Artistic quilters featured in exhibit

Robin Ryan, the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show Featured Quilter, admits she is not usually at a loss for words. But when Ann Richardson, executive director of the Quilt Show, called to tell her she had been chosen as the featured quilter, Ryan was speechless.

"She had to say, 'well, do you want to do it or not,'" Ryan said.

Fortunately for Quilt Show attendees, Ryan, who lives in Bend, said an enthusiastic "yes."

An accomplished and professional longarm quilter, Ryan finishes quilts for others as well as creating her own. Her work is more art than function, and she sees a trend happening in art quilting. More people are inclined toward traditional forms, but the use of contemporary shapes and colors is gaining adherents.

Longarm quilting doesn't require quilters to be blessed with lengthy limbs, but it does take a special machine. Ryan works at a table 14 feet long, and the longarm machine moves the length of the table while she guides the three layers of a quilt - top, batting and backing - creating the lovely stitching patterns that adorn a quilt. How the pattern ends up is a matter of intuition and letting the quilt speak, said Ryan. She lets the fabric and the way a quilter has designed it guide her movements with the machine.

Ryan will be stationed at the Ponderosa Properties building on the corner of Hood Avenue and Ash Street for the Quilt Show day.

"A big part (of the week) is the sharing of ideas and techniques," she said. She will be greeting people and is looking forward to the exchange of ideas. Ryan won't be teaching any classes but has signed up to attend several.

She's attended the Sisters Quilt Show for 10 years, and has been quilting for 14. She belongs to the Mt. Bachelor Quilters Guild in Bend and the East of the Cascades Guild in Sisters.

Libby Lehman, a charming Texan, has her quilts on display at the High Desert Gallery this week. She is a highly sought-after art quilter, with one of her quilts, Joyride, chosen in 2000 as one of the top 100 quilts of the 20th century.

Lehman is an example of an artist who was made, not born. She and her mother signed up for a basic quilting class 37 years ago; neither of them had any experience in the craft.

"I made traditional quilts for ten years before it even occurred to me that I could draw my own pattern," she said.

Now she is on the road much of the year, teaching and lecturing about the techniques she uses to create her works of art. When she is at home, she works out of her home studio in Houston.

"Making art quilts is so much a part of me that I don't even consider not doing it. I work without planning everything in advance. This keeps the piece exciting for me. As a friend says, if you don't know where you're going, you can't get lost," she said.

This is Lehman's first visit to the Sisters Quilt Show. She is teaching classes, and will be at the High Desert Gallery on Thursday, July 10 from 3 to 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to meet Lehman and enjoy her stunning quilts at the reception. High Desert Gallery is located at 281 W. Cascade Ave.