Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2022 // 7-6-2022

2022 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show™ Saturday, July 9, 2022 — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. —

Always the second Saturday in July

Located throughout Sisters No tickets required • No cost to attend

9 a.m. — Start of 47th Anniversary Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show “Community” Over 1,100 quilts on display throughout the town of Sisters

The “Diana Princess of Wales” Cherrywood Challenge

on display at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Hall throughout the day

4 p.m. — Raffle Quilt Drawing behind Stitchin’ Post VIRTUAL SHOW DAY ACTIVITIES ON FACEBOOK LIVE: 7:30 a.m. Welcome to SOQS: Quilt Hanging at Stitchin’ Post (Jean & Val) 9 a.m. Live around town 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Special Exhibits • Teacher’s Pavilion Showcase Quilters 12:30 p.m. Cherrywood Challenge 1 p.m. Quilt Block Challenge WISH Upon A Card • Raffle 4 p.m. Raffle Quilt Drawing behind Stitchin’ Post For the most up-to-date information, follow us on social media: Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show SistersOutdoorQuiltShow

For additional information, or if you miss something, visit www.soqs.org.

ADDITIONAL HAPPENINGS DURING QUILT SHOW WEEK: Quilters Affair: Classes held at Sisters High School Monday-Friday leading up to Quilt Show Day. Brought to you by Stitchin’ Post. www.quiltersaffair.com Wednesday, July 6 – Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Fundraiser Sunday, July 10 – Quilts at FivePine Lodge

QUILT BY JANET MACCONNELL

A Message from SOQS Executive Director Dawn Boyd:

We believe in community

Welcome to our 47th annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, and on behalf of our board of directors, thank you for joining us today! We are proud to present to you our community and believe we have created an event that will fill your heart and soul with beautiful quilts. We hope you enjoy the day filled with the sights and sounds of Sisters, making new friends, becoming inspired, and feeling part of the SOQS community.

Our theme for the 2022 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show — “Community” — was selected as our board recognized how important our community has been to us in the past two years: our community of Sisters and its amazing support of the Quilt Show; our community of quilters who share their art with us; our community of volunteers, who help to make the Quilt Show happen (often the silent heroes of our show); and our community of those who choose to walk through life with us.

We are truly appreciative of those in our community who have partnered with us to make today happen: the City of Sisters, Deschutes County Sheriff ’s Office, ODOT, SistersCamp Sherman Fire District, our local businesses, our donors, and our many volunteers

and quilters. We are here today because of the support we have received from all of you.

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show has always been free to attend, and always will be.

We hope that you will consider supporting the Quilt Show with a donation or becoming a Friend of the Show to help offset our expenses, and to help our board continue to fulfill that commitment.

Our board is committed to celebrating our community and continues to focus on our mission “to celebrate the art, skill, and heritage of quilting and fiber arts, while enhancing the cultural vitality of Sisters and Central Oregon and providing enrichment opportunities for area youth.”

We are able to do this with your support!

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is a bucket list item for many. No matter if this is your first time here, or if you are a seasoned veteran attending the show, we want every visit to be memorable. This year’s Quilt Show is filled with quilts from around the country, and around the world. We are so thankful you are here!

Enjoy every moment.

— Dawn Boyd

2

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

Poster and art quilts celebrate community

By Katy Yoder Correspondent

Janet MacConnell grew up in a small town, and she knew that when she and her husband, Rich, were ready to retire, they’d find another small town that was “artsy” and valued community.

“A friend brought me to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS), and I knew I had found that town,” she said at her home that borders Whychus Creek.

Since their move in 2013, MacConnell joined the quilt guild and has participated in the last four East of the Cascades Quilt Guild special exhibits. The 2022 poster artist, MacConnell, says her quilting has changed a lot over the nine years she’s lived in Sisters. When she was asked to design the quilt, at first she wanted to include all of Sisters in it. With guidance from Jean Wells, MacConnell followed her suggestion to

hanging in the lobby of the firehouse,” she said.

There’s always something on the calendar for MacConnell, who hadn’t had to make new friends until she left her hometown. With lots of groups focused on quilting, her Mondays are spent with the Mission Q uilters at Sisters Community Church. Tuesdays she’s at Heartwarmers, and Wednesday s she ’s at Stitchin’ Post for a freesew day.

“It was a great way to meet people. Having that common thread, you’re able to encourage each other and share ideas and how to do things. There’s a special sense of community between quilters,” she said.

The poster quilt will be sold to raise funds for SOQS, an effort focused on making sure the show can continue to be a free event.

simplify her design.

She wanted to illustrate how the public schools are supported by the community and how much art and music there is in the schools.

“I also wanted to include the firefighters, who support the community by hanging the quilts,” she said. “I tried to capture that art brings Sisters together as a community and emphasize the sense of community and celebrate that the Quilt Show is back.”

MacConnell says that quilting provided her access to wonderful new friends and a way to develop her art. She volunteers hanging and taking down quilts during the Quilt Show.

“When I first got here I designed the quilt the firefighters took to England to represent Sisters. I designed it and then it was sewn by 10 guild members. We actually made two, so they have one to hang in the Sisters fire station. It was a surprise. It’s QUILT BY JANET MACCONNELL

Raffle quilt, ‘Woodland Wonder,’ a group effort The raffle quilt, “Woodland Wonder,” was created based on the pattern “Inversion” by Karla Alexander. The Inversion pattern was brought to life by officers of the Cascades Quilters in Sisters: June Jaeger, Janet Roshak, Karen Tyler, Robyn Gold, and Nancy Frazeur. The quilting was done by Laura Simmons.

The fabric collection, Sticks ’n Stones, was designed by Quilt Show founder Jean Wells.

Five East of the Cascades

Quilt Guild members volunteered to make this year’s raffle quilt. Jean Wells designed the fabric and donated it for the project. Wells and June Jaeger chose the pattern to make.

Jaeger cut out the pieces, making a kit for assembly, and Roshak and Jaeger began the process of piecing each block together.

“It was a complicated pattern, and we were easily turned around and ended up ripping out seams,” said Jaeger.

Guild team members felt

they needed to get it to the point of constructing into rows before involving too much construction activity.

Placing the blocks to get a nice flow of color dispersed throughout was important before sewing rows together.

“At this point we had an

all-day sew-a-thon, with all five of us putting sections and rows together and finally assembling the full quilt. We all sat at a sewing machine in my sewing studio and sewed and laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. We knew we would be turning the

leadership of the Guild over to a new board in January, so this project was our last hurrah, a gift to Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show,” said Jaeger.

You can purchase raffle tickets or tickets for the Wednesday fundraiser at https://soqs.square.site/.

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

3

4

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

Jackie Erickson – Featured Quilter

By Katy Yoder Correspondent

Jackie Erickson is a Sisters treasure. Over the last 40 years, she’s worked for Stitchin’ Post as a teacher, as well as a creator of kits and precuts. She’s a one-woman cheerleader for all things quilting. Her jovial, energetic personality is inspirational for both beginners and seasoned quilters. “I’m the kit queen!” she joked, while giving a tour of the behindthe-scenes operation in the iconic store.

Usually not one for titles, she’s thoroughly enjoying being a featured quilter. “I will say I’m taking this Featured Quilter thing very seriously,” she said beaming. Erickson ordered Hershey bars with custom wrappers that say, “2022 SO QS Featured Quilter – Jackie Erickson.”

She’s passing them out to friends, inviting them to help her savor the experience.

Erickson still has her first quilt, which she jokingly describes as “fuggly.” She began quilting in high school and learned right away that mistakes are part of the package. Since then, she’s embraced the fact that mistakes happen no matter how much experience you have. She has found that it’s best to shoulder on, keep a positive attitude, and, when possible, turn mistakes into end results that turn out just fine.

PHOTO BY KATY YODER

She described making her first quilt and the tribulations she encountered.

“I started making one size block, forgot what I was making, then later started making them again and realized they were two different sizes,” she said, laughing.

As an instructor she uses her mistakes as opportunities.

“When I teach, I make mistakes all the time so my students can see them. I just keep going, move on, and fix them later,” she said. “There’s no mistake you can’t fix. It might not be what you originally started with, but you can always fix it. No matter how hard you try you’re going to make mistakes. I don’t think

there’s ever been a quilt I had to get rid of. It looks kind of funny, but I don’t care. If people make fun of your quilt, I’d just say, ‘Hey, I’m human!’”

In June, Erickson taught a class called Modern Log Jam. “I love log cabins,” she said.

She likes finding ways to use up leftovers, which can be transformed into beautiful quilts. She teaches children using scraps as well. She’s learned that having a finished product they can take home often inspires them to want to learn more about sewing.

With Erickson’s exuberant, colorful personality, it’s no wonder she’s been so successful introducing children to the love of quilting.

Trying new things keeps Erickson excited about learning. Often she ends up teaching what she’s learned to her students. She’s made fabric baskets and recently decided to learn how to hand-felt.

“I did an eggplant,” she said. “I can do vegetables, that’s it. It’s like working with clay but it’s wool. That’s fun.

I am determined to do that better.”

Always looking forward, Erickson has weathered setbacks that would bring many to their knees. Over the years she has made hundreds of quilts, including her first one in 1978. Then the Rooster Rock fire hit Sisters and Erickson’s quilts, stored away

in her new home, were incinerated. When the ash cooled, she only had three surviving quilts; two happened to be hanging in Stitchin’ Post.

Along with her first quilt, with its stains and uneven stitching, this was all that was left.

Holding up her first quilt, she had to laugh. “We lost everything in a fire, but this quilt won’t die!”

Erickson has recreated many of her lost quilts, sometimes with scraps from the original ones. She gives many away but still has a lot in storage.

“When I die there will be door prizes at my memorial.

Everybody gets a raffle ticket when they come in, and everyone will get a quilt. But you have to be present to win!” she joked.

One of Erickson’s goals for the future is more traveling. She recently renewed her passport.

“I want to travel while I can still do it,” she said. “I saw a picture of a couple in a gondola going down the grand canal, and they were sleeping.

If I go somewhere I want to see it. I can sleep in my hotel room. My big goal right now is to go to Ireland. I have quilts for sale in the Quilt Show that I said I would never sell. Will they sell? I don’t know. One of them features the folk-art cats, designed by John Simpkins.

Everything that sells will go to traveling.”

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

5

Volunteers bring Quilt Show to life Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) Executive Director Dawn Boyd is forthright about the impact of volunteers in the creation of the annual show: “There’s no way this would happen without them.”

The sudden blossoming of colorful quilts all over Sisters on the second Saturday in July for over four decades has the air of magic about it. It’s actually the product of the hard work of many hands, often working year-round to make it all happen.

Volunteers coordinate special projects and exhibits; they take in and register the thousand or so quilts that go on display around town, and keep track of where they’re hanging. And volunteers hang those quilts. The Sisters fire department brings out ladder equipment to hang the quilts high on the east wall of Stitchin’ Post, while other crews hang them all over town early on Saturday morning.

Boyd notes that a crew from the Kiwanis Club of Sisters comes out each year to hang quilts.

“They just do it out of wanting to support the

community,” she said.

Often, out-of-town visitors will step up and offer to volunteer to do whatever the show needs on the day-of.

“They just want to be part of this,” Boyd said.

The volunteers work behind the scenes, and few get a glimpse of the critical work that happens so quietly and unobtrusively to create the magic.

“They’re not anyone who (is) out there seeking recognition,” Boyd said.

Helen Brisson is a key volunteer for SOQS. Her work starts a good six months before show day.

Brisson notes that Boyd does not have a staff assistant.

“Starting in January, I told her I’d be here (in the Quilt Show office) two days a week, and do whatever she needed me to do,” she said. “Now I’m up to four, sometimes five.”

One of her main duties — and it’s a critical one — is answering the phone and fielding the myriad of questions quilters and patrons have going into the show.

She helps navigate the quilt submission process. Expert quilters aren’t necessarily

PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK

tech savvy.

“You really feel like you’ve helped somebody work through something they’re not familiar with,” she said.

She documents and sends out materials for contests like the Quilt Block Challenge and Wish Upon A Card.

“I also take care of all the sponsor quilts,” she said.

She’s been involved with the Quilt Show since a friend first invited her to view the quilts on the morning of the

show in 2010. She had moved to Sisters from Kansas City after retirement, and the Quilt Show became a new passion for her.

But her association with quilting goes back further than that.

“Quilting’s in my background, passed down through the generations,” she said.

“I really got into it after I retired, and moving out here really took me in a whole new direction.”

She finds great satisfaction in helping to facilitate the community connections that occur around the Quilt Show, with like-minded folks from all over the world.

“It really creates a bond,” she said.

And she knows that her work, and the work of dozens of others, is a critical part of the Quilt Show’s ongoing success.

“It really takes a lot of people to pull this off,” she said.

6

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

Showcasing the diversity of the quilter’s art The world of quilting is as diverse as the individuals who love the art form. Each year, the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show showcases quilt artists whose work — and passion for the craft — is exceptional.

Pat Guzzardo’s appliqué work will be featured in a display at Beacham’s Clock Co. at 300 W. Hood Ave. Friday, July 1 through Saturday, July 9.

Guzzardo’s journey in quilting was jump-started when she and her husband fell in love with Sisters during a golf trip and purchased a second home at Black Butte Ranch.

“With Sisters and the Stitchin’ Post just down the road, I started my quilting adventure,” she recalled. “Over the years I have found doing appliqué has brought me the most enjoyment. I recently have become intrigued with doing appliqué on felted wool.”

Mary Klein is a handquilter with a long-standing appreciation for fabric and handcrafts.

“My grandmother was a seamstress, and I remember loving being in her sewing room with all her fancy fabrics,” Klein said.

From 1995 to ’97, she served in the Peace Corps in Romania, helping local people develop their crafts for export — from tapestries to pottery to decorative eggs.

“I just loved working with them,” she said. “I think that really

sparked my interest again in doing something rather than just looking and admiring.”

In 1997, she moved to Sunriver and got involved with the Mountain Meadow Q uilters. That led to involvement in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Klein’s quilts will be on display inside at FivePine Lodge & Conference Center on Desperado Trail the whole month of July.

Outside Beacham’s Clock Shop, viewers will take in eight quilts hung by showcase artist Nancy Hoff.

“I was very surprised when they asked me to do that,” she said. “I don’t advertise my quilting or that kind of thing, so having it recognized really made me feel good.”

A mother, grandmother, and great aunt, Hoff has been a seamstress all her life.

“I had an appreciation for it, growing up,” she said.

U p o n m o v i n g f ro m Oregon to the Carolinas, she got into quilting in a big way.

“It was a matter of finding a fabric store and going at it,” she said.

She’s made lots of baby quilts, and continued her interest as she visited Black Butte Ranch from the 1980s to when she moved there permanently in 2001. She has a fine memory of attending her first Quilt Show at the spur of the moment back in the 1980s.

She and a friend were hauling a horse trailer through town, and they spotted the quilts hanging on the downtown businesses.

Sarah Kaufman creates Log Cabin Blocks.

“We parked the horses in the shade, got out and looked at the quilts, and got back into the truck and went on,” she said.

And now it’s her quilts that will be stopping traffic through Sisters.

Sarah Kaufman is the featured quilt artist at Clearwater Gallery at 303 W. Hood Ave. throughout the month of July.

It’s a suitable location, because her quilts are exquisite pieces of art, most at home hanging on a wall.

Kaufman folds 1-1/2-inch fabric strips to create Log Cabin Blocks. She’s so wellversed in the work that she teaches her technique and

has published a book titled “Folded Log Cabin Quilts.”

“They make a very dense quilt,” she said. “They’re not suitable for beds, but they love hugging the walls.”

Kaufman is a self-confessed “fabricaholic,” who has a family background that set her on the path to artistry in fabric.

“My mother was a dressmaker — a couture dressmaker,” she said. “I learned to sew as a little girl.”

She describes Sisters as “a quilting paradise.”

“Jean Wells at Stitchin’ Post is my hero,” she said.

“She’s the one who inspired me to (teach) classes.”

PHOTO BY KATY YODER

Garden of Eden Quilts Private Sale:

Contemporary, Antique, Wall Art & More 270 Spruce Street & E. Washington

541-241-2972

gardenofedenquilts@gmail.com

Welcome, Quilters!

161 E. Cascade, Suite 103/D Town Square across the parking lot from Painted Lady Antiques & Sundance Shoes Our shop is bursting with beautiful clothing and unique artisan goods. We have great gifts to take home to remember your visit.

Mary Klein will show her quilts outside FivePine Lodge & Conference Center.

COMMON THREADS • 541-549-5648 Open Monday-Saturday • 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

7

Welcome Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Quilters And Families!

Call to schedule a tour!

541-504-4226

Visit our Ranch Yurt Boutique!

Overflowing with beautiful alpaca gifts

15% OFF YOUR ENTIRE PURCHASE!

✃

Bring a sack lunch and spend some time relaxing by the pond at our beautiful 134-acre ranch. Take a walk in the pasture with oone of over 1,000 alpacas and get an alpaca kiss!

✃

(Online use promo code Nugget15 for discount. Offer good through July 17, 2022.)

Sweaters, coats, pashminas, socks • Hats, gloves & scarves Yarns & roving • Rugs, blankets, throws & pillows Toys, stuffed animals and ornaments Our children’s book, Baby Alpaca’s Adventure.

ORDER ONLINE AT ALPACACOUNTRYESTATES.COM

FREE BAG OF ALPACA FLEECE FOR EVERY VISITOR! Watch alpacas getting shorn daily from late morning until about 3 p.m.

Nancy & Art Izer

DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Alpaca Country Estates is located only 20 minutes/16 miles from Sisters.

Take Hwy 126 east, turn left on Holmes Road, then turn right on Holmes Road at the T-intersection. Holmes Road becomes NW Lower Bridge Way after Rainshadow Organics. Our ranch is on the righthand side over the hill past Faith Hope & Charity Vineyard. Turn right onto Buckhorn into the first driveway on the right at 70397 Buckhorn Road. Parking is located after the first building on the right. www.alpacacountryestates.com

8

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

Machine Quilting Showcase: A love for quilting “I fell in love with quilts when I was very young,” said Coleen Blackwood.

Blackwood is the 2022 Machine Quilter Showcase artist.

“I do intense, decorative quilts,” she said.

“That’s kind of my bag — I put a lot of stitches in quilts.”

Blackwood works on her home sewing machine rather than on a longarm machine, because that’s what she’s got room for at home.

The Pendleton resident began machine quilting over 40 years ago, having taken her first machine quilting class from Harriet Hargrave at the first Quilters Affair. The techniques learned in that first class carry through to the work she does today.

She’s gratified to be recognized by the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

“I try to put my work into a couple of display quilts I could be proud of,” she said. “They took notice and asked me to put up a whole bunch of them.”

In her Quilt Show bio, she noted: “I don’t

plan on making show quilts, but I like to make quilts that are admired for the work that has been put into them, whether it is the piecing, color combinations, or the quilting stitches that tie it all together. Many of my quilts have been class samples for teaching and many have been given away to family and friends and donations to those in need.”

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

9

Sally Frey teaches the joy of quilting

By Katy Yoder Correspondent

An instructor for the past 25 years, Sally Frey says her most important advice to quilting students is to have a good time, enjoy the process, and don’t stress over a point not matching.

Frey lives in Northern California with her husband, Galen, in the small town of Fortuna where she grew up.

She took up quilting after her son graduated from high school in 1993. Her hobby collecting antique quilts inspired her to take a quilt design class and years later open her own store.

She recently sold her quilting shop across the river in Ferndale and is looking forward to quilting more and taking classes. Busy running her store with her partner, Frey didn’t have time to design her own quilts. When Jean Wells first hired her as an instructor, Frey started teaching with her own antique collection.

“I used those patterns with modern fabric. With a new owner taking over the shop in March, I’m excited to get back to doing my own designing and not just making store samples,” she said.

Frey will continue doing some teaching at her former business.

“The new owner is scheduling classes, and I really miss everybody, so I teach once every couple of weeks,” she said.

Frey remembers the moment Wells approached her about teaching.

“I about drove off the road when Jean asked me to be an instructor. I was teaching at the local shop when she came to lecture at the local guild and stayed at my house,” said Frey.

Even as a new teacher, Wells could see how much Frey loved to teach and share.

“I was driving Jean to the airport when she told me she was going to have to cancel some classes at the Stitchin’ Post because there weren’t enough teachers,” she said.

“Then she asked me to come up and teach.”

Since 1998, Frey has taught at the Sisters Quilters Affair. She first began teaching wool applique.

“I loved teaching wooly classes here,” she said.

She says her teaching and quilting have evolved to include a broader use of color and a more modern aesthetic.

She enjoys twisting up an antique quilt design and giving it her own spin.

With COVID hopefully slowing down and traveling more of a possibility, Frey is eager to take classes and expand her knowledge.

“My business partner and I both wanted to travel, go to classes, and keep up with what’s going on in the quilting industry. I’d love to take a Sue Spargo class, and one of Sujata Shah’s classes,” she said.

In September, Frey is finally heading to France to do a workshop with French General.

“I was supposed to do it two years ago, and it was cancelled. I’m looking forward to doing needlework. To be

PHOTO PROVIDED

in the south of France with French General is really exciting,” she said.

The French General designs French antique linens and have designed for Moda for years.

“I signed up a few years ago and have been waiting so

long to go,” she said.

Frey wants to take more classes, especially like the ones she took with Kay Fawcett in Sisters.

“Just to keep myself in the groove, I want to learn as well as teach. I’ll teach locally now, so I won’t have to travel

so far to teach. It’s funny,” she said, “people think I’m a local instructor because I drive to Sisters from Fortuna. But actually, it’s a seven-and-ahalf-hour drive. It’s a long, windy road to get to Highway 97, but coming to Sisters is always worth the drive.”

WELCOME, QUILTERS...

Take your time and enjoy the show and your visit to Central Oregon, while we entertain your fur baby!

The heat will be on in July.

Whether you want to keep your doggie cool for a day of making new friends in our puppy pool...or a night of peaceful slumber, so you can make some side trips... we offer safe, supervised play care, for a few hours or longer, as well as pampered short-term boarding and grooming, too.

GIVE US A WHISTLE AT 541-549-2275!

Central Bark & Groomingdales DOGGIE DAYCARE, BOARDING, & GROOMING 267 W. Sisters Park Dr.

Gypsy Wind Clothing Summer Comfort Every Day, All Day! Cool, Colorful Cottons Traditional & Trendy

EZ Wear

Perfect for Travel • Sizes Small to 3X

You’re going to love our prices!

541-868-4479 54 41-868 • 183 E. HOOD AVE., SISTERS ERS Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WednesdayW

Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.

Lizzy & Annie (mannequins) with Janet

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

2 Wish Fabric Postcards in

partnership with Andover Fabrics and presented by Wildflower Studio, Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop, Bend Picture Framing, Sage Custom Picture Framing, Kuhl Frames + Art, and Eastlake Framing; located at Village Green Park. This is an annual fundraiser for the SOQS Arts Scholarship for Sisters High School students.

Fabric postcards are sold to raise funds.

3 Teacher’s Pavilion presented

by Stitchin’ Post, located at Village Green Park. Quilts created by the instructors of Quilter’s Affair.

4 Featured Gallery Artist:

Sarah Kaufman presented by and located inside of Clearwater Gallery. Sarah Kaufman began folding narrow fabric strips to create log cabin blocks after noting how well the resulting weighty quilts performed on the wall, and in frames. The ‘stacking’ process with strips is the secret, and also kind to arthritis hands!

5 Storytellers Book 2022, Community Storybook

presented by and located in the courtyard of The Open Door.

Various Oregon quilters have created the larger–than-life storybook with quilted pages, each one telling a unique story.

Quilts for sale by various artists.

6 “Community” SOQS Poster

Quilt for Sealed Bid Auction

presented by Fika Sisters Coffeehouse, located behind Stitchin’ Post. The 2022 SOQS poster quilt was designed, created, and quilted by Janet MacConnell.

This unique quilt will be available via sealed bid auction.

7 Central Oregon SAQA

presented by Sisters Coffee, located in The Open Door Courtyard. Artists from the Central Oregon SAQA chapter embraced the power of orange. Calm, or hot, this color can work its magic even in the smallest amount.

8 Pat Guzzardo Showcase

Quilts presented by and located

inside Beacham’s Clock Shop.

Hand appliqué has been a favorite of Pat’s and she has recently become intrigued with doing appliqué on felted wool. Her quilts will be on display for the full week.

11 SOQS 2022 Raffle Quilt

presented by Island Batik Fabrics, located on the lawn behind Stitchin’ Post. Woodland Wonder was created using the Inversion pattern by Karla Alexander by the 2021 officers of East of the Cascades Quilters in Sisters: June Jaeger, Janet Roshak, Karen Tyler, Robyn Gold, and Nancy Frazeur.

The quilting was done by Laura Simmons. The fabric collection, Sticks ‘n Stones, was designed by Jean Wells, founder of SOQS.

12 Stitchin’ Post Employee

Challenge Quilts presented

by The Gallimaufry, located at Stitchin’ Post. Each year, the employees of the Stitchin’ Post interpret the Quilt Show’s annual theme. This year, they celebrate their “Community.”

21 Journeys Quilt Artists:

Maywood Makers presented

Unhinged presented by and

by Maywood Studio and Laird Superfood, located at the VIP Hospitality Tent, Hood Avenue and Ash Street. A beautiful collection of mini quilts created by the Maywood Makers using Opal Essence fabrics.

located at Bedouin. As a group of textile artists that have met for 10 years, they come together to support one another in their journey, sharing techniques, successes, and challenges.

22 High Desert Quilt Guild of

19 East of the Cascades:

Redmond: Among the Stars

Community presented by

presented by Oliver Lemon’s, located at Raven Makes. This block-of-the-month challenge covered 2021 and 2022, with each quilter selecting their own colorways.

Spoons and located on the west wall of The Hen’s Tooth. The East of the Cascades Quilt Guild is happy to share their challenge for the 2022 show, reflecting their interpretations of this year’s show theme, Community, and each quilter using the color of periwinkle.

23 Kids Activity Center: Fabric Postcard Make-and-Takes

presented by Will-n-Beez Quilts & Coffee Shoppe, located in the parking lot of Oliver Lemon’s. An introduction and hands-on activity for our guests 18 and under, creating their own make-and-take fabric postcards.

20 Best of QuiltCon 2022

presented by Sisters Saloon, located at the corner of Hood Avenue and Elm Street. Featuring the best of 2021 QuiltCon.

Recycle Center

13 KONA Color of the Year:

SISTERS PARK DR.

2022 Cosmos presented by

Common Threads, located at the Stitchin’ Post. Come see these fresh, inspired designs utilizing the KONA Color of the Year, Cosmos.

14 Featured Quilter: Jackie

Erickson presented by Ray’s

Food Place, located at Ponderosa Properties. Jackie has been involved in quilting for over 40 years, and loves to share her experiences with her students.

Creating and designing quilts continues to be a passion, along with instilling confidence in quilters of all levels.

15 Portland Modern Quilt

Guild “Let Our Quilts Sing”

presented by and located at Paulina Springs Books. This year’s exhibit is all about the Quilters’ favorite song title. In a world faced with continued uncertainty, there is nothing quite like the ability music has to transport us to a different space and time.

16 Inspirational Instructor:

Sally Frey presented by Prestige

Senior Living, and located at the back of The Hen’s Tooth and The Paper Place, 172 W. Hood Ave. Sally’s exuberant enthusiasm is infectious, and she is sought after for advice from quilters of all levels. Sally’s sense of color is fabulous — watching her pull fabrics for quilts is like a whirling dervish, and the end result is another beautiful, colorful project!

Quilter Showcase: 9 Nancy Hoff Showcase Quilts 17 Machine Colleen Blackwood presented presented by Sisters Folk Festival, located outside of Beacham’s Clock Shop. Nancy focuses on how colors interact with each other, working from different patterns, making each quilt her own with emphasis on color.

Nancy has been sewing quilt samples for Stitchin’ Post, giving her a chance to try patterns that she might never have chosen.

18 “Opal Essence” by

by The Quilt Basket, located at Three Creeks Building. The techniques she learned taking her first machine quilting class over 40 years ago carry through to her work today. Colleen does handdriven quilting on a stationary machine, allowing time and space to accept the stitches and know that each quilt is a stepping stone to the next, better quilt.

Where to find...

HIGHWAY 20 / 126 WEST: Metolius Recreation Area, Camp Sherman, Black Butte Ranch, Suttle Lake, Hoodoo, Portland, Eugene, Salem, Albany

Water station .......

Info Booth .......... I First Aid..............

Sales Booth ........ $

Medical

HWY 242 WEST: McKenzie Pass To Outlaw Station and Three Wind shopping centers

Ranger Station

+

Volunteer Booth .. V Restrooms ...........

ATM................... ATM

N. OAK ST.

Bluestone Retirement, located at Sisters Fire Station Community Hall. Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics challenged artists to create a unique piece of art with a limited color palette. Donations accepted.

presented by FreeSpirit Fabrics, located on the lawn behind Stitchin’ Post. Thanks to the generous support of Tula Pink and FreeSpirit Fabrics, our annual Quilt Block Contest challenges quilters to create a block using Tula Pink’s fabric line, True Colors.

2022 Special Exh

To Medical To 242

126

20 12 13

Gas Station

24

Stitchin’ Post 6

10 11

I

8 32

5

9 4 7

S. OAK ST.

The Diana Cherrywood Challenge presented by

10 Quilt Block Contest 2022

N. PINE ST.

1 Cherrywood Fabrics –

S. PINE ST.

10

15 14 18

hibits Map Guide 24 Busy Bees Quilt Group:

Meadow Mystery presented

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

30 Two Rivers, Three Sisters

27 Central Oregon Modern

by Ear Expressions, located at The Jewel. This year’s exhibit is Bees! Group members took on the challenge to make a Bee Quilt, and to use the same white-onwhite bee fabric in some way.

presented by Sisters Depot, located at Habitat Thrift Store.

The challenge was to use gifted, thrifted, or found fabrics that have not been made in the last decade, and the herringbone pattern.

25 Mt. Bachelor Quilters’ Guild: 28 The Undercover Quilters Winner’s Circle presented by Takoda’s, located at Dixie’s. Drawn from the membership of talented quilters, some of these quilts have been featured at national, regional, and foreign shows.

26 Blockin’ Robins: Finds from our Community Grocer

presented by Sisters Bakery, located at 100 E. Main Ave. Each member selected an item from the grocery story to use as inspiration.

Each member worked on the secret round robin without the quilter’s knowledge, waiting for the reveal 10 months later.

– “Once Upon a River”

presented by C&T Publishing, located at The Gallery. Inspired by the book “Once Upon a River”

by Diane Setterfield, this group has created a flowing river of interconnected quilts.

29 Mountain Meadow Quilters

Guild: Let It Snow presented by Your Store, located at the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce.

Sunriver, home of the Mountain Meadow Quilters, is at the base of Mt. Bachelor and subject to high yearly averages of snowfall.

33 Showcase Quilter: Mary

Klein presented by Gypsy Wind Clothing, located inside FivePine Lodge. Mary is a hand-quilter and has finished and restored a number of pieces. Being handed a box of unfinished blocks from the 1930s is a challenge and a joy.

View her quilts throughout July and visit her Quilt Show Sunday.

presented by the City of Sisters, located inside Sisters City Hall.

This 40' long, 17-panel permanent exhibit created in 2012 was a joint project of fiber artists and the National Forest Foundation to raise awareness and funds for restoration on the Metolius River and Whychus Creek.

Quilt Guild: Herringbone

11

31 Next Generation presented by 34 Quilts of Valor / Honor Flight Quilts Info Booth

St. Charles Foundation, located at Oliver Lemon’s. Celebrating all quilters under the age of 18. Next Generation quilters vary in age and skill. We love to celebrate their creativity and artistry as they share their quilts with our visitors.

presented by The Barn, located at Hood Avenue and Elm Street.

Learn about two wonderful programs that support veterans with quilts to honor their service.

35 SOQS Quilt Walk presented

32 Made by Men presented by

by The Roundhouse Foundation.

Stroll through the SOQS business sponsors throughout the month of July; each sponsor will be showing off a sponsor quilt created by a Central Oregon quilter. Maps are available throughout Sisters.

Three Creeks Brewing, located at the Hood Avenue Art Building.

Our annual tribute to the men whose quilts are displayed in one exhibit, showing off the range of talent and style of our male quilters.

36 SOQS Sunday! Presented

Post Office

Sheriff’s Office

by FivePine Lodge, at FivePine campus. Sunday, July 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. walk through the pine trees and view quilts created by Helen Robinson and Jenny Pedigo of Sew Kind of Wonderful.

Clemens Park Playground & Restroom

E. BLACK BUTTE AVE.

PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK

E. MAIN AVE.

29

Fir St. Park & Restroom

Chamber

Library City Hall

Gas Station

25

W. CASCADE AVE.

28

E. CASCADE AVE.

+

31

W. HOOD AVE.

$

E. HOOD AVE.

V

ATM

17

Three Creeks Building

+ Fire Station & 1

Community Hall

21

22

126

23 S. CEDAR ST.

20 34

S. LARCH ST.

16

S. SPRUCE ST.

19

Medical

S. FIR ST.

I

30

27

Barclay Park & Restroom

E. WASHINGTON AVE.

2 3

N. LOCUST ST.

N. CEDAR ST.

N. LARCH ST.

Nugget Newspaper

Village Green Park Playground & Restroom

20

Gas Station

HIGHWAY 126 EAST: Aspen Lakes Golf Course, Eagle Crest Resort, Redmond, Terrebonne, Madras

S. LOCUST ST.

26

W. MAIN AVE.

N. SPRUCE ST.

N. FIR ST.

E. ADAMS AVE.

ATM

S. ELM ST.

S. ASH ST.

4

E. ASPENWOOD AVE.

N. ELM ST.

N. ASH ST.

W. ADAMS AVE.

Elm Street divides downtown Sisters into east and west.

HIGHWAY 20 EAST: FivePine Lodge 33 36 , Bend, Sunriver, High Desert Museum

© Copyright 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, LLC. All rights reserved. No portion of this map may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without explicit prior permission in writing.

12

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

Wishing Upon A Card One of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show’s longest-running fundraising programs is the Wish Upon A Card challenge.

Andover Fabrics provides challenge fabrics that quilters are invited to use to create postcard-sized quilts.

Cards are juried and the top three selections are awarded cash prizes. Then those selections, along with cards created by the teachers of Quilter’s Affair, are matted and framed for the silent auction.

Proceeds from the sale of the cards provides funding for the production of the annual, free Quilt Show and the SOQS Visual Arts Scholarship Fund, benefiting Sisters High School students going to college.

The project begins with basic guidelines, but

Throwing a curve into quilting

coordinator Robyn Gold notes that the makers are exceptionally creative in what they come up with. Many submit multiple postcards. One woman, Barb Jensen, lives in Michigan, and has never attended the Quilt Show — yet she has created more than 100 cards for sale in support of the show.

Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop and Wildflower Studio Art Boutique & Framing in Sisters, and Sage Custom Picture Framing and Gallery, Bend Picture Framing, Kuhl Framing + Art, and Eastlake Framing in Bend all contribute framing services for the project. The entries are displayed at Sisters High School through the week leading up to Quilt Show and on the Saturday of the show they are at the Village Green.

First-place Wish Upon A Card entry by Kay Gutierrez

PHOTO BY PROVIDED

We Deliver!

FROM SISTERS RESTAURANTS & FROM GROCERS IN SISTERS, REDMOND & BEND!

TO:

Black Butte Ranch & Camp Sherman Cloverdale Rd. Squaw Creek Canyon Estates City of Sisters Tollgate • Crossroads Thursday - Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

CALL/TEXT 541-213-0507

How it works at: VacayGroceryDelivery.com

Quilting is mostly a business of geometric shapes and/ or straight lines. Throwing a curve into the equation is, well, throwing a curve.

Getting around a curved edge is a challenge that many quilters avoid.

“A lot of people are intimidated by curves,” said Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show founder and award-winning quilter Jean Wells.

Sisters Jenny Pedigo and Helen Robinson solved that problem with the development of the Quick Curve Ruler. According to their website at https://sewkind ofwonder ful.com, “ The Quick Curve Ruler was the brain-child of Jenny when she wanted to find an easier way to consistently cut curves that would be easy to sew.

The first Quick Curve Ruler and pattern Urban Escape were sold in 2011. Since then thousands of Quick Curve Rulers and QCR patterns have been sold worldwide to quilters who have fallen in love with curved piecing using the easy techniques of the Quick Curve Ruler.

There are over 35 patterns which all use just one ruler.”

The tool and technique caught the attention of Jean and her daughter Valori Wells. “ Val and I discovered them the very first market they were at, and we just loved their techniques,” Jean

recalled. fun and simVal and I discovered The sisters ple to make. them [ Jenny Pedigo were invited Quilters will t o S i s t e r s , and Helen Robinson] be able to the very first market and they ’ve take inspitaught for ration from they were at, and several years Pedigo’s and we just loved their at A Quilter’s R o b i n s o n’s techniques.

Affair. quilts — and — Jean Wells know that This year, they can do they will lead similar work a special SOQS Sunday session at FivePine thanks to the Quick Curve L o d g e & C o n f e r e n c e Ruler and their patterns.

“It’s accessible to all quilCenter.

“They’ll be doing a lec- ters, because of their system,” ture and then they’ll be doing Wells said.

The event is set for 10 a.m. guided tours looking at their Sunday, July 10, at FivePine quilts,” Wells said.

Those quilts are fresh Lodge & Conference Center, and contemporary — and 1021 E. Desperado Trail.

Wildflower Studio Welcomes…

Quilts For Empowerment FRIDAY & SATURDAY, JULY 8 & 9

Handmade folk art quilts, tote bags & table mat sets made by women in Kenya.

All proceeds support QFE programs

WILDFLOWER STUDIO ART BOUTIQUE & FRAMING

— 541-904-0673 — 103-B 103 10 3 - B E. E. H Hood ood oo d Ave., Sisters

WildflowerStudioArtandFraming.com

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

13

Special exhibits showcase creativity in quilting Quilters tell stories through a visual and tactile medium. Since 2017, the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show has made the storytelling aspect of the craft literal through a special display at Clearwater Gallery.

In that year, poster artist Dan Rickards commissioned an 18th-century-style leather-bound book and created an art piece that used quilts as the pages. The project matched that year’s show theme of “Storytellers.”

But the exhibit was too wonderful to be just a one-off event tied to a particular show theme. The project was so delightful that it carried on.

“It’s become an annual part of our show,” said coordinator Jan Tetzlaff.

Six to eight local quilters donate quilts of approximately 22-by-44 inches (see examples above*). There are no thematic parameters.

“It’s all their interpretations,” Tetzlaff said.

“Pages” include a beautiful vase

by SOQS Executive Director Dawn Boyd, nature interpretations, a depiction of children learning to sew.

“I created one this year that is the view from my studio window,” Tetzlaff said.

The book will be on hand at Quilters Affair through the week before the Quilt Show, and on the day of the show it will reside at Clearwater Gallery & Framing at 303 W. Hood Ave. in Sisters, where a hostess will tell the story of each quilt for interested patrons.

Quilts are available for purchase, with funds going to support the free Quilt Show event.

For several years, the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show has presented the touring Cherrywood Challenge.

The Challenge is presented by Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics, and requires submissions to use a particular pallet of fabrics to create quilts around a theme. Two hundred quilts are selected to go on tour across the nation.

Themes have included The Lion King, the art of Vincent VanGogh, the musical superstar Prince, and more.

“The content is totally at the artists’ discretion,” said Jeff Omodt, SOQS

board member.

Mostly the entries are representational, but some are symbolic. Omodt loves it.

“I brought it here,” said Omodt.

“I saw The Lion King touring on the East Coast and said, ‘We need that!’”

Omodt gets into the spirit of the presentation, cosplaying the theme each year. He’s going to get a little outside help this year, since the theme is Princess Diana.

The Diana Cherrywood Challenge Exhibit — Diamond and Pearl is a collection of 150 small quilt art pieces, thematically depicting Diana, Princess of Wales (19611997), and her legacy.

Within these quilts, you will see the ripples of Diana’s impact on the world, even 25 years after her passing.

There is an opportunity for an

early private showing of the exhibit on Friday, July 8. There will be three showings, at noon, 1:30 p.m., and 3 p.m. at the Sisters Fire Department’s Community Hall, at 301 S. Elm St. Tickets are $10.

Quilts from the Diana Cherrywood Challenge will be on display at Sisters Fire Department.

We Specialize In Color, Creativity & Inspiration

6,400+ sq. ft. of quality quilting cottons, including a HUGE selection of BATIKS! EXTENDED HOURS DURING QUILT SHOW: Tuesday, July 5 through Saturday, July 9 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday, July 10: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

20225 Badger Rd., Bend 541-383-4310 • thequiltbasket.com

14

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

Sujata Shah’s cultural fusion quilts

By Katy Yoder Correspondent

For quilter, instructor, and author Sujata Shah, the evolution and essence of her artistic approach is personal.

Born in Mumbai, India, and a longtime resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, her background in graphic design and as a textile artist built a strong foundation for her career. She’s learned quilting is all about enjoying the process more than the end result. When she first began quilting, that wasn’t the case. Her desire for perfection began to steal the joy from the quilting process.

“The energy you carry and your mindset, like having a good day or bad day, all affect the way you move and work,” said Shah, from her home in Pleasanton, California.

“When I was trying to make perfectly matched points and seams, ultimately the quilt top would have to lay flat and if it didn’t, I’d block it, spray water, and pin it so that it stretched.

To me that was going against the grain. Rather, you want the process to flow at every step of the way. If you’re stopping all the time to make sure it’s perfect, and if it’s not you’re undoing it, that takes the fun out of the process.”

Shah has a lot of handmade items in her house. She loves collecting handmade things with all their irregularities and imperfections. For her that’s the takeaway about handmade items whose end results are beautiful.

“Now, I don’t worry about perfection,” she said, laughing. “I make imperfect quilts because I’m me and I’m not

perfect. It’s more fun.”

When the Quilters of Gees Bend (Alabama) came into her life, Shah realized that’s what made her happy.

“It wasn’t just me who liked that approach, many others were feeling it, too. Those quilts were singing and that’s where my shift happened. I still make some traditional block quilts, but they have a feel of India. They reflect a place where the roads are crowded, there’s lots of people, it’s colorful and chaotic, and yet there’s still an organized way to live life with harmony.

I like to experience the process of making a quilt and revealing what comes out of my heart.”

The purpose of her presentation is to encourage soulful, meaningful quilting from fabric selection to finishing the quilts.

“When I say soulful, I speak from my own experience,” she said. “ When I select fabric, I go back in my mind to India.

My mind is always split between India and here. W hen I ’m s e l e c t i n g fabrics, I ask if I’m being true to myself. In India my life was filled with colors, textures, and people wearing different colorful outfits. If I’m following a pattern that requires certain colors, I never make that quilt exactly the way it is. I want to add my voice to that work and remember to do my own thing.”

PHOTOS PROVIDED

Shah is mindful that some quilting projects move at a pace that may require years to complete.

“My husband and I were having a cup of tea, and he said I’d never made a primary color quilt,” she said. “I explained it’s because I don’t follow the color wheel. My colors come from imagining and putting colors together.

There’s no rhyme or reason.”

Because her husband is colorblind, she decided to make that quilt for him to put up at his new job. At first, she wanted it to be a surprise.

It took a couple of weeks to make the top. Then she decided to hand quilt it. “So, I couldn’t hide it from him because it takes so much time to do,” she said.

W h i l e making the quilt she went on cruises as a quilting instructor, then to Seattle to their son’s house.

From the time her husband first spoke about the quilt to the fall of that year at a Thanksgiving celebration with her son and daughter-in-law, she continued working on the quilt. Life events were stitched into the fabric, holding cherished memories, like receiving a crystal ornament with “Baby Shah 2018” etched into it.

“That night I made a conscious decision to include the best news I’d gotten that year.

Now when I look at the quilt, I remember the times with my husband and the news of our grandchild coming.

That’s how a quilt can be soulful,” she said. “I see my life in my quilts… where the time has gone, what I’ve done,

and what I was doing at that time.

I’m writing my story in my quilts.”

Enjoy an inspirational evening with Sujata Shah and her quilts, as she shares her “Stories in Stitches” at the Sisters High School auditorium, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday, July 6. The event is a fundraiser for Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

Welcome, Quilters!

Relax on our patio with great food and drinks. Or order to-go!

For Sujata Shah, quilting is all about enjoying the process.

541-549-8620 TUESDAY-SUNDAY 11:00 a.m. - 9 p.m.

425 Hwy. 20 W. (Next to Bi-Mart)

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

15

Quilt block challenge Quilters from across the nation stretch their creative muscles in the Quilt Show’s annual Quilt Block Challenge, presented by FreeSpirit Fabrics. The 2022 Quilt Block Challenge features a selection of fabrics from Tula Pink’s True Colors Collection.

“We will mail a packet to people who request it,” coordinator Valerie FerchoTillery explained. “They send back a block that’s made using those fabrics.”

While the fabrics to be used are prescribed, there’s no limit to what the quilter can do with them. Some embellish the block with beads or other accessories.

“You can do whatever you want,” Fercho-Tillery said. “People are really creative.”

Teachers from Quilters Affair vote on their favorite blocks. The first-place winner receives $50 in cash and their own block and extra yardage of Tula fabrics. Secondand third-place winners also receive fabrics to keep their creative journey rolling.

The Quilt Block Challenge pieces will be on display on Quilt Show Day, July 9, behind Stitchin’ Post, at 311 W. Cascade Ave.

SUMMER FUN FOR ALL AGES! Toys, games, puzzles, cards, children’s books, party supplies, unique gifts, hats and purses...

THE PAPER PLACE

171 S. ELM ST., DOWNTOWN SISTERS • 541-549-7441 Extended Hours For Quilt Show Saturday: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

16

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

Longtime SOQS participants find show ‘magical’ “I literally sew every day,” says Stephanie Hinton of Redmond. “If I don’t get to sew, I get grumpy.”

Hinton is one of many quilters who has participated in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) year in and year out, feeding that passion for the art of sewing.

“I’ve always sewed, all my life — 60 some years,” said Hinton.

She started quilting in 1999, when she was invited to join Sunriver’s Mountain Meadow Quilters.

“I got hooked,” she said.

After a move, she joined a guild in Prineville, then helped to form the High Desert Q uilt Guild in Redmond, which now has about 130 members. She’s been contributing to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show as a guild member since 2005.

The show is special to her, for the opportunity it provides to show her work and see the work of others.

The diversity of color and creativity thrills her. Her guild made quilts in a blockof-the-month challenge.

Everybody had the same block to work with, and yet they came up with wildly different, individualistic interpretations. And SOQS celebrates it all.

“That’s what’s so wonderful,” she said. “The Sisters Quilt Show is not a judged show, it’s an exhibition. Just to walk down the street and see your quilt hanging on a building — it’s just awesome.”

Her guild will show their quilts on the corner of Fir Street and Hood Avenue.

For Darlene Wheeler of Idaho, quilting is a family affair. She won’t be making it to the show this year — but her quilts will, along with

quilts made by her husband and her granddaughters.

A lifelong seamstress, she got into quilting about 20 years ago, when she discovered a brave new world of art quilts and creativity.

“The fabrics actually coordinated rather than being just scraps thrown together, and it got me hooked,” she recalled.

When her family relocated from California to Idaho, the snowy winters created an opportunity to really delve into the craft.

Her husband, Chuck, got intrigued and decided to take up quilting. Then he accompanied Darlene to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and decided he wanted to enter a quilt.

“He gets a big kick out of standing in the men’s area and listening to what the ladies have to say about his quilts,” Darlene said.

Stephanie Hinton has a passion for sewing. She’s been contributing to SOQS since 2005.

Some years, Darlene and Chuck come to the show; other years, Darlene and some friends rent a house and take classes for the week of Quilters Affair. This year, they can’t make it, but it’s still a big show for the family. Darlene’s youngest granddaughter, a senior in high school, has submitted a quilt.

“This is actually the first year that we have quilts coming over that Jordan has made,” Darlene said.

Granddaughter Kasey started quilting at age 7, and she’s still at it as a freshman in college, part of a family contribution to the iconic show.

That’s the kind of thing that makes SOQS something special and keeps participants coming back for decades.

As Hinton puts it: “If you haven’t been to the Quilt Show, you need to go.

Because it’s magical.”

Quilting is a family affair for the Wheeler family of Idaho.

Kasey started at age 7..

PHOTO PROVIDED

WELCOME TO SISTERS WE’RE EXCITED TO SEE YOU!

Stroll on FREE down Hood BOTTLE OF Avenue to shop ICE-COLD with us and enjoy a WATER!

WE’VE GOT EVERYTHING FOR SUMMER FUN UNDER THE SUN! Clothing, sandals, hats, packs, floats, skateboards, and so much more!

Open Daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

RENTALS & SALES 541-904-4673 411 E. Cascade Ave.

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

17

The grassroots growth of an iconic event It started from humble beginnings. A pair of shopowners in Sisters decided in July of 1975 to show some of their wares outdoors, creating a small craft fair.

Cathy Howell was the owner of a craft shop called The Cubby Hole, and Jean Wells had just opened Stitchin’ Post in May. “I said, ‘Well, I should hang some quilts outside,’ and she said, ‘Let’s do that,’” Wells recalled.

And a quilt show was born.

It was a small affair. Wells didn’t have enough quilts of her own to make a good display.

“I had only made two quilts at that point in my life,” she said.

Local quilters she knew declined to offer up their quilts for hanging — who hangs quilts on the outside of buildings, after all?

So she borrowed 10 of her grandmother’s quilts to round out the display. It turned out to be an attraction, and on the day of the “show,” some of the quilters who had turned Wells down showed up and said, “You can hang my quilt.”

She had no problem recruiting quilters for the second year.

“I easily got 100 quilts, just like that, to hang outside,” Wells recalled.

She thought she had a huge show on her hands, with so many quilts. Little did she realize that she had founded an event that would become a signature festival for her town, featuring a thousand quilts from all over the world.

Regardless of the tremendous growth of the event over the past four-plus decades, the meaning and purpose has always remained consistent.

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS) is an exhibition and a celebration, not a contest.

“I wanted people to see other people’s work,” Wells said.

As the show grew each

year, Wells and the members of the newly-formed East of the Cascades Quilters Guild developed systems for hanging the quilts. Wells’ son Jason developed a barcode system to modernize the process of intake, hanging, and takedown. Hanging teams were developed to prepare locations and present the quilts.

“It just kind of kept going from there — and now it’s a well-oiled machine,” Wells said. “We couldn’t do the volume we do if we hadn’t developed systems along the way.”

Wells is an educator by training and temperament, and a teaching component was added early on. The first lecture was introduced in 1979, and “one thing led to another,” until a full week of Quilters Affair running up to Quilt Show day was established. The education component is presented under the auspices of Stitchin’ Post.

Managing her growing store, a major event, and an education series made Wells feel like she “had a tiger by the tail.”

The Quilt Show brought Ann Richardson on board as executive director, which

Jean Wells sorting quilts with her granddaughters (who are now in high school). opened a new chapter.

“That’s when we learned to be a nonprofit, when Ann took that position on,” Wells said.

The Quilt Show took on that official status in 2005, with a mission “to celebrate the art, skill, and heritage of quilting and fiber arts, while enhancing the cultural vitality of Sisters and Central Oregon and providing enrichment opportunities for area youth.”

The show itself remains a

PHOTO PROVIDED

free exhibition, supported by sponsorships, donations, and a variety of fundraisers. The SOQS has been doing just that, under the leadership of Jeanette Pilak, and now Dawn Boyd, and a seven-member

board of directors.

Wells is still deeply involved, and says her personal goal is to still be on the team planning where all the quilts hang when SOQS hits its golden anniversary in 2025.

— INVITES YOU TO —

SAME DAY SERVICE! • 3,500 patterns to choose from • Custom quilting q on request

CELEBRATE THE SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW! “Wine & Dine As You Step Back In Time” Savor our French-American cuisine delivered with a remarkable service.®

✁

Quilt Show Special!

COMPLIMENTARY Y BATTING

✃

To First 50 Quilters!

(With Coupon)

✃

707-217-0087 | 220 S. ASH SH ST ST. #6 #6, SISTERS THELONGARMLADY@GMAIL.COM

Classic indoor bistro decor and intimate booth seating or comfortable outdoor patio seating available.

646 SW 6th St., Redmond

Wednesday to Saturday 5-9 p.m. A short drive (18 miles) to beautiful downtown Redmond.

For reservations, call 541-527-4336 www.becerrason6thbistro.com becerrason6th

18

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW

251 E. Cascade Ave. Downtown Sisters 541-549-0361

549-9388

541-549-3663 16900 Aspen Lakes Dr. Sisters

Custom Design & Repairs

Sno Cap Drive In

380 W. Cascade Ave. 541-549-6151

143 E. HOOD AVE. SISTERS 541-549-3079

The 47th Anniversary

is made possible, in part, by these THE PAPER PLACE 204 W. Adams Ave., #204 541-549-4979

201 E. Sun Ranch Dr. 541-588-0311

541-549-8011 373 E. Hood Ave. Sisters

Ear Expressions 160 S. Fir St. Sisters 541-549-0711

610 N. Arrowleaf Trail Sisters

221 W. Cascade Ave. 541-549-9572

252 W. Hood Ave. 541-549-0866

Marketplace for Antiques, Home & Garden

253 E. Hood Ave.

100 E. Cascade Ave. Sisters

541-549-6451

171 S. Elm St. Downtown Sisters 541-549-7441

103 E. Hood Ave. Sisters, Oregon 541-904-0778

541-719-0572 281 W. Cascade Ave. Sisters

303 W. Hood Ave. 541-549-4994

Gypsy Wind Clothing islandbatik.com

216 W. Cascade Ave. 541-549-2059

Will~N~Bee’z QUILT AND COFFEE SHOPPE

1555 12th St. SE, Salem 503-899-3210

183 E. Hood Ave. 541-868-4479

The Cotton Patch Your quilt store since 2009

503-463-1880 4475 River Rd. N. Keizer

The Gallimaufry 170 W. Cascade Ave. 425-765-6439

andoverfabrics.com

111. W. Cascade Ave.

541-549-9841

www.ctpub.com

541-241-6284 1470 NE 1st St., Unit 900 BEND

KUHL FRAMES + ART 2755 NW Crossing Dr. Suite 109, Bend 541-728-2422

Prestige Senior Living High Desert

541-312-2003

2660 NE Mary Rose Pl. Bend

Bend Picture Framing 61535 S. Hwy. 97, #4 Bend 541-383-2676

190 E. Cascade Ave. 541-549-RIBS

160 S. Oak St. 541-549-1538

www.lairdsuperfood.com

541-504-4226 70397 Buckhorn Rd. Terrebonne

SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon

175 N. Larch St. 541-549-6114

161 E. Cascade Ave., Ste. 103/D (Town Square) 541-549-5648

300 W. Hood Ave., Sisters

541-549-9971

721 Desperado Ct. 541-549-1963

541-549-5900 1021 Desperado Trail Sisters

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show sponsors ... THANK YOU! 290 W. Cascade Ave. 541-549-8424

252 W. Hood Ave. 541-549-9552

freespiritfabrics.com

110 S. Spruce St. 541-719-1186

TAKODA’S 425 Hwy. 20, Sisters 541-549-8620

272 E Main Ave. Sisters 541-549-2061

101 E. Cascade Ave. 541-904-4636

1245 SE 3rd St. Ste. B1 Bend

103-B E. Hood Ave.

541-904-0673

1335 NW Galveston Ave. Bend 541-389-3770

20225 Badger Rd., Bend 541-383-4310

600 W. HOOD AVE. 541-549-1560

140 W. Cascade Ave. 541-549-PACA (7222)

250 W. Cascade Ave. 541-904-4660

704 W. Hood Ave., Ste. C Sisters

541-633-4727

303 W. Hood Ave. 541-549-6067

Bain Realty 291 W. Cascade Ave. 541.549.6000

635 N. Arrowleaf Trail Sisters

541-549-2222

170 W. Cascade Ave. 541-549-8591

A L PA CA B Y DES IG N

https://foundation. stcharleshealthcare.org

541-749-1800 357 W. HOOD AVE. SISTERS

Wildflower Studio

541-383-1999

maywoodstudio.com

172 W. Hood Ave. 541-549-0111

273 W. Hood Ave. 541-549-0527

Sundance SHOES 541-549-4240 141 E. Cascade Ave. In Town Square

SAGE

Custom Framing & Gallery

834 NW Brooks St., Bend 541-382-5884

1001 E. Desperado Trail 541-549-6878

541-549-5400

1001 Rail Way

150 W. Cascade Ave. 541-549-8591

19

171 E. MAIN AVE. 541-904-4343

20

Wednesday, July 6, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW