Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018

Here, without further delay, are just a few of the quilts that caught my eye at the 2018 Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show on the 14th of July. On that day the tiny town of Sisters in central Oregon filled with 10,000 quilt lovers and other sightseers who strolled around town on a very hot day looking at the quilts displayed on the outside of buildings along the town’s main and side streets. With 1300 quilts on display, it was impossible to see every single one but we all did our best.

The first 10 you see below were made by quiltmakers who taught during Quilter’s Affair, the five days of classes and special events preceding the Saturday show. These quilts were on display in the Teachers Tent.

Lollipops, 42 x 52, made and quilted by Tonye Belinda Phillips of Camp Sherman OR
Arrival, 54 x 60, made and quilted by Kathy Doughty of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Folk-Tails, 37 x 43, made by Sue Spargo of Uniontown OH, quilted by Janet Joelin
Detail of Folk-Tails by Sue Spargo
Pretty Spool, 42 x 50, made and quilted by Laura Wasilowski of Elgin IL
Pincushion, 42 x 45, made and quilted by Sally Frey of Fortuna CA
Tree Farm, 49 x 66, made by Karla Alexander of Salem OR, quilted by Loretta Orsborn
Detail of Tree Farm by Karla Alexander
Maha Surya (Major Sun), 72 x 72, made by Robin Long of Poulsbo WA, quilted by Wanda Rains
Accidental Fruit, 72 x 77, made by Sarah Bond of Philadelphia PA, quilted by Carol Heisler
Bromiliad, 20 x 32, made and quilted by Katie Pasquini-Masopust of Fortuna CA
Embracing Moss, 38 x 44, made and quilted by Hilde Morin of Portland OR

That’s quite an eclectic group of quilts, isn’t it? The quilts outside the Teachers Tent were just as varied in design and technique. Take a look:

Spin, 79 x 93, made and quilted by Kim Graham of Boise ID
Welcome to My Neighborhood, 67 x 84, made and quilted by Darlene Wheeler of Nampa ID
Zoo It Yourself, 56 x 60, made and quilted by Patty Roberts-Hasenbalg of Salem OR
Leaf 2, 56 x 47, made and quilted by Lou Ann Smith of Goleta CA
My Octopus Life, 85 x 85, made and quilted by Monica Dixon of Sequim WA
Peppermint Pinwheels, 745 x 84, made by Jean Wells of Sisters OR, quilted by Julia Jeans
Detail of Peppermint Pinwheels by Jean Wells

The Portland Modern Quilt Guild had a special exhibit of word quilts, the result of a challenge the guild issued to its members. My favorite was this one:

SMILE on Your Brother, 52 x 58, made and quilted by AnnMarie Cowley of Hillsboro OR

My photo of the label identifying the following quilt was too fuzzy to read. If anyone reading this post knows who made and quilted this quilt, please let me know, and I will update the information:

Maker Information To Come
Square Dance, 50 x 50, made and quilted by Donna Cooper of Portland OR
Detail of Square Dance by Donna Cooper
My Village @ Midnight, 94 x 94, made by Yvonne Black of Bellingham WA, quilted by Nikki Crisp
House Warming Party, 64 x 74, made by Brenda Daniels of Elverta CA, quilted by Michele Simes
Tangerine, 90 x 90, made by Jill Huntington of Portland OR, quilted by Nancy Stovall
Sugar Pine, 60 x 68, made by Nancy Hoff, quilted by Laura Simmons

This next quilt has a special story. It was made by Jane Humphrey of Escondido CA, who lost her home — and a lifetime of fabric and quilt projects — in the 2007 Witch Creek Fire in San Diego. In her own words, “I naturally had to start rebuilding both. A pretty daunting task at 81. So much new, pretty fabric to buy! When I saw this pattern in the May/June 2010 issue of Quiltmaker, I immediately knew it was the quilt to make with all my new fabrics. That was the most fun, choosing the fabrics that would look delicious together! It was a difficult pattern for me but rewarding. At 92 now, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. I have too much new fabric!”

Here is Jane’s lovely — and lively — quilt:

Amorosa Asterisk, 63 x 69, made by Jane Humphrey of Escondido CA, quilted by Barbara Vanice

The last quilt I want to show you wasn’t in the quilt show. In fact, it’s not quite finished but it’s so spectacular I just had to share it with you — with the permission of its maker, Frances Barnes of Portland OR:

Work in Progress by Frances Barnes of Portland OR

I first saw this quilt in June, when I was teaching at a quilt retreat in Washington State. Frances brought it along to work on. She’s quilting it by hand using a utility stitch. I didn’t get a picture of it at the retreat so when I ran into Frances during a Quilter’s Affair class and saw she had the quilt with her, I jumped at the chance to take a photo.

The quilt was inspired by Sujata Shah, author of Cultural Fusion Quilts: A Melting Pot of Piecing Traditions (C&T Publishing, 2014). Sujata was a guest speaker at last year’s Quilter’s Affair, and both Frances and I bought her book after hearing Sujata speak and seeing a selection of her colorful quilts made using free-form blocks.

Then last fall Frances saw the cover of Issue #10 of Simply Moderne magazine, featuring a quilt called Paper Beads designed by Sujata Shah:

Paper Beads is composed of free-form string quilt blocks. Frances combined Paper Beads with blocks from the Cultural Fusion Quilts book and came up with the vibrant quilt you see above. Who knows? Maybe it will be in next year’s Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show!

 

 

 

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11 Responses to Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2018

  1. Ian West says:

    Fabulous march-past of quilting talent.

  2. Melody says:

    I love seeing the show through your eyes, Dawn!

    I saw only two or three hundred quilts, but the week was filled with joy and growth!

  3. Karen Simpon says:

    Loved seeing the quilts you posted. I saw some of them, but time didn’t permit me to see everything. You really captured the essence of the show.

  4. Lisa D'Andrea says:

    I’m not even a quilter, but I look forward to this post every year. The beauty, the creativity, the skill of the quilters move me nearly to tears. Thank you for sharing this.

  5. Suzette Shoulderss says:

    Hi from Bend! I enjoy your post from the Sisters show, although I always go each year. Your eyes see different things than my eyes , so I love your SOQS post! Especially delighted to SEE the picture of JEan Wells’ antique-looking blocks , maybe titled “Peppermint Pinwheels”, the antique whirligig pattern… I saw her blocks on the design wall at Julia Jeans’ quilting studio when I was picking up a charity quilt Julia had quilted for me, and asked her about them. She told me she was thinking about how to fill that space around the little pinwheel centre… I love it , what she did! Filled that space SO creatively, and really enhanced the blocks. I think that is what good longarm custom quilting is all about, it is a symbiotic relationship between the piecing and the quilting that makes a good quilt! 43 years a quilter makes me so aware of that ‘marriage’ of the piecing and the quilting! Suzette in smoky Bend

    • Dawn says:

      Hi, Suzette! That block is called Rolling Star and I think I need to put it on my list. The quilting by Julia Jeans is phenomenal.

  6. Kristi says:

    Thank you, Dawn, for the recap of the SOQS. I haven’t had the opportunity to attend the show lately, so I enjoyed seeing your mini quilt show. Did you display a quilt at the show?

  7. Diane says:

    Wow, this year’s quilt show was a real triumph!!

  8. Janet Asparro says:

    Hi, Dawn. Thank you for sharing these fabulous quilts. It has been a few years since I was able to go to the quilt festival in Sisters.

  9. Mary E says:

    Thanks for sharing this event. I have never been there but have heard of it. It is now on my bucket list!!!

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