We are just a few weeks from the 2024 American Quilter’s Society show in Paducah, Kentucky, so it’s time to finalize trip plans! While most quilt shows are centralized at a single venue, Quilt Week in Paducah includes multiple areas of the main show and exciting venues and events around town!
As you plan your time in Paducah, consider how you will spend your time at the primary show, what you plan to do around town, and where you may want to eat.
Come back next week for my thoughts on approaching the main AQS Quilt Week event at the convention center—it absolutely needs its own post!
Since you are looking at the overall rhythm of your trip now, let’s focus on quilting-focused venues around town and some food options you may consider as you plan.
Quilting Focused Venues in Paducah, Kentucky
1. The National Quilt Museum
I suggest heading to the National Quilt Museum if you only have time for one attraction outside the show. The museum’s spaces hold a wide range of exhibits displaying many styles and methods of quilting. Many of the top awards for Quilt Week in Paducah are purchase awards that add the quilts to the museum’s permanent collection. Sometimes, the museum has a few of these quilts on display, and it is fun to see how quilting styles and techniques have evolved over the years.
- Exhibits during 2024 AQS Quilt Week
- Barbara McCraw: Life Stories
- Karen Nyberg: The Stars Are Aligned
- New Quilts From an Old Favorite
- Karen K Stone: Purpose + Passion
You’ll want to check out the National Quilt Museum website for more information about special events for QuiltWeek.
Where to find The National Quilt Museum:
The National Quilt Museum is located at 215 Jefferson Street between the convention center and downtown Paducah. The museum has limited parking, but large public parking lots are nearby. There are trolley routes that go downtown. The museum is also a short walk from the convention center. I suggest walking from the back of the convention center along the riverside path toward downtown. Walking along the road between the convention center and downtown may appear shorter, but traffic moves quickly and isn’t the most pedestrian-friendly.
2. Yeiser Center
Embracing the use of fiber in all forms, the Fantastic Fibers exhibition in the downtown Paducah gallery showcases quilts and so much more. This annual Yeiser Center juried show is a beautiful complement to the main QuiltWeek show because it includes Modern and Art quilts and other forms of traditional and not-so-traditional textile and fiber-based art forms. If you want to work with more of an edge, you should take advantage of this!
Where to find the Yeiser Center:
The Yeiser is right downtown at 200 Broadway, just a couple of blocks from the National Quilt Museum.
3. Hancock’s of Paducah
What’s a quilt show without some shopping? And what’s a trip to Paducah without a visit to Hancock’s of Paducah?
Before you pass by, thinking that you used to have a Hancock’s in your hometown, this is not the same Hancock’s and has never been. This family-owned shop is one of the largest independent fabric stores in the US and a must-shop location for me.
Last year, I wrote an entire post on shopping at Hancock’s of Paducah, and you may want to check it out before heading to the store—it’s a big enough place that you may want to go in with a plan!
Where to find Hancock’s of Paducah:
Hancock’s of Paducah is located near the interstate at 3841 Hinkleville Road.
4. Muppin’s Sewing Emporium
Last year, a new quilt shop and sewing boutique called Muppin’s Sewing Emporium opened in downtown Paducah. It is owned and run by designer and teacher Cheryl Sleboda, and her shop is filled with specialty patterns, notions, and fun fabrics.
Where to find Muppin’s Sewing Emporium:
Muppin’s Sewing Emporium is at 117 N 4th Street in Downtown Paducah.
6. Cherrywood Pop-Up Shop and Challenge Exhibit
The themed Cherrywood challenge is a hit wherever it goes, but most of the time, you only have a chance to see half of it at a time. This year, the Chrysalis Collection of the Monarch challenge is at the main Quilt Week show, but the other parts, the Milkweed and Caterpillar Collections are on display at The Respite at 502 North 5th Street.
If all those challenge quilts have inspired you, Cherrywood has a pop-up shop at the Pinecone Gallery featuring richly colored hand-dyed fabrics.
Cherrywood also hosts classes and events this year, so check out their website for more details.
Where to find the Cherrywood Locations:
The Cherrywood Challenge Milkweed and Caterpillar Collections are at The Respite at 502 North 5th Street.
The pop-up shop is in The Pinecone Gallery at 421 N. 7th Street.
7. Paper Pieces Pop-Up Shop
If you love or dabble in English Paper Piecing, visit the Paper Pieces Pop-Up Shop. It’s packed with large and small EPP projects and other fun quilting items you will want to discover!
Where to find the Paper Pieces Pop-Up Shop:
The Quilt Week Pop-Up Shop is at 533 North 5th Street, just a few blocks from the convention center.
8. The Paducah Quilt Show (No, not the big one)
Last year, a quilt show featuring several antique quilts and a selection of vendors started at Carson Park in Floral Hall, and it’s back again for 2024!
Where to find The Paducah Quilt Show:
The Paducah Quilt Show is at Carson Park at 301 Joe Clifton Drive and on the shuttle route!
Five Food Options in Paducah
No trip plan is complete without thinking about where you want to eat. For a small city, Paducah has lots of good food. Here are just a few of my favorites:
- My favorite Paducah restaurant is Freight House, and you definitely want to get a reservation now if you hope to eat there during QuiltWeek. Over the years, it has become increasingly popular, especially since Chef Sara Bradley has been on two seasons of Top Chef.
- You would never know by the taste that everything at Branch Out is vegan and gluten-free. I’ll be there once (if not more) during QuiltWeek.
- Getting Lunch at the main show can get chaotic, so I often walk (or drive) toward downtown to eat. Paducah Beer Werks is relatively close, has good, reasonably priced food, and often has Quilt Week specials.
- Kirchhoff’s Deli is a classic for a reason. The sandwiches are great, and the sweet baked goods are phenomenal.
- Something about this quilt show makes me want ice cream, and there are two good places to get it downtown: Craving the Curls and Forever Sweet Creamery.
Finding More to Do During Paducah Quilt Week 2024
There is always way more going on around town than anyone can do in the few days during the quilt show. If you are looking for other fun quilting (or non-quilting) things to do, try looking at the Paducah visitors’ website.
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