KENDALL: Country Barn Quilt Trail brings community closer

By Nicole Coleman/colemann@gnnewspaper.com
The Journal-Register

July 31, 2007 12:33 pm

— KENDALL — The last place one would expect to find a quilt is on the side of a country barn.
In the community of Kendall, there are more than 30 of them.
Originated by Lora Partyka of Partyka Farms, “The Country Barn Quilt Trail” has slowly sprung to life over the past year, one quilt at a time.
The trail consists of large square boards painted to resemble a quilt pattern that are mounted on the sides of barns throughout the town. Some are filled with swirls of colorful shapes and designs while others are less distinct. Each was handpicked by its owner to create a unique quilt square.
Together, the pieces are meant to form a whole. One community. One quilt.
It is a phenomenon so rare busloads of people from around Western New York have made a point to see it for themselves, Partyka said, which was her hope from the very beginning.
“I really feel Kendall needed to be brought back together as a community,” she said. “It’s a wonderful community. This makes them have ownership of it.”
The idea for the trail came to Partyka two years ago when she happened to see an article about another quilt trail in a small Iowa community. A fifth generation farmer in Kendall, Partyka felt it was just the ticket needed to revive her own hometown. She gathered her three closest friends for coffee on her front porch and within half an hour the project was under way.
“It’s just been a great community project,” she said. “There’s no politics behind it. It’s just a feel-good thing.”
A portion of Partyka’s greenhouse has become the studio where volunteers stop when they have a few minutes to work on the newest square.
Retired elementary school teacher Kathy DeMarco is among those who help members of the community pick a pattern once they decide they would like a square along the quilt trail. The pattern must be approved first to ensure there are never any duplicates.
DeMarco said she then converts the pattern from inches to feet before plotting it onto the board using graph paper, a process which takes approximately two hours. She often uses her own quilt books and a computer program to aid in the process.
“I do it by hand if I can’t use the program,” she said.
Partyka and her staff then spend the next few weeks painting the squares, which span up to 8-by-8 feet. Her friends, Jan Ferris and Kathy Kast, have been known to stop by as early as 6 a.m., others as late as 8 p.m.
“It’s just their time. They gain nothing from it,” Partyka said. “I’m just amazed that they do that.”
Maps of “The Country Barn Quilt Trail,” created by Kendall resident Becky Charland, are available at Partyka Farms, the Picket Fence Quilt Shop and Just a Design Above, Partyka said, although a new one will need to be issued soon due to frequent additions.
A quilt square costs approximately $180 in materials, and the owner is responsible for hanging the quilt. Each design is chosen specifically by the family, Partyka said, adding to the significance.
Since the first square went up at Partyka Farms last August, quilts have appeared on barns as far away as Barker, Medina and Albion. There’s one on DeMarco’s barn titled “Carpenter’s Wheel,” and another entirely in black and white referred to as “The Tree of Life.” One family raised a quilt square in memory of their deceased son.
Above the doors of David and Kathy Kast’s red barn in Albion is a quilt pattern called “Apple Basket.”
“There’s so many people that have picked out one that really means something to their family,” Partyka said. “It’s been extremely well accepted here in town. Everybody loves them. Everybody’s excited when they see a new one go up. It’s growing all the time.”
Contact reporter Nicole Coleman at 798-1400, ext. 2227.

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