News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sisters will experience its annual metamorphosis into the center of the quilting universe Saturday, July 12, as thousands of quilters flock to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.
Over 700 quilts will be displayed in the one-day show, now in its 22nd year.
The Sisters Quilt Show has become legendary in quilting circles because of its unique setting. Most quilt shows are held indoors, often in a museum-like white glove atmosphere. In Sisters, the quilts hang on storefronts, porches and railings for all to see and touch.
"It's kind of a nice down-home feeling to see quilts flapping in the breeze," said Sisters quilter Andrea Balosky.
Balosky, a Sisters postal employee, has made something of a second career as a quilter and author, a career launched in part by participating in the Sisters Quilt Show.
"When I moved here seven years ago, my little fantasy was to quilt in the woods," Balosky said.
"But then I got involved in the Quilt Show and that fantasy was totally disrupted," she joked.
Balosky started showing in Sisters in 1992. The following year she placed a quilt, "Fat Quarter Medley," in the prestigious Labor of Love show in Houston, Texas. Her quilt "Millefiori" was featured in one of quilt show organizer Jean Wells' books.
"It's the Sisters show that made all this possible," Balosky reflected.
Interest in her "Cross Currents II" quilt led to a book deal with a Seattle publisher.
"Transitions" is atypical of quilting books, which run mainly to how-to expositions.
"This book is more for the quilter who has some technical understanding of quilting basics and now wants to challenge herself to work independently," Balosky said.
The book is an exploration of the the creative process.
Balosky finds quilting a powerful art.
"With quilting it's the seduction of color," she said. "Its fabric, and it's also a tactile art," one that invites viewers to touch.
Balosky works as a quilt show volunteer and is rewarded by a chance to experience other quilters' art.
"I think I have one of the enviable positions," she said, "because I get to see every single quilt."
There will be plenty of beautiful quilts to see.
The show's featured quilter is Ursula Searles of Hamilton, Montana. Searles, a former Bend resident is noted for her "scrappy" quilt style and a friendly hands-on teaching method.
Teaching and demonstrations of quilting techniques and styles are an important part of the event, with classes running the week before the show and demonstrations around town during the Saturday event.
The "Sisters' Choice" quilt stitched by the East of the Cascades Quilters will be raffled off at 4 p.m. at the Town Square with proceeds going to fund the show.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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