Lion King quilt exhibit a highlight

The Lion King traveling quilt show presented by Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabric will travel the country with 120 original 20-by-20-inch unique quilts.

Participants from all over the world took the Cherrywood Challenge and designed the quilts with just two basic colors; black and gold. Accent colors from Cherrywood were allowed.

There were more than 300 entries, and from the 138 finalists, 120 quilts were selected for the traveling exhibit.

The quilt exhibit found its way to the 2017 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show when SOQS board member Jeff Omodt saw a short video about the quilts online at the beginning of the year.

"I fell in love with the face of a lion, 'Concrete Jungle King,' that Terri Bahn from Minnesota had quilted," said Omodt. "So, I tracked down the show."

Omodt spoke with a representative from Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabric in Minnesota and got the ball rolling.

"I asked them what they were doing the second week in July, and they weren't booked," Omodt told The Nugget. "I knew then I had to orchestrate it so Cherrywood fabrics could add SOQS to their traveling quilt exhibit schedule."

Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabric was created about 25 years ago by Dawn Hall, who started dyeing fabric in her basement and selling at quilt shows with her aunt. With the help of dedicated friends and employees the popularity of this unique fabric has grown and changed over the years.

Omodt contacted Jean Wells, Stitchin' Post owner and fiber artist, and SOQS Executive Director Jeanette Pilak.

"Jeanette gave me the green light for bringing the exhibit to the SOQS, and Jean said if I was going to host the collection I would need to dress up as a lion," Omodt said.

And one of Wells' staff members has a friend who was a costume maker who just happened to have a costume from one of the productions of the Lion King.

Omodt's next challenge was to find an indoor area to hang the exhibit.

"All of the 120 Lion King quilts are indoor quilts and not to be outside," explained Omodt. "I had to find a big enough space to display 120 feet or more of

quilts."

Omodt realized that the community hall at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire House would work.

"Thanks to Sisters Fire Chief Roger Johnson, we have the exhibit up in the community hall hanging on pop-up tent structures I invented to hang the quilts on," said Omodt.

"The variety of quilts are amazing; the creativity is inspiring and the workmanship is incredible. And the show was so much better than I thought it possibly could be. The variation of techniques in each quilt stunned people," he added.

Twenty of the quilts have been chosen by Disney to be displayed on Broadway for the 20th anniversary of The Lion King in 2018.