Pine Needlers present quilts

Camp Sherman will host its own quilt show this week.

The Pine Needlers of Camp Sherman will have 60 quilts of varying sizes on display at the Camp Sherman Community Hall on Friday, July 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Be sure to look up: several of the quilts will be draped over the rail on the upper level of the hall.

Admission is a $2 donation and children are always free. Lunch items and desserts will be on sale, presented by a group of husbands who call themselves the Pine Nuts. The Pine Nuts prepare as well as serve and sell the food. Quilting widowers that they are, they have a special song they sing every hour to an old college rallying cry.

Their name came about by chance, but the Pine Needlers are dedicated to community and having fun. They sew to relax, several of the members said, and many started their quilting days at Stitchin' Post in Sisters.

This year's theme is the pinwheel pattern and this year's large raffle quilt is called the "Pinwheel Derby."

Founding member Tonye Belinda Phillips' new book is out in time for the show: "Hand Appliquéd Quilts: Whimsical Designs and Simple Techniques."

Phillips has lived in Camp Sherman all her adult life. She will be there throughout the day talking about quilts and signing her book. Hers is the first book from a member of the Pine Needlers and Camp Sherman looks forward to more.

All the quilters' hard work offers benefits to the community: The Pine Needlers have already given away $30,000 in scholarships for local students in the past 10 years. Six $1,000 scholarships were given this year. Students submitted transcripts and an essay on what community means to them to win.

Money is also given to the Community Hall for upgrades and to people in the community.

The group also makes traditional quilts throughout the year in four patches for new children, grandchildren or newlyweds.

Potholders, that were originally made to use up quilting scraps, have become bestsellers at the shows. Potholders, as are all the quilts, are made either by hand or machine, and some are made using a frame.

The Pine Needlers started as a small social group doing a memory quilt for Mary Lou Loar, who passed away. There were also men who contributed blocks.

The dedication plaque next to the quilt, which now hangs in the Community Center, begins "A lady with a heart as big as a mountain." And goes on to say "The Metolius Basin will always be a little empty without her."