Quilt Show brings week of activities

Quilters at work during "A Quilters' Affair."

Hordes of quilters will visit Sisters on Saturday, July 14, to enjoy the 1,000 quilts that will festoon the buildings throughout town.

But the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is the culmination of a week of events, and visitors to the show itself will enjoy activities beyond the display of quilts.

Already on Monday, quilters were manning their sewing machines at Sisters High School, engaging in the week-long series of classes and workshops known as "A Quilters' Affair." Meanwhile, volunteers were sorting quilts and plotting where to hang them around town, in a logistical effort that resembles an expedition.

Featured Quilters:

• This year's featured quilter is Helen Goldsmith of Sisters. She's been quilting since 1990, though she's been sewing all her life. She started taking classes at The Stitchin' Post and, like so many, became enchanted with the craft.

  "She's kind of known for big quilts," said quilt show founder Jean Wells Keenan. "She doesn't mess around with little ones."

  Actually, Goldsmith says she'll do a smaller quilt for a class, but she launched her quilting career with a stipulation that pushed her toward larger work.

  "My first thought was, if you're going to make a quilt, it should fit a bed," Goldsmith said.

  Goldsmith is also a rug hooker, who uses hand-dyed wool. Both her quilts and her rugs will be on display on the lawn at Ponderosa Properties during the quilt show.

• The "Casual Quilters" of Sisters will display their cooperative works at the City Center Building at the corner of Elm Street and Hood Avenue (see story, p. 3).

• Sisters Drug Company, at the corner of Cascade Avenue and Fir Street, will host 40 quilts from the Mary's River Quilters Guild of Philomath.

Many activities and events will be occurring in conjunction with the Quilt Show.

History:

• Nicole Hanson will display eight quilts from her vintage quilt collection indoors in the space between The Pony Express and Folk Arts & Company on Hood Avenue.

  Hanson got interested in vintage quilts in 1969 when she saw women at the Los Angeles County Fair putting backs on quilts from the 1930s. Most of her collection dates to the '30s. Her earliest dated quilt is an 1894 Victorian crazy quilt, though she has others with estimated dates as early as 1845.

• Daniel Partner, Sisters musician and author, will present historical tunes from the time of slavery at the Epicure Exchange Internet Coffeehouse on the corner of Pine Street and Cascade Avenue on Saturday, July 14.

  Partner's performance, called "A Quilt Top Chronicle: Quilts and Escape From Slavery" will feature traditional minstrel melodies from the time of slavery played on a reproduction Sweeney banjo, a popular instrument of the time.

  In music and story, Partner tells of American slavery and the resourcefulness of those who sought to escape.

  On display will be a sampler quilt made by Rita Fishel of Ohio. The quilt, which she calls the Underground Railroad Tribute Quilt, consists of an assortment of quilt patterns of the time, which may have been used as signals for escaping slaves.

Featured Artists:

• Quilt show poster artist Dennis McGregor will sign prints of his "Legend of the Nine-Patch Horse" behind The Stitchin' Post during the Quilt Show.
• Diane Phalen will sign her work at Folk Arts & Company, 222 West Hood Avenue. The painter, whose work features quilts and wildlife, will be on hand from 3 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 12 and all day on Friday and Saturday.
• Soda Creek Gallery on the corner of Hood Avenue and Elm Street will host three special artists on the Saturday of Quilt Show.

  Robert Free creates quilt-inspired stained glass; Jean Nave crafts folk art especially for quilters; and Susan Luckey Higdon does work in soft pastels and fine art prints.

Readings:

• Paulina Springs Book Company will host readings from several authors especially beloved by quilters.

  Jane Kirkpatrick, author of the "Kinship and Courage" series and other books, will be at the store on Wednesday, July 11, 4 p.m. Sandra Dallas, author of "The Persian Pickle Club" and "Alice's Tulips" will visit on Thursday, July 12, 4 p.m.

  "Mad City Quilter" author Jennifer Chiaverini will read on Friday, July 13, 4 p.m. Her "Elk Creek Quilters" series is popular among the stitching set.

  All three authors will be in the store on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to sign their books.

Fund-raising luncheons and sale:

• Sisters Christian Church, in an attempt to raise funds to renovate the sanctuary, will serve lunch on Saturday for the Quilt Show.

  The sanctuary dates back to 1910.

  Quilts will be hung inside and outside the building, and lunch will be served on location from 11 a. m. until 3 p.m.

  Menu choices are: chef salad or a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant. A drink and a cookie are included with the meal.

  The church is located at 302 E. Main Avenue, at the corner of Main Avenue and Spruce Street. Call the church office at 549-2673 for more information.

• Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church will hold its annual Quilt Show Luncheon and fund-raiser on Saturday, from 10 a .m. until 2 p.m. The menu will include: turkey roll-ups with choice of salad; choice of 3 salads and chips; iced tea; lemonade; bottled water; coffee; homemade pie; pie ala mode. The church is located a short 2-block walk from Cascade north on Fir St. to 386 N. Fir.

• The Friends of the Sisters Library will hold their annual used book sale at Sisters Library from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. The library is located on the southwest corner of Main Avenue and Spruce Street.