Quilters enjoy perfect day in Sisters

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show is tucked away for another year, and there is one thing everyone can agree on: The weather was perfect. There were no forest fires, no winds - apart from a cooling breeze, and temperatures were warm but not oppressive.

The 1,200 lovingly created quilts entered in the show were as stunning as ever, with more art quilts entered than before. The crowds spread throughout town took their time enjoying them. No one seems to know just how many people turn out for the Quilt Show; estimates are between 10,000 and 30,000 people. Cascade Avenue, turned into a pedestrian mall for the day, was a sea of bobbing heads by mid-morning, with the occasional hand rising high to take a photo.

Hank Balsiger from White Salmon, Washington, and Mike Dyer from Vancouver, Washington were letting their Gallery breakfast digest as they waited for their wives.

"You need to have food before you can do this," Balsiger said.

He is the curator of a museum in White Salmon, and has worked with a local quilting group to create several memory quilts using historic photos of the town. It was his first visit to the Sisters Quilt Show.

A highlight for some Quilt Show goers are the commemorative silver charms that jewelry maker Peter Jon Hedren makes each year. He began creating the pieces in 1998 and makes a year charm and a notion charm. This year's notion was a pair of scissors.

He also added an enamel mosaic of a windblown quilt this year. Hedren's booth in Stitchin' Post did a brisk trade all week.

Nicki Reid and Donna Booth, both from Spokane, Washington, are regular customers.

"It's the first place we come to when we hit town on Thursday," said Reid. They are part of a group of 13 women from Spokane and have been collecting the charms for 10 years. "I guess you could say we're addicted," said Booth.

At the Quilting for Kids tent in the Town Square, children were paired with volunteers who guided their sewing efforts. The children could make a block that would later be made into a quilt or they could fashion a pincushion to take home. Linda Brunanchon was in charge of the tent. She noted that there were fewer children coming through in the morning than last year, but she expected to be busy all day.

The Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department had a tent set up in the Town Square, with several EMTs stationed there. They were having a very quiet day.

"Everyone is being careful this year and being conscious of staying hydrated," said Denise Wheeler.

The water bottle refilling stations around town did a brisk trade, according to Quilt Show Executive Director Ann Richardson. And the plastic bottle recycling bins were well used and appreciated by eco-conscious showgoers.

The two fund-raising efforts supported by this year's show were very successful. Sales of the Quilts of El Shaddai raised $5,200 to send back to the boys who made them and to help the orphanage, El Shaddai, in Rwanda. The second charity, Wendy's Wish, raised $10,000 from the sale of fabric postcards. The 70-plus silent auction items, custom-framed by High Desert Gallery, raised $8,000.

Each year the show features a raffle quilt. This year's prize, "Splash" was made by the East of the Cascades Quilters, and was won by Joy Wegand, a first-time visitor from Atlanta, Georgia. She had arranged a business trip to Salem to coincide with the show, and purchased her ticket on Saturday morning.

Richardson noted that a good Quilt Show is one in which the Quilt Rescue Team has little to do. By that standard, this was an exemplary year.