Memorial Day weekend combined with social distancing means taking a drive in the countryside. Look what I found!
So it's Memorial Day weekend 2020 - in the middle of a pandemic - and while New York is slowly reopening, there's still a strong suggestion to practice social distancing. The weekend forecast is set to be perfect! Perfect for a Sunday drive out in the country!
A barn quilt is a large piece of painted wood that resembles a single quilt block and usually decorates the side of a barn.
Back up to the previous Monday night and the virtual guild meeting. A suggestion and link to see local Barn Quilts was made to the guild community, and while I wasn't sure my husband would be all that interested in seeing barn quilts, a drive on a beautiful day is definitely a game-changer!
Barn Quilt Tour
Where to start? Since I didn't write down the link mentioned during guild meeting, my first trip was to google. That's right - I googled "barn quilts near Albany, NY". Top of the list was the Helderberg Quilt Barn Trail (www.hqbt.org). Complied a few years back by a handful of volunteers, the site includes a map, pictures and even notes about many of the barn quilts featured on the tour. Perfect! We hit the road!
My favorite farm was Mary Browne's on Pleasant Valley road. I even had the chance to meet Mary, and hear the stories behind each of the barn quilts (there's 7 of them). From the road you see the two in the picture above. But contrary to what the website says, Mary said it's okay to park in the circle drive and walk around the property to good picture. Just remember it's a working farm; aka - don't disturb the chickens and goats. LOL She was an absolute delight, and after sitting in the car for awhile, gathering pictures from the car window it was so refreshing to stretch my legs and walk around this beautiful property. Make sure you go behind the house to the "Bee House" to view the two smallest barn quilts. My favorite is the Kangaroo Barn Quilt.
We only spent a couple hours on the road, but saw around a dozen different barn quilt blocks. Take a look at all the pictures I took, and if you're in the area, treat yourself to this Quilt barn trail!