Sandwich Fair Times 2025 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 7
SIDING • ROOFING • WINDOWS • GUTTERS
Complete Exterior Home Restoration
Improving your neighborhood one home at a time.
extremeexteriorsinc.com • 630.664.6793
BARN QUILTS
Some of the quilts at the Sandwich Fair this year aren’t quilted. “A barn quilt
is a design that is usually painted on a board, sometimes painted right on the
building,” says Katy Bell. She started painting barn quilts six years ago. She has done
hundreds for people in this area. She did two windmill quilts for this year’s fair.
Bell paints them on aluminum squares. They last longer than wood. And she’s learned
which combination of primer and sealants present and weatherproof her work best. A properly chosen and applied spar urethane coat minimizes sun-induced fading and prevents water
damage.
The 66-year old Bell has produced crafts all her life, including Italian crepe paper flowers for her
daughter’s wedding. But she never imagined doing anything like barn quilts until six years ago. She
hadn’t even been a painter.
“I was up in Michigan and I saw one up close. I fell in love with it. I came home and started creating barn
quilts,” she says. Other people liked them, so she started making them to order and put her business
online. Bell says, “It was definitely a gift from God for me to be able to do this, because I had no clue.”
The windmill images for the Sandwich Fair are on 4’ x 4’ panels. Bell has done as small as 1’ x 1’ and as
large as 8’ x 8’. A few were round. Mostly they’re squares. Bell made each image for the Sandwich Fair
with three colors.
Bell says the Sandwich Fair project made a good challenge. She had to make the lines thick enough to
be seen from a distance but not so thick they spoil the picture. And the circles in the middle were done
free-hand. She redid some of the work but is pleased with the final product.
“If you want to learn to paint barn quilts, it’s a joy. It’s really a joy to paint them. But it’s an addiction,”
she laughs. “Once you start, you don’t stop.” Her customers have ordered them for garages, fences,
and inside their homes. “They’re not just for barns anymore. They’re for everything.”
Bell’s favorite parts of the work are the beginning and end. “One is drawing it out. I love to draw
it, because you gotta get those lines just perfectly perfect.” Then when she’s done, “When
they come to pick it up and they see it, I love to see their faces…to see the happiness on
their face.”
More information about Katy Bell’s products: https://www.barnquiltbydesign.com/
Serving the area for
more than 65 years
AUGUSTINE BROS.
PAINTING & DECORATING
Now’s a great time for a fresh coat of paint!
If your time is taken up with your kids’ school activities,
your job and a million other things, give us a call.
Quality Lighting & Fixtures
It’s the perfect time to get a jump on sprucing-up your
home for the holidays.
C EI L I N G L I G H T S • WA L L L IG H T S
MU LT I SY S T E M • FA N S • E XT ER I O R S
LA N D S CA PI N G • D É CO R
• Painting
• Decorating
• Wallpapering
• Wood Graining
• Airless Spraying
Route 34 in Plano • 630.552.0001
www.lightsourcelighting.com
GARY – 815-786-2454 – EPA Certified
© Nelson Publishing, Inc.
2025 Sandwich Fair Times
7
