Last week's trip to Sisters, Oregon was FULL of inspiration and excitement. You asked for lots of photos, so here you go!
We left Seattle on Wednesday, and got there in time to see
Bill Volckening talk about his quilt collection. He showed MANY wonderful quilts. This one is by Lucy Mingo of Gee's Bend.
This is one of his New York Beauties that I especially liked. It appears to have been salvaged and repaired from a larger quilt.
Thursday morning we shopped at
The Stitchin Post, and look who we saw!
Kathy Doughty from Material Obsession in Australia and her friend, Cheryl. There's
Tonya too.
In the afternoon, we had a class with seven of the Gee's Bend quilt makers. From left to right: (I've forgotten the first woman's name. I think it was Rivla?) Anyway, next is Mary Ann Pettway, Louisiana Bendolph, Stella Mae Pettway, Lucy Mingo, China Pettway and Ruth Kennedy.
After a bit of singing, we all got to work. Stella Mae helped me make this.
Look who else was in the class.
Janet Bolton from London! She is a lovely woman. I hope to take a class from her someday.
This is where we ate and slept, all seven of us
Rebels, very comfortably in a cabin that was larger than these.
With a beautiful creek just outside the window.
Friday was the "Garden Party" class with Kathy Doughty of
Material Obsession. Here she is, helping me with my quilt. She is amazingly talented, generous, fun and approachable. Two of her Australian "posse" helped out, also extremely talented and friendly. Oh, to be able to work with them more often!! Below are some other quilts made in the class.
You can get the pattern for this quilt at the
Material Obsession site.
Saturday was the quilt show, with 1,300 quilts all hung outside. They say it's the largest outdoor quilt show in the world!
There were so many fabulous quilts. I focused on the Gee's Bend ones to share here.
This one is by Stella Mae Pettway.
This one is by Mary Ann Pettway.
This one is by Rita Mae Pettway.
This one is by Ruth Kennedy.
Remember the block contest I entered? Here are about half of the entries.
Mine is top left.
Here's the winner, well deserved!
One of the most impressive things about the Sisters Quilt Show is the community participation. Everyone comes out to help. Here are some girls selling water.
Here are the Gee's Bend gals, ready to sign books. L to R: Lucy Mingo, Ruth Kennedy, Stella Mae Pettway, China Pettway and Mary Ann Pettway. I've been fortunate to have seen them four times, and it's always hard to say "good bye." This time, I'm saying, "See you at your place next time!"
Then it was time to leave beautiful Sisters, Oregon. Mountains like these stand all around.
On Sunday, Tonya and I got to play in my sewing room. My neighbor, Shannon, brought over a kitten so Tonya could get her kitty fix.
Then we played with orphan blocks. Gratitude is a fitting word for how I'm feeling about this great trip, the visit with Tonya, all the talented quilt makers out there, the Rebels gals, and you with whom to share it all!
Tonya arrived yesterday. Here she is, taking photos at the "Yarn Bomb" in Pioneer Square. "No more touristy things," she said, "I want to sew!" We leave for Sisters early this morning. Yippee!
Yesterday I got to take a class with Gwen Marston! It was all about making 19th century applique. Here she is with one of her early pieces. I love Gwen's approach, steeped in history and playful at the same time. She is an excellent teacher and a real joy to be around.
Gwen and Tonya are buddies. So I brought one of my blocks from Tonya's book, Word Play Quilts.
Here's the piece I started in class. I thought I was going to make something else, but I was so inspired by Gwen's work and the older applique she showed.
When Gwen suggested we start with a vase, this picture came to mind. Can you tell?
Meanwhile, the Pojagi is growing. I'm thinking about adding a few more inches so it will fit in the back door window. 
