Cooperative Living May 2020 - 12

Barn Quilts
(continued from page 9)
As of late March, her quilts were on
display in eight states, with an outside
hope that a couple living in Illinois
would take their possession to their
other residence in Israel.
" I told the daughter-in-law who
bought it, 'If they ever take this to Israel,
will you let me know because I'd love
to go international.' " Dillard laughs.
CAREER SWITCH
A native of Texas, Dillard moved to Virginia with her
husband, John, now emeritus professor of chemistry at
Virginia Tech. Along the way, she earned an art degree from
Tech and constructed a studio when the couple decided to
move from Blacksburg to the country about 22 years ago. She
had been a painter for 35 years with landscapes and a variety
of other pieces, some of which hang on the studio walls.
But she was ready to move on from a near-lifetime of
dabbing a fine brush in acrylics.
" I had grown tired of it, " Dillard says. " I had run out of
steam and enthusiasm. I wanted to make things but I didn't
know what I wanted to do. "
Then she came across a story about a barn quilt trail in
Highland County, Va., and knew she had found the answer,
one that allowed her to combine her talents with support
for the public library.
" We have had great success with the barn quilts; the
community loves them, " says Letha Persinger, director of
the Craig County Library. " We have some patrons who have
bought two or three. Our barn quilt trail is very popular
as well with visitors. "
Martha Dillard carefully etches a
pattern into a barn quilt masterpiece.
The barn quilt field is relatively young, less than 20 years
old. Donna Sue Graves, an Ohio woman, is considered to
be the founding mother of the movement, coming up with
the concept to honor her mother and her Appalachian
heritage. Graves proposed the first quilt trail, where motorists
could take their Sunday drives past a rich array of patterns
and themes.
Dillard traveled to Ohio to see barn quilts firsthand and
drew on her own research and experience to personalize
her endeavor. At first, Barn Quilts for Books operated largely
under the radar, but she got a major boost when the late
T. Marshall Hahn Jr., a former Virginia Tech president, found
out about her creations.
Hahn collected folk art at his home on a farm outside
of Blacksburg. He wanted seven quilts, including some
with maroon and orange Hokie colors. It was a perfect fit,
Dillard recalls.
This barn quilt
greets visitors to
the Dillard farm in
Craig County, Va.
" He wanted them up by football season because all the
football traffic went by his house to avoid Interstate 81. Then,
there was an article in one of the magazines that a lot of people
saw, and it just became kind of word of mouth, " she says.
OH, THE STORIES
One benefit of quilt-making, Dillard notes, is that she is
no longer painting something that she hopes someone will
appreciate or purchase. Guesswork is at a minimum; about
90% of her would-be buyers already have a design or theme
in mind.
" They're preplanned or pre-sold, " she says. " You don't have
to try to figure out what somebody wants on their wall. You
just paint what they already love. "
Like a client who collects and sells farm equipment and
is fascinated with old-style Cockshutt tractors, which were
phased out more than 40 years ago. Working from a picture,
Dillard fashioned an 8-by-8-foot quilt for him.
Technically speaking, that's not a pattern in the tradition
of, say, geometric designs from Pennsylvania's Dutch country,
which is known worldwide for quilting.
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