Quilt for Two Rivers inspired by Whychus Creek

Stitchin' Post was bursting at the seams with the chatter of 20 leading fiber artists from around Central Oregon last month.

The quilters gathered for a progress meeting for the Quilt for Two Rivers, a collaboration between the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, the National Forest Foundation, and the U.S. Forest Service.

The Quilt for Two Rivers has engaged 21 quilters to handcraft an exhibit that tributes Whychus Creek, a wild and scenic Oregon river that runs directly through the city of Sisters. The outcome will be a fiber arts exhibit that spans more than 40 feet, raising awareness of Whychus Creek while generating funds to support its restoration.

At the meeting, quilters pinned up their masterpieces-in-progress side by side around the room. All of the quilts depict the dynamic Whychus Creek, and the water flowing through each of the 17 quilts connects, gaining momentum from the hand-stitched ripples of the previous quilt and ebbing and flowing into the next. An additional four stand-alone pieces round out the lineup.

The similarities between the quilts, for the most part, stop with the connecting currents. The quilters each have a distinctive style and point of view.

Some of the quilts might as well be photographs - the vivid accuracy of the rocks and trees trick the senses into hearing the rushing water of the creek.

Other quilts are more abstract, drawing inspiration from the textures and colors of the creek but leaving room for some tasteful artistic interpretation and flourishes.

The quilters spoke about the stories behind their pieces.

Mary Stiewig focused on a design and color scheme that captured the tranquility she feels at Whychus Creek.

"For me Whychus Creek has a very calming effect and I wanted my quilt to communicate what I felt when I was by the river," said Stiewig.

Cindy Young, another master quilter, found some inspiration that wasn't so serene. She noticed graffiti on some cliffs by Whychus Creek and decided to focus on a tree she saw on the opposite bank.

"I thought about the fact that this tree is witness to whoever painted this graffiti," laughed Young. Her quilt captures the strength of the tree, silently surviving generations of change on Whychus Creek.

One of the pieces by June Jaeger, called "The Crossing," imagines a scene years ago when Native Americans crossed Whychus Creek on horseback, fishing with nets. Whychus Creek used to house over half the steelhead spawning habitat in the Deschutes Basin, and was an important resource for the natives.

"I wanted my quilt to be representative about what the Creek used to be years ago," said Jaeger.

Other quilts imagine the future of Whychus Creek.

"My quilt is called 'Coming Home,'" explained Jean Wells, owner of Stitchin' Post and participant of Quilt for Two Rivers. Her son, Jason, planted fish in Whychus Creek as part of the efforts to reintroduce sea-going fish populations that were lost with the construction of dams downstream from the creek.

"My hope for Whychus Creek is that the fish come home," said Wells.

Wells' wish may be slowly coming true. During the month of February, 10 adult steelhead have returned to the Pelton Trap, and 26 total fish from the 2010 smolt outmigration have returned from the ocean.

The fish are being held in what some U.S. Forest Service employees euphemistically call the "Honeymoon Suite," in hopes that they will pass on their exceptional genes to the next generation of fish planted in Whychus Creek.

The quilters, in their own unique way, are part of these collaborative efforts to restore Whychus Creek and bring back the fish. Through the Quilt for Two Rivers, the National Forest Foundation and U.S. Forest Service hope to reach out to new audiences about the importance of Whychus Creek, while inspiring them to join in the restoration efforts. Half the proceeds from the sale of the quilts will go to on-the-ground restoration efforts on Whychus Creek and the Metolius River, and the other half will go to the quilters.

The Quilt for Two Rivers exhibit will go on display at Black Butte Ranch for the month of June, with an artists' reception on June 15.