Lots more to do!

Barn Quilt Shop

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I wish that I had the time, or felt as if I have the time to sit down every day to post a few thoughts here. I have started removing items from the farm, and I am also getting the legal contracts drawn to sell the farm while the grantee gets a title search done.... This afternoon, I was on my way out to pick up my son from baseball practice, and there is a partial rainbow running right down to the farm which is about 5 miles away. It was so cool! This is when I need a camera in the truck, but not today.... I also need to do some Boy Scout treasury work, to see what kind of money we made over the weekend selling spaghetti at the church, and of course I have my own stack of bills calling me. Life is good, but very busy.... I few weeks ago I started to piece together a store on Cafepress for the Barn Quilt Project. It is far from done, but I decided to go ahead and open it ready-or-not. There will be more on the store later, but Sunday night on the way to bed I got an e-mail saying that I had sold my first item. What a great feeling! It's not time to celebrate. There is much work to do, but if you should read this post, please take a moment to visit the store (click here, or on the image above), and all opinions and suggestions are appreciated. Remember that it is a work-in-process.

Committed, or should be

Today there is a rather significant change occurring in my life... how I see myself, and how others see me. After posting my first entry on this blog just two days ago, I received a phone call, resulting in an offer to purchase a piece of property affectionately known to me as the farm. I have accepted. Partially to help fund my efforts at starting a real business enterprise centered on the Barn Quilt idea (and for a multitude of other reasons), I have decided to sell the farm. I could talk for days about the 10 acres that I own, and the 15 years of hard work getting it into shape. There were the quiet meditative hours, and drone of the mower, the freezing cold and the burning summer sun. The farm has been a jewel in my life, that in many ways defined who I was. This is a turning point for me. I accept this challenge. This is an opportunity to chase a dream that I have been planning and working toward for some time. How I got here, and where I am going, will be the story unfolding...

a beautiful spring day

Welcome me!

I do not intend to spend a great deal of time writing about myself, but this is a personal blog... I do not intend to delve too deeply into politics, but I am not asleep... I do want to share what has become a passion of mine, and that is the wonderful world of Barn Quilts (a.k.a. Quilt Barns). There is a growing number of people that know what a Barn Quilt is, but I fear that we are still but a small minority.

For me, being excited once by an unexpected explosion of color while driving down a quiet country road, could have left me with a sense that this is not much more than eye candy. To be surprised and titillated again, and again, has me thinking that there is more to the story. To find out that the creators of this art are not necessarily artists, but communities of friends and neighbors, has exited me. To discover that there are stories that are being shared about the history of the quilts and quilt blocks, and the people that made them, and that this is not a local phenomenon, has me convinced that what I am witnessing is a true grassroots movement that may forever change the memories created on trips down our back roads and blue highways.

What I will be sharing with you is an exploration of the Barn Quilt movement. I intend to help provide information, links, and experiences, and make some new friends along the way. This is not a short term project. I do not venture down this road without being aware that there are a lot of involved and passionate people that have already spent a great deal of time, and energy to get this art movement as far along as it is today, but there is a vision of what may lay ahead. I also have a personal mission of wanting to help those community groups and art councils to fund the growth and maintenance of these projects. This takes time, but there is a real feeling that we are all on the cusp of what Malcolm Gladwell has called a tipping point.