Fiber arts stroll kicks off Quilt Show week

A woman walked down the sidewalk on Hood Avenue Sunday evening, clutching a bag of fabric, a huge smile on her face.

"It's wonderful!" she said.

She was just one of the patrons of the "Around the Block Fiber Arts Stroll," the traditional kick-off to a week of activities culminating in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on Saturday,

July 9.

All through downtown Sisters, fiber artists - many of whom are teaching this week at "A Quilter's Affair" classes - displayed their work and discussed technique and materials with strollers sampling food and drink at sponsor locations.

Jackie Erickson, long-time organizer of A Quilter's Affair, gave up those duties this year and was displaying her unique pincushions.

"I've always wanted to do the fiber arts stroll, but I didn't know if my fiber art qualified," she said. "Apparently it did."

Erickson is also teaching three classes this week.

Barbara Shapel of Washougal, Washington, is also teaching classes. She displayed her work at Clearwater Gallery. Her two-sided pieces feature a kind of "drawing" on quilts with dense, intricate thread work.

Shapel said she was not tightly connected with the quilting world when she embarked on her fiber arts career.

"The disadvantage is that it took four years (to learn); the advantage is that I developed my own style of quilting," she said.

That unique style has led to published books and demand for her talents as a teacher.

June Jaeger of Prineville displayed her landscape quilts at Mackenzie Creek Mercantile, featuring many of the beloved natural wonders of the Sisters Country - including the Metolius River.

"That's my favorite place in the whole state," she said.

As she sat on the porch at Mackenzie Creek, she was paid a visit by a pair of international regulars to the quilt show.

Lorna Hunter of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and Fiona Eadington of Dunblane, Scotland, first came to Sisters for a "once-in-a-lifetime" trip eight years ago. They've been back each year since.

Some quilting friends from California have been acting as "tour guides" for "One Fun Week Tours."

It's one fun week indeed, for women who come from the world over to learn a little more about the art and craft of quilting and to see the work of some of the finest artists in the field.

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.

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 5415499941