I’m writing to you from Oregon where Wendy Rieves and I are enjoying the company of 31 delightful quilters while participating in every aspect of the 40th Annual Sister’s Quilt Show! We began our trip in Portland and then bussed our way down to Sisters, shop hopping to 4 quilt shops along the way. Each one was unique and we loved them all!
We began at the Cotton Patch in Keizer, OR – a bright and cheery store with a generous owner and a friendly staff. Then it was on to Salem and Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest. A big store in the heart of downtown, with lots of fabrics and sample quilts. We also visited BJ’s Quilts in Bend. Another friendly shop with loads of exciting things to choose from.
The 4th shop we visited was the the Stitching Post in Sisters! This is the store where Jean Wells started it all 40 years ago!
This was on Thursday, because we wanted to beat the crowds to this special store. There were still plenty of people there, but the shopping was good. This store had so many creative patterns and little extras, plus a huge fabric selection.
When Jean Wells started the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show, I’m sure she never imagined it would become the quilter’s “bucket list” destination it is today. The quilts are hung on the second Saturday in July, on the outsides of the buildings, for one day only. I decided I needed to take a picture of the main street two days before the show for comparison purposes 🙂 ! So hear it is on Thursday:
And this was Saturday:
Friday we went to visit the vendors at the Fair Grounds in Redmond – and then it was off to the picnic. 800 quilters were fed a yummy meal of hamburgers, watermelon, and cupcakes!
This was followed with a greeting by Jean Wells herself, and entertainment which included Alex Anderson, Laura Wasilowski and some wonderful singing by 5 of the Gee’s Bend quilters.
The next morning we arrived back in Sisters for the show. Over 1400 quilts were hung that morning (most attached to heavy wire with clothes pins), and it was even better than we’d imagined. This was our first view of the side of the Stitchin Post that morning:
But that was only the beginning of the quilts. They were hung on just about every building on the main street, plus many buildings on many other streets. The shops in the town were varied and wonderful – from art galleries to antique stores. There were also vendor tents set up wherever there was room. Good food, good music, great shopping and…
The weather was amazing! 70’s and partly sunny! We didn’t have to deal with the usual high temperatures and blazing sun. It couldn’t have been a better day for an outdoor quilt show. However, the wind did pick up in the afternoon and we were able to see a Quilt Rescue Team-member in action 😛 .
It was a very full and extremely enjoyable day! I highly recommend a visit to the Sister’s show. I hope to return some day soon.
This was our 9th Sew We Go adventure! We traveled with a great group who loved to laugh and socialize. We really enjoyed getting to know each other and traveling together on this exciting trip which also included Portland and the Columbia River Gorge.
If sharing a Sew We Go adventure with Wendy and me is on your bucket list, please consider saving the date for our upcoming cruise of the Adriatic! Our travel planner Kristi, is putting the final details together for September 24th to October 1, of 2016. We will be visiting Venice, Croatia, Turkey and Greece, seeing all the sites and including many memory making extras – arranged just for quilters. As soon as the details are ready, I’ll share them here on the blog!
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And just a quick update on the quilt I featured in last week’s post. I had a wonderful visit with Hanna, Willy and Rainee this past week. I gave Rainee the quilt for her birthday – and she loved it!
Juleen Jaeger says
Chris, I’ve been to Sisters for the Quilters’ Affair. It is truly an awesome experience. I’ve seen so many posts that I’m thinking it might be time to go back again. Love all your picctures!
Kathy Bruckner says
It was great to see you at the show…I’ll give your hug to LindiKathy
Louise says
It truly was an awesome experience. I am so glad I was able to join you on this one!
Bonnie says
Gees Bend singers! That must have been absolutely wonderful! thank you for sharing so much with us. bonnie