By Breathitt County Museum Director Janie Griffith
 

A very exciting workshop, designed to promote our quilting heritage, is being planned for Wednesday, February 17th.  The event will be held at the newly renovated county extension office on Main Street in Jackson.  Mrs. Martha Yount County Extension Agent for Family & Consumer Sciences is in charge of the workshop which will take place at 12 noon.  Members of the homemaker club and others interested in creating barn squares are invited.  The workshop is being presented by Perry County Family and Consumer Science Extension Agent, Ms. Glenna Wooten.
 
Ms. Wooten’s Kentucky Quilt Trail lesson will begin with a brief history of how quilt trails first began, and how the movement has spread across Kentucky.  Included is a PowerPoint slide presentation showing quilt blocks from various counties.  During the class, participants will receive handouts consisting of existing trails guidelines and will learn how to set up guidelines for a trail in Breathitt County.  Funding for this project will also be discussed. 
 
Recently, quilt trails have been organized in Perry and several other area counties.  In 2006, Ms. Wooten received a grant for the quilt blocks in Perry County.  Since that time, volunteers have painted and mounted around 30 quilt blocks throughout the county.  Ms. Wooten’s lesson was made possible through a joint effort of the Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.  During the month of February, Ms. Wooten will travel through eight neighboring counties, teaching the lesson to other homemaker clubs and interested individuals.
 
The February 17th meeting in Jackson will consist of a light luncheon, followed by the quilt trails presentation.  After the program, participants will visit the Breathitt County Museum to view first hand examples of barn squares during various stages of creation painted by museum director and local artist Janie Griffith.
If you are interested in joining in and becoming part of this exciting project, be sure and attend this special workshop.  Mark your calendars for 12 noon, Wednesday, February 17th and be at the extension office prepared to roll up your sleeves and get started on a bright and colorful Kentucky barn square!