Barn quilts that fit in your hand

Lovers of the local barn quilts now have a way to fit all of them in the palm of their hand.

Jim Leuenberger, the Shawano photographer who started the barn quilt project in 2010, came out with a new book this week featuring photos of all the barn quilts and details of all the farms where the quilts are installed. Leuenberger said quilt fans have been demanding a detailed book on the quilts for more than two years.

In August 2013, Leuenberger published an initial book featuring the first 222 quilts, but he had said that another book was in the works. The new book, “The Barn Quilts of Shawano County Wisconsin,” features 305 quilts and includes two full-sized maps to show the locations of the quilts.

“The nice thing about the book, in my opinion, is we’ve got maps of every one, pictures of every one, who sponsored it, who the host farm is. We’ve got historical information on every one,” Leuenberger said.

Leuenberger had written detailed individual stories about each barn quilt and had them published in The Shawano Leader and other media. The information accompanying each barn quilt photo is a pared down version of each story.

“There are almost 28,000 words in the book,” Leuenberger said. “That’s a lot of words and a lot of typing for me.”

Leuenberger worked with Brenda Mainz, a graphic designer with North Star Casino, on the design and layout for the 64-page book. Leuenberger knew Mainz from when both had worked at Cooperative Resources International years ago.

When the Shawano County Barn Quilt Project started five years ago, Leuenberger anticipated 25 or 30 quilts maximum to come out of the project, but the county’s agriculture community loved the idea and requested more and more quilts, most done by Leuenberger and his wife, Irene.

The project is slowly coming to an end, though, after the celebration of the county’s 300th barn quilt in May. Leuenberger said he will still paint barn quilts on request, but he has ended the active solicitation that has keep the project going strong.

“We’re probably not going to add any more quilts to the book, even if we get more quilts,” Leuenberger said, noting he has four more quilts in the process of being painted and installed. “We will still do some quilts if people want one.”

The books are available at the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce, 1263 S. Main St., Shawano, for $15, with future distribution sites in the works. Copies can be ordered by mail, but will cost an additional $3 for shipping.

Leuenberger will be signing copies of the new barn quilt book during the Jumpin’ June Jamboree on Saturday.