Saturday, June 24, 2017

The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

Have you ever been to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show?
It's huge!! And outdoors!!
Just one day -- always the second Saturday in July.

I went once -- 2010 -- have the t-shirt to prove it!
Sisters is in the high desert of Eastern Oregon and rain is uncommon in July, so hanging thirteen hundred quilts outdoors is less risky than it might seem.  I understand the quilt hanging begins at dawn and by 9 a.m., the streets are open and the typical 10,000 visitors have until 4 p.m. to take in as much as they can.
As I recall, the picture below is the side view of Jean Well's shop, The Stitching Post.  Jean began the show in 1975 and today, the whole town seems to be involved.
The buildings are equipped to make the hanging of the quilts go quickly and efficiently.
There are special exhibits tucked here and there and inspiration abounds.
There is also a week of workshops these days during the previous week.  
Entries come from all over and this year, two of them are mine!
Both are for sale (time to thin out my collection a bit) and while I won't be at the show this year, I will be lurking on the social media sites for updates!

Trip to the Stars is one of my own designs that I created to teach my students and followers how to use Marti Michell's Sashing Stars tool set when it was introduced.  I originally ran it as a mystery quilt but it is now available as a (downloadable) pattern in my Etsy shop!
This is the middle size (approx. 69" square) -- the pattern also includes instructions for the wallhanging size (46") and a bed size (92").
I also sent off my version of a One Block Wonder.  It's a gorgeous quilt but it doesn't fit into my house décor so it spends too much time living in the pile of teaching samples on the guest bed.
Hopefully, someone will fall in love with it and buy it during the show!!
Do you want to see more? 
Click HERE to get to the website and explore their social media links and watch the video from a previous show!  Then maybe you'll make plans to visit it in the future!!
It's fun!!

Mary














3 comments:

  1. I have never been but I have heard of it of course - but I didn't realize it was in eastern Oregon, for some reason I thought it was on the coast and wondered how often it would get rained out! glad to hear that is not the case - one day I hope to be there

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  2. That OBW is spectacular! I've never seen one run into the border that way. Very cool! Unfortunately, it is too big and wouldn't fit into my life either. It definitely deserves a home where it can be admired on a daily basis.

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  3. Great show! Everyone should see it at least once. Such a beautiful part of the country. I have a friend that lives about an hour from there and has graciously hosted me several times!

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