OklahomaHorses Magazine July 2021

10 OklahomaHorses • July/August 2021 We took our barn quilts and began to sell them to people,” Scott said. “Then some- body suggested we might want to teach others how to do it. About a year or two later, we decided to start teaching classes.” Today, Scott and Rowe not only teach classes in Frederick but also throughout the state. Scott then connected with the Frederick Chamber of Commerce to help jumpstart the Tillman County Heritage Barn Quilt Trail. “We met with Felisha Crawford. She’s the director of the Chamber of Commerce. She was excited about the idea, and she called the Bonham (Texas) Chamber of Commerce and found out how their cham- ber helped them get their trail started,” Scott said. Scott and Rowe teach classes to others interested in creating barn quilts, but they aren’t the only enthusiasts in the state. Deborah May is a barn quilt artist in Wagoner and teaches barn quilting classes on a regular basis. Nearby Blackwell also has its own barn quilt trail. “A barn quilt trail has to have 25 barn quilts in a designated area to be on the barn quilt registry or trail,” she said. “To my knowledge, barn quilting started back in the day, when the women wanted to do something to bring commerce to their city and beautify their city. So they started painting barn quilt patterns on their barns.” May began painting barn quilts after moving to Oklahoma from Arizona. She met Cindy Oard of Blackwell, who started the first barn quilt trail in the state in Blackwell. “I’ve been doing this for two years after I took a class with her,” said May. “Now I teach all over the country and in Wagoner. The quilt pattern is put on a board, and the students come to class and paint them. They get to pick their pattern, and they get to pick their colors of paint. So then after they paint them, you can adhere them to a fence, a barn, a shed, or you can put it on your own barn.” How to Enjoy the Tillman County Heritage Barn Quilt Trail Barn quilts are now a big part of the town of Frederick, and these artistic designs are easy to find. With more than 50 barn quilts on display in and around Frederick, the trail is attracting more and more visitors to the area. The quilt patterns range from heritage designs to modern designs, traditional stars and wild colors. Maps and instructions can be found at the Frederick Chamber of Commerce, Very Good Coffee Co., Box Inc., KC’s and Frederick Ace Hardware. You can download the map at freder- ickokchamber.org/ and on Facebook at Tillman County Oklahoma Heritage Barn Quilt Trail. Barnquiltinfo.com also offers a full listing of barn quilt trails in every state, Scott said. The popularity of the barn quilt trails in America and in Oklahoma harken to nostalgia, said May. “Everybody’s got a quilt that mom or grandma made. Maybe your aunt who passed away made a quilt that kept you warm as a kid,” she said. “It’s a homey thing, and you get a good feeling when you think of quilts. Everyone has a warm mem- ory when they look at quilt patterns.”