Star of the West

In 1989 Donna Sue Groves and her mother, Nina Maxine Groves purchased a farm in Adams County, Ohio. On the farm was old tobacco barn. Donna Sue promised her mother, a master quilter, that someday she would paint a quilt square on the barn for her. In 2001 Donna Sue, with help from the Nature Conservancy, decided to paint blocks on several barns to encourage tourism, stimulate business and boost pride in the community. Today there are thousands of painted quilt blocks on barns all over the country. This year the block-of-the-month theme at Quilts Etc. in Sandy is “Every Barn Tells a Story.” They’re calling this first simple block “Ohio Star,” in honor of the state where the first barn quilt block appeared. But Ohio Star is a two-color block, and this one has four prints. Like Ohio Star, this block has several names, including Henry of the West and Lone Star.