Featured quilters share a decade of creativity

Betty Anne Guadalupe and Susan Cobb have been a quilting duo for a decade. This year they are the featured quilters for the 44th Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (SOQS).

In 2018 Cobb was commissioned to create the raffle quilt for SOQS, and Guadalupe was the featured machine quilter at SOQS in 2010.

“We call ourselves the eclectic quilters,” Cobb told The Nugget.

Cobb took her first and second quilting class in 2009 at The Stitchin’ Post from Lawry Thorne.

“I learned everything I needed to know as far as making a quilt,” Cobb said. “And in every class after that I have learned many new techniques.”

Cobb is a two-dimensional artist, studied art at a university and worked as a graphics artist for Pacific Bell early in her career. She moved to Sisters in 2007 and was bitten by the quilting bug shortly thereafter.

Cobb said, “I’ve always liked to sew and used to make Halloween costumes for myself, including one that was a black widow spider.”

Cobb noted that she doesn’t have a specific style.

“I make my own arrangements and will make large bed quilts and art quilts. I like quilts that are usable because I like art that is functionable.”

She added, “I was looking for someone to quilt my fabric tops that are all pieced together along with my back, and through word of mouth I found Betty Anne, who is a long-arm quilter.”

Guadalupe opened her long-arm quilting business, Guadalupe Designs, in 2006.

“I’m a self-taught person although I did grow up in a home where there were quilters,” said Guadalupe. “But didn’t actually make a quilt until I was in my 40s.”

She began quilting in the 1990s, learning the craft from a variety of different teachers while living in California. She didn’t know until later that she was in the process of creating a career in the quilting arts.

“In California I really got enthusiastic about quilting and was a member of a very large guild and we helped each other,” Guadalupe said. “They helped me to expand my knowledge. I was good at quilting from the start and made quilts for my family members.”

When Guadalupe moved to Oregon in 2005, she brought her fabric stash and her sewing machine and started quilting for other people by finishing the quilts for them.

After working in a couple of quilt shops, she bought an industrial long arm quilting machine and works it on a 12-foot table. Guadalupe is now well known for her expertise at long-arm quilting.

During Guadalupe’s quilting career, she has made, donated, and given away many quilts to family and friends.

Guadalupe noted that she is drawn to abstract quilting. “I’ll start with a pile of fabrics and, after I begin piecing, the quilt takes on a life of its own.”

Cobb and Guadalupe both venture out into many different genres of quilting. They both enjoy the creative process and have become close friends.

Cobb said, “It’s an honor to be chosen together as featured quilters. We both got together right away to approach this as a team and have 14 quilts we are showing.”

Cobb and Guadalupe will be showcasing collaborative pieces and some of their own quilts. Guadalupe did the quilting on all of Cobb’s pieces.

The featured quilters display their work on the corner of Ash Street and Hood Avenue on the grounds of Ponderosa Properties on Quilt Show day, Saturday, July 13.