The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

What started as a one-day summer exhibition of the art of quilting has grown over the years into a week-long celebration of the fiber arts in all their varied beauty and utility.

The week's activities surrounding the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show kicked off on Sunday with the Around the Block Fiber Arts Stroll.

More than 30 fiber artists shared their textile work including quilts, weaving, basketry, fabric-dyeing and more.

At Desert Charm, Helen Goldsmith of Bend plied her craft of traditional rug-hooking. This is not the latch-hooking that became something of a craze in the 1970s; traditional rug-hooking tugs wool yardage up through a latticework sheet to create texture and pattern that can be used for everything from rugs to throw pillows.

It's painstaking handwork.

"I started this last Tuesday," Goldsmith said of her piece, still far from completion. "They tell me I'm faster than some of them."

Goldsmith was introduced to traditional rug-hooking through a class at High Desert Museum in 1992, and she's been active in the craft ever since.

Kristen Shields specializes in "Slow Cloth." And what is Slow Cloth?

"It means different things to different people," said Shields, who was a first-timer at the art stroll.

Essentially, it involves hand-work: hand-stitching, hand-appliqué, hand-embroidery, hand-quilting, hand-dyeing of fabrics. Hence... slow...

"It's expressive," Shields said.

It's not a statement for the artist - she was simply drawn to it through reading the blog of Slow Cloth artist Jude Hill (www.spiritcloth.typepad.com).

"I started reading her blog," Shields said. "Her work was the inspiration."

Shields prefers to do small work - and portability is another attraction.

"I can take a piece and needle and thread and I'm good to go," she said. "I don't even need scissors..."

Janelle Rebick monitored a table weighted down with tubs of fabric undergoing "low-water immersion" dyeing.

Rebick, who hails from Bend, creates her own fabric which she uses in her quilting and markets to other quilters.

She uses a variety of techniques to create varying shades of color and some fabrics with unique patterns. She relishes the chemistry and artistry involved in the craft, cheerfully accepting the label of "mad scientist."

She explained the process of ice-cube dyeing, which uses the melting of ice cubes and a chemical reaction to create unexpected dye patters.

"That's totally 'mad scientist' right there," she said.

Joy and passion for the work are signature features of participants in the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, from artists to those who come to admire the quilts.

Many sign up for several days of classes at A Quilters Affair, where they learn from some of the most prominent teachers in the quilting world.

Some experience the synergy of gardening and quilting in the Sisters Garden & Home Tour.

As Saturday, July 14, dawns, scores of volunteers will hang some 1,400 quilts across downtown Sisters. As the morning moves toward the 9 a.m. start of the show, a horde of quilting enthusiasts thousands strong will descend upon the downtown area, where Cascade Avenue is closed to create an outdoor art gallery.

Each year the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show invites a local quilter to be "Queen for a Day" as the show's Featured Quilter. The Featured Quilter for the 2012 show is Cathy Moen of Sisters.

Jim Cornelius

Leah Chapman gives traditional rug hooking a try, under the tutelage of Helen Goldsmith.

Moen says, "I always enjoyed sewing for our children and our home for years, but had never quilted until I took my first class in Seattle just months before my husband and I moved to Sisters in 1998.

While he was enjoying ranch life with our four draft horses, I decided to take a beginning class at Stitchin' Post.

I loved it so much that I started working at the store and of course was continually inspired with the creative people around me and with every new shipment of fabric that arrived.

I have a BS degree in art which probably has helped give me a basic knowledge of working with colors and designs.

Over the last 12 years, I have gone from traditional blocks to more creative pieces thanks to all that I have learned from Jean and other teachers."

Helen Brisson of Bend will be featured in the 2012 Machine Quilter Showcase, and Jackie Erickson of Sisters will be honored as the 2012 Inspirational Instructor.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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