Quilt show splashes Sisters with color

"It's a creative art - and it soothes the soul."

So says longtime volunteer Ellen Oliver of the craft that drew thousands to Sisters last Saturday to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.

There were many creative hearts inspired and many souls soothed during the day-long quilting extravaganza, which many patrons are saying was "the best ever."

"It was the best show we've ever had," said executive director Ann Richardson. "In terms of the quality of the quilts, the feedback from the people coming in to pick up their quilts - that's what they were saying."

The creativity of quilters was on display across downtown Sisters, but nowhere was it in greater evidence than in the two quilt-covered cars on display on Cascade Avenue, directly across from Stitchin' Post. A minivan and a PT Cruiser were both adorned with expertly fitted quilt car covers.

Peggy Christopherson of the Santiam Scrappers Quilt Guild said she got the idea from Karen Wells, who owned the PT Cruiser.

"I saw hers and said, we've got to do it; it's just too fun," she said.

A lot of work, too, as the guild members made the quilt blocks and painstakingly fit the pieces together using "a lot of blue masking tape."

"It took about six months over the past year," she said.

Mesh screening over the window cutouts stiffens the piece and allows it to be used while the car is in motion. Both cars have been featured in parades.

They also make for an attractive conversation piece.

"It's been crazy here since we drove in... everybody taking pictures," Christopherson said.

While the focus is on fun and creativity at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, the art serves other purposes. Janet Storton had a booth selling bags and quilts made by 20 women from Kapchorwa, Uganda. Storton has helped found a quilting cooperative there that offers women a means of creating income through quilting.

Storton said she sold four quilts during the run-up to the show and she wasn't sure whether people were in a buying mood at the show itself.

However, she said, "we've had a lot of interest in our child sponsorship program, which is huge."

At Sisters Art Works there was a highly successful silent auction of framed fabric postcards, the proceeds of which go to Wendy's Wish. The charity was founded by friends in memory of quilter Wendy Huntley, who died of breast cancer.

According to Cindy Pierce of Wendy's Wish, the organization is creating an endowment that will pay out small amounts to help people with costs incidental to treatment for cancer at St. Charles Medical Center. For more information visit wendyswish.org.

Richardson reported on Monday that the auction raised more than $10,000.

While the show was an artistic triumph, it was less successful as a commercial endeavor.

"Everything was great except quilt sales," Richardson said. "It was less than I expected, and I was already expecting it to be lower."

Since the show relies on income from quilt sales, Richardson said that "financially it will be a challenging year."

Richardson hopes that proceeds from the musical, "Quilters," which sold out each performance, will partially offset the drop-off in quilt sales.

Richardson also said that numerous patrons expressed disappointment at the relatively small number of quilts on display on Cascade Avenue. She noted that the show must have permission from landlords or business owners to place quilts on buildings and that many people don't want to block their windows or take up space rented to vendors to display quilts.

That, she said, is the reason for the gaps along the main thoroughfare.

Despite some commercial disappointment and the usual frustrations attendant upon an event involving thousands, the 2009 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show fulfilled its promise, sending its patrons home tired, but full of ideas - their creativity charged and their souls soothed.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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