On Saturday, Jan. 31, the Lumberyard Arts Center in downtown Baldwin City, Kan. hosted an event to celebrate Kansas quilting. This event is special to Baldwin City, where it proudly wears the title, “Quilt Capital of Kansas.” The event consisted of multiple community bonding opportunities for the fifty participants, ranging from locals to surrounding areas and representing five quilt guilds.
Members and attendees spent time mingling and viewing The Unintentional, Incidental, and Accidental Quilter gallery, with textile art designed by local creative, Gary Keller. After the viewing period, Keller took the floor to take the audience through his personal quilting story. His work differs from traditional quilts by putting an emphasis on color, creativity, and uniqueness. Following the lighthearted presentation, visitors were provided with clutch coupons to Baldwin City staples for a lunch break. Then, they reconnected with a group discussion to develop new ideas to shape Kansas quilting culture.
The event was hosted on Jan. 31 to celebrate both Kansas Day and Textile Arts Month. The Lumberyard Arts Center has celebrated the textile arts in January for four years now. Previously, they have held events celebrating other creative textiles such as wet and dry felting, intricate quilt miniatures and children’s story quilting. The Lumberyard is dedicated to keeping textile arts alive and connecting with passionate people of all ages.
“What we’re creating here is storytelling, passing down traditions, passing down heritage, culture, from one person to another and creating a community,” said Jeannette Blackmar, director of the Lumberyard. “That’s essentially the beauty and then the value of textile arts and community making.”
The center provides many creative outlets for the greater community, including some based in the textile world. The group hosts a free, open textile studio on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Locals and out-of-towners alike can bring in a project to work on, or start something new with the materials the Lumberyard offers. The calm atmosphere allows a space for free range creativity, and bonding through generations. They also offer crochet classes on Saturdays for reasonable prices to best serve Baldwin City citizens and equip them with new skills.
“To be here, you don’t have to be an artist, be you and you’re welcome here,” said Blackmar.
To view The Unintentional, Incidental, and Accidental Quilter gallery by Gary Keller, visit the Lumberyard Arts Center during open hours before its removal on Feb. 7. This event was made possible by Ruthie Rodden, Jeannette Blackmar, Angie Spielman, Janet Anderson-Story, Gary Keller, Sharon Vesecky and Becky Fender.
