Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2011

So, what time was it? It's time for an estimated 12,000 people (from all over the world!) to suddenly converge on the tiny town of Sisters, Oregon for the famous Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.
Everyone should go to this show...at least once.....and if you go back again, you know you're a dedicated quilter or quilt lover; because the heat, the crowds and the traffic, make for a challenging experience for some. But as I overheard in the library from a lady from Canada..."it was a once in a lifetime experience" and she 'absolutely loved it!" It's challenging in some way s but it is also extremely unique and quite entertaining!

Sisters, Oregon is a very small 1880's styled 'Western' town in Central Oregon. It boasts a population of get this...about 1,460. And for one day in July...always the second Saturday of this month, up to 20,000 quilters have swarmed in and take over the town.Somewhere around 1,000 to 1,200 quilts are displayed,....on every single available surface that the eyes can see and the hands can reach.

Normally, I come with an entourage of 'handlers' who keep me on track and in the right lines. This year it's a quick last minute of lots of fun. I met up with Doni from the Oregon coast and Cher, from Beaverton, and we had great fun, as always.

We know one another from blogging and have met up at three shows so far and it's amazing how quickly you can feel you know one another and be completely comfortable walking around and having fun with one another.

(In this post:)

So, off we go...first the Stitchin' Post and the celebrity sightings, the Gee's Bend quilts, the employee quilts, the local art association and some the Make a Wish postcards, and of course the amazing Teacher's Tent!

We kept our eyes and ears open for the usual and the unusual and look whose blonde tucked back hairdo we recognized here:



Sharp eyed Cher knew that was Freddy Moran!



And it was, as truly lovely and gracious as she always is, too! I took this photo and went for a second one with a different setting and look what I found on a cropped closeup!


Yep...that's Cher..who I never noticed ....peeking through the crack and getting in my celebrity closeup of Freddy! I ended up with 8 photos with Cher in them and only one of me.

Dang..some people are talented and gracious, some are talented and smart, and some are oblivious... but at least she blogs and takes photos ;)




These are the Gee's Bend quilts...all new ones from the newer crop of quilters. In 2009 we had a lot of the same gals, but we had the quilts from their mothers and aunts..not necessarily their own..hanging up at the Stitchin' Post. Ones we all know and love...so here..a new crop!
2009 links:
The Gee's Bend Quilters

Gee's Bend Quilters Sing

Now, we have the new generation and their 'Archictecture of the Quilt' era of quilting. A very different look as many have commented and yet, some are very new and still familiar.


I sure hope the quilters truly benefit from so much hard work and even harder times in the past. And while many of the members of the first generation is too old to travel and it's the next generation coming in and as one most popular Gee's Bend gal told me...confidentially... "I don't quilt. I sing." She is such a character, I forgive and welcome her each year ;)




It's take a group of... I think about 15 ladies... who rotate the quilt shows around the U.S. But lovely to see some of the familiars from 2009 came back again. They told us at the picnic back then that they had the 'best time of their lives' in Sisters..I believe it..and they're back!













(enlarge these below for close up views)

 


The town filled up to the rafters with lovelies everywhere..people and quilts! Sometimes, you couldn't see the Forest for the Trees.....



We usually start out at the Stitchin' Post...see the featured guests such as the wonderful Gee's Bend gals, and then the quilts up on the wonderful eye catching side of the building:




blocks contest below...so crowded I could only get a few good pics close up!


Wander in and out of the Arts building for the Make a Wish postcards...almost all sold by the time we got there only a few hours into the show!!!







And off to see quilts all over the town, starting with the 'Teacher's Tent'. Don't think you know who the teacher is, it's unbelievable how much the styles are being incorporated in one anther's work. Looks like a Jean Wells? Might be, might not be. This one happens to be, just

You keep reading the tags, and loving every quilt, but if you're like me..you forget as soon as you step back into the hot sun, so no accreditation from me in case of error. Ask Cher or Doni..they probably remember ;)

Below...an unmistakeable Cindy Neeham:


a love note from Tula Pink:



And so many fabulous others!








Bari J. Ackerman of the purse fame..quilts in a delightful style below:









Oh my....
Picassa is screaming at me....claims she's full to the brim. She'd better not be! I have so many MORE photos to still upload!

This is just to whet your whistle...mine is still too sun dried to pucker..but I'm still grinning from ear to ear.

Teaser below from the other Cheshire cat; and the Alice quilts..coming here, very soon)


The fabric one, above...and the sneaky, smart one who gets into my photos,below:

Yep...it's Cher, again. Doni's husband finished his golf for the day and was coming to pick her up in Sisters..so our trio finished as a duo, and then Cher's better half phoned for her...and we each went solo.

I'm learning math in Sisters.trio, duo, and solo...directions like 'which way? and this way?? and 'you need to come and find me as soon as I figure out where I am.'

I'm a liberated quilter and quilt show viewer...more to come!!!

Links to my recent posts and Sister's Quilt Show photos:
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2011
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show: Diverse, Modern, Liberated and Fun!
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show: The Alice Quilts and Other Wonders

Others:
Links for this years show:
Sisters Oregon Weather
{PDF}
3 page download and print...maps and basic info
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2011
[PDF]
36th Anniversary Saturday, July 9, 2011 36th Anniversary Saturday
{PDF}
PDF..download and print off the newspaper info
Sisters Magazine - Quilt Show 2011 - The Bend Bulletin
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show - Stitchin Post
Sisters Quilt Show: Smiles, Sun & StitchesKTVZ and 5 related articles
Quilts, quirky and quaint‎ - Bend Bulletin