I think it’s great,” she said.
The Quilt Trails of Iredell County features 47 designated quilts and extends from Mooresville to Union Grove. Along the route, it is possible to catch glimpses of Barn quilts that aren’t on the map.
Retired Harmony School teacher Lois James believes the tour is a good way to promote the community’s heritage.
As a teacher, she rode the school bus on the last day of school to help keep the children in line. She said it was nice to go along those roads again.
“I think it’s more of a heritage trail,” she said. “I like the idea of preserving our heritage.”
The next tours will take place on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17 at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. each day. The cost of the tour is $10, which covers the cost of the van. For more information or to reserve a spot, call Stroud at (704) 546-2524.
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