Many of us have memories of our grandmas or moms who enjoyed quilting. Their hands were never still – always with a needle in their hand or a sewing machine pedal at their foot. Like reading physical newspapers, quilting is an art form that may be dwindling over generations, but it isn’t gone – especially in places where it’s treasured.

In Sedan, the county seat of Chautauqua County, quilting, pottery and small-town charm make up a patchwork of Americana worth saving. Cousins Jolynn Reed and Kathy Ebersole work to save the spirit of their town and the legacy of quilting through the annual Redbud and Barn Quilt Tour every third weekend in April.

“The first tour was in 1961, and I remember how much fun I’d have at it over the years,” Reed says. “I was a military kid, so I moved around a lot, but I’d come back and stay at our family farm, especially for the annual Redbud Tour.”

Reed and Ebersole are the organizers of the tour and are both artistic. Reed is a photographer and Ebersole teaches pottery and has barn quilt painting classes, which are held at the Kurtis Art Center in Sedan. Although they’re cousins, they act more like sisters, often finishing each other’s sentences and creating patterns of conversation similar to the process of completing a quilt.

 “She’s the perfectionist and I’m, well, not,” Reed laughs. “We play off of each other really well.”

The history of barn quilts

The idea of barn quilts originated nearly 300 years ago with the arrival of immigrants from Europe. Starting in Pennsylvania, barn quilting (painting) moved its way across the United States and became a landmark in sharing directions or finding a particular family.

Barn quilts preserve a time in our history when barns and quilts showcased a community’s heritage. While barn quilts can represent something family-specific, they can also resemble a traditional quilt pattern like Jacob’s ladder or Compass Star.

For some time, the barn quilt moved aside in popularity when the pragmatic use of barns took on a different approach: advertisements. A significant example of this was the Red Man Chewing Tobacco ads painted in large red letters on the sides of barns or the Mail Pouch barns. 

Fast forward to today and barn quilts are cycling back into style – with barn quilt trails offered in many states, including Kansas.

The year-round barn quilt tour

The Redbud and Barn Quilt Tour occurs every third weekend of April, although the barn quilts can be toured year-round.

“We have more than 60 barn quilts that people can tour anytime,” Ebersole says. “The landowners have always been incredibly gracious to allow us to hang the barn quilts on gates that can be viewed from the road.”

Ebersole owns a unique shop in downtown Sedan, Katz Custom Jewelry, where she sells jewelry she creates. Maps of the route are available at her store and many others on Main Street in Sedan during store hours. The tour kit includes different route options in addition to the barn quilt tour, like a “Wild, Wild West” tour that takes you on country roads to the Oklahoma border town of Elgin, with its rugged slogan, “A town too tough to die.” The route also showcases an old arch bridge and Stoney Point Lookout, one of the highest points in Chautauqua County.

The self-guided tour through the countryside of Chautauqua County is breathtaking – with views of greening trees, cattle and cropland – the barn quilts, which are created by volunteers in Chautauqua County, offer a bonus to the route where you rarely see other vehicles.

Catching the redbud trees in bloom depends on Mother Nature’s timeline – some years the third weekend in April is perfect while in other years, like 2024, the blooms happened early. The packet of routes you can pick up in Sedan includes 28 stops to see redbud trees – whether they’re blooming or not.

The third weekend of April events

What does occur on the specific dates each third weekend of April is a photography, art and pottery display, plus a barn quilt painting display, offered by Ebersole at the Kurtis Art Center on Saturday. At a main street store, The Red Buffalo, you can stop for a free redbud tree sapling, a route kit and a barn quilt bingo map on Saturday and Sunday.

The Sedan Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Sedan Area Economic Development Committee are supporters of the event and offer an opportunity for businesses to place a sticker on a bingo card – an effort to stimulate the downtown economy at 16 locations.

Once a participant gets a bingo, they turn it back in at the Kurtis Arts Center for a chance to win prizes.

Growing for the future

Reed and Ebersole are passionate about Sedan and the memories they’ve made there. Reed thinks about the impact of the Redbud and Barn Quilt Tour and gets emotional when she thinks of her grandmother and what she’d think of the event now.

“I just know she’d be so proud of the growth of Sedan,” she says. “This event is a legacy, and we hope to grow it for future generations to continue to enjoy.”

Just as our grandmas and moms weave together threads of art in quilts, Reed and Ebersole are uniquely connecting the growth of Sedan to the simpler way of life through the barn quilt tour, stitching together community pride, rural heritage and artistic expression.

Stay updated on the next Redbud and Barn Quilt Tour on the Facebook group.

 

Where to eat:

Be sure to visit Gunnar’s Bourbon for lunch – bourbon not required, but a tasting is responsibly encouraged. Buck’s BBQ is a great location for dinner or Granny Wolfe’s Green Door Café for home cooking specials.

Where to stay:

Grandma’s Houses offers two locations where you can stay comfortably within Sedan. For other locations, visit www.cityofsedan.com.  

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