Every small town holds something unique. For Baldwin City, the Maple Leaf Festival quickly comes to mind, yet a closer glimpse reveals a strong connection to quilts. Just visit downtown Baldwin and see the quilts hanging at the city library, the Lumberyard Arts Center, and in one of the oldest quilt shops in the nation, Quilters’ Paradise.
Quilts are much more than a craft, they are symbols of memory, community and identity. Through geometric patterns and bold colors, quilts offer a bridge between the past and present, embodying artistic expression, cultural heritage and even aspects of storytelling. So how did this small Kansas town become a place stitched together by quilting and earn the designation “Quilt Capital of Kansas?”
It all begins with the Maple Leaf Festival. In 1973, Enola Gish, Helen Erickson and Helen Gordon conceived and started the Maple Leaf Quilt Show. The show, being the oldest and longest-running quilt show in Kansas, features over a hundred quilts annually in conjunction with the Maple Leaf Festival.
Four short years later, they established the Kaw Valley Quilters Guild in Baldwin. Since its establishment, it has relocated just down the road to Lawrence and currently has over 200 active members from northeast Kansas and the Kansas City metropolitan area. The Maple Leaf Quilt Guild, started by local quilters in 1991, still has its home in Baldwin City and organizes several quilting events for the town.
“We thought, with that kind of a history, we should be the quilt capital of Kansas,” said Sharon Vesecky, owner of Quilters’ Paradise.
Vesecky opened Quilters’ Paradise, Baldwin City’s own quilt shop and one of the oldest in the nation, in 1989. She is at least a fourth-generation quilter, likely going back farther. Her store offers a wide variety of fabrics, tools, quilting books, patterns and thread, everything needed to make a quilt. They offer quilting classes, most of which are held at the Lumberyard, and machine quilting services.
“I see the ladies who come to the Lumberyard for quilting activities, bonding, forming lasting friendships and telling me they’re having a good time,” said Vesecky.
Vesecky’s vision for making Baldwin City the Quilt Capital of Kansas stemmed from a customer coming into her shop from Kansas City saying they didn’t know there was a quilt shop in Baldwin and that they always went down the highway to Overbrook. After this, she looked into getting signage along the highway for her shop but it was cost-prohibitive. Then one day, she was taking a trip to Colorado and passing through Wilson, the Czech capital and Lindsborg, the Swedish capital and decided why not have a quilt capital?
With the city’s rich quilting past and social, cultural and economic impact, she pitched her idea to Jeannette Blackmar, executive director of the Lumberyard Arts Center, who was very open to it. Blackmar then got into contact with Tom Holland, Kansas State Senator, to see about getting the designation of “Quilt Capital of Kansas.”
“Senator Holland was very receptive, very supportive, very curious and he really made it happen,” said Blackmar.
He took the information they provided and wrote up a proclamation. The Kansas Senate approved it and Baldwin City was designated as the Quilt Capital of Kansas on 14 February, 2019, through the passing of Senate Resolution No. 1711.
The resolution recognizes the cultural, social and economic impact of quilting in Baldwin City from the quilt show and the guilds, to Quilter’s Paradise and the importance of quilting in the community. As of 2023, signs declaring Baldwin as a Quilt Capital were installed alongside a shoutout to its Sister City, Riviersonderend, Africa, on the east and west sides of town.
Baldwin City took quilting to an international level upon doing a quilt exchange with Riviersonderend. Both cities put their love and time into creating quilts that reflected their respective cultures, creating a new form of connection. The quilts hung in the Baldwin City Library before the Kansas-themed quilt was taken home to South Africa.
Quilting creates a unique social fabric. The Maple Leaf Quilt Show, which the Maple Leaf Guild is in charge of, brings so many people together because they hang quilts from people in various areas and others just come to view and appreciate the art. The guild also organizes programs and classes with the Lumberyard. These events, as well as the Lumberyard’s rotating quilt shows and textile art exhibits, draw people in and create a community of intergenerational relationships.
“We have something called Open Textile Arts on Wednesdays. I really believe that having opportunities for people to come create, and this extends beyond textile arts, it brings people together in a way that stimulates learning and connection because you build relationships,” said Blackmar.
Quilting can be drawn back to Ancient Egypt, but has evolved to be more modern through the rise of social media, the changing fabric industry, and the cultural shift of recognition by the general public. Modern quilts may have characteristics such as functionality, improvisational piecing, high contrast, bold color and reimagined traditional styles. Today, there are increasingly more fun fabrics to bring quilting to another level with more patterns and colors. The rise of social media has made learning to quilt easier with advice, tips and instructions readily available.
“If you don’t know how to do something, you just can get on YouTube and somebody, there’s some video out there that can show you,” said Angela Spielman, member of the Quilt Capital of Kansas Textile Group, “there’s some really great instructors out there that put their stuff on and, and at least you don’t feel like you’re alone, right?”
More people are finding a community and a new hobby in quilting. Vesecky spoke to how more men and youth are getting into quilting and bringing new perspectives with them. The general public is starting to recognize the effort and artistic capabilities that go into quilting.
It is not a dying art, in fact Spielman and Vesecky believe it to be growing and expanding its audience. Each day quilts are drawing more people in, enough so that the Modern Quilt Guild started QuiltCon in 2013. QuiltCon is your typical convention with workshops, lectures, and vendors and features an expansive quilt show. The average person may not think much about quilts, but Baldwin City being the Quilt Capital of Kansas is kind of a hidden gem.
“It’s very much behind the scenes,” said Blackmar, “but it generates substantially for economic development. People that it draws in are not just quilting, but then they’re shopping, they’re eating.”
Next time you visit downtown Baldwin City, look out for quilts hanging in local businesses or stop into the Lumberyard Arts Center during a quilt show. Find a connection, inquire about your family’s past and take a moment to appreciate the thought, time and effort that goes into each and every quilt.
