Quilters revel in colorful show

By Jim Cornelius

Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, quilters came by the thousands to participate in Sisters' annual celebration of their craft.

The 24th Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show was staged under blue and sunny skies that set off the 800 or so quilts hanging on the shops of town in an array of color that nearly overwhelmed the senses.

It is impossible to know for sure how many quilters and their obliging spouses thronged the streets of Sisters on Saturday, July 10, but estimates ranged upward of 20,000.

Many quilters had been in town for a week, participating in Quilters' Affair, a series of events, lectures and workshops that has grown along with the one-day show.

"They come on Sunday (the week before) to get started with it," said Lawry Thorn, who handles registration for the Quilters' Affair.

According to Thorn, 1,300 people registered for the week's events.

Some 400 of them explored local quilters' gardens on Thursday's garden tour, a recently added program that has proven a major success.

Thorn reported that 600 people turned out that evening for a lecture at Sisters High School by quilting teachers Judi Warren and Katie Pasquini.

The quilters hail from all points of the compass.

One, Thorn noted, came all the way from Belgium for the event.

Others came down from Canada and all regions of the U.S. were represented - from Maine to Texas.

The event is only likely to be bigger next year, Thorn noted.

It will be the 25th anniversary of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show - and the final quilt show of the millenium.

The quilt show is always on the second Saturday of July.