Sibley 4-H'er creates barn quilt, gifts it to Osceola County Fairgrounds

Julie Buntjer, The Daily Globe, Worthington, Minn.
·3 min read

Jul. 18—SIBLEY, Iowa. — Youths enrolled in the 4-H program across the country and around the world have, for years, recited the 4-H pledge at the beginning of their gatherings.

"I pledge my Head to clearer thinking, my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service, and my Health to better living..."

That's what the four H's stand for — head, heart, hands, health. The pledge goes on to say that these are given "for my family, my club, my community, my country and my world."

For Claire Vreeman, Sibley, the 4-H emblem was the focal point for one of the projects she is exhibiting this week at the Osceola County Fair in Sibley.

On a 4x4-foot piece of plywood, the soon-to-be high school junior mapped out a ribbon pattern and recreated a 4-leaf clover, an H depicted on each leaf, in making a barn quilt. Best of all, after she exhibits it at the Iowa State Fair next month, she will donate the quilt to the Osceola County 4-H program to be displayed in the 4-H exhibit building on the fairgrounds.

"This was my first time making a barn quilt," said the Westerners 4-H Club member. "I researched different design ideas, and I knew I wanted to donate it to the 4-H building, so I found the ribbon pattern."

Vreeman used her computer and a Cricut to design the ribbon pattern and create a stencil of the 4-H emblem, both of which were mapped out on the plywood with painter's tape. She used white and two different shades of green paint to complete the design, and followed that up with a clear coat sealant.

"It took several coats of each color — and lots of patience," said Vreeman's mom, Katie. From start to finish, the project took nearly two weeks to make, and had the 4-H member donning leather gloves, safety glasses and earplugs as she operated a saw to build the frame for the barn quilt. Her dad, Jason, was on hand to offer advice.

"I like how it turned out," said Vreeman, who exhibited six projects in conference judging on Monday, and will show a feeder calf, meat and dairy goats, chickens and horses between Wednesday and Friday at the Osceola County Fair.

In fact, she enjoyed the project so much she now plans to make a barn quilt for her family's home. That one, planned to be 3-square-feet and using deck wood, will likely be a star pattern in patriotic red, white and blue. Perhaps that project will be finished in time to exhibit at the fair next year, she said.

Meanwhile, in this, her seventh year exhibiting as an Osceola County 4-H'er, Vreeman plans to enjoy her week at the fair and showing all of her animals.

"They spent three and a half hours today just washing goats," Katie said of her daughter.

In addition to exhibiting her projects, Vreeman will work a couple of shifts in the FFA lunch stand as a member of the Sibley-Ocheyedan FFA. She's also looking forward to attending the fair's rodeo, and sampling some monkey bread from the Godfather's food trailer, which will be on the fairgrounds this week.