Barn Quilt Trails Coming To Addington Highlands
An initiative that received a grant from the Lennox and Addington County Activation Fund, is now beginning to be seen in Addington Highlands.
Pat Dubyk is an artist who specialises in Barn Quilts. Barn quilts are painted with quality weatherproofing paints on MDO (Medium Density Overlay) boards. Colours on a barn quilt give another special meaning to the quilts. Once completed, they can be installed on stands or, more effectively, on buildings.
The designs are often based on quilt designs, and there are a series of Pat Dubyk’s barn quilts installed in Prince Edward County and in the Greater Napanee area. They form barn quilt trails, which is promoted for area residents and tourists to explore at any time, on the gnabarnquilttrails.ca website.
The activation grant, which is resulting in a total of 8 barn quilts in Addington Highlands, came about after Marlean Mclean, a community activist and driving force behind the Flinton Community Garden and a friend of Pat Dubyk’s, encouraged Pat to apply for one.
“We went to the AHEAD [Addington Highlands Economic Development] Committee who were supportive, as was township staff, and they got on board with it,” said Marlean Mclean about the project. “I have a historic barn myself and I love barn quilts, especially the ones that Pat makes. “Just about everyone we have approached has jumped at the chance to get one for their buildings.”
At a council meeting last week, (November 4) Addington Highlands Council discussed the location of two installations that are slated for township owned buildings. One will be installed at the Denbigh Hall, and the other at the Northbrook Medical Centre.
The barn quilt at Pine Meadow Nursing Home has already been installed.
A special addition to the collection, a “Tree of Life” quilt in honour of Reeve Henry Hogg, is planned for the township office building in Flinton
Pat Dubyk said she likes to have a conversation with people who commission her to make quilts for their buildings.
For Pine Meadow she did a big quilted heart in the colours of their logo.
Tonia Stella, who has a new yoga studio in Northbrook, Butterfly Kisses Yoga, also has one of Pat’s quilts, which she called a “butterfly goddess”.
Pat Dubyk and her husband Ron were living in Prince Edward County when Ron told Pat about some barn quilts he had seen in the London area when he was visiting that community as a judge for “Communities in Bloom”. Pat started making them herself soon after, and also began working with other artists, community members and local schools around Prince Edward County. There are now over 300 quilts in the Prince Edward County Barn Quilt Trail, at wineries, schools, hospitals, and the list goes on. Pat and Ron now live in Greater Napanee and Pat has been busy developing the Napanee barn quilt trail.
With Addington Highlands now on the radar, thanks to the activation grant, the township's participation, the efforts of Marlean McLean, and Pat Dubyk’s artistry, Lennox and Addington is well on its way to having a county wide barn quilt trail, adding an extra attraction along with the varied landscape along the north-south corridor from Lake Ontario to the hills of Denbigh.
For more information about barn quilts, go to gnabarnquilttrails.ca. This website, which is managed by Pat Dubyk, is a local hub, and includes a map and detailed images from the PEC barn quilt trail.
The site is full of colourful, stunning images, and also includes four ways for people to get involved, by: requesting a consultation to discuss a size and design, signing up for a workshop to paint a 2’ x 2’ quilt, sponsor a quilt, or visiting the Barn Quilt Trail.
(Editors Note - The print version of this article says there are 24 barn quilts in Prince Edward County, which was incorrect - there are 300 as indicated above. Also, Tonia Stella is the correct name of the owner of Butterfly Yoga in Northbrook)
