There is something magical about the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, otherwise known as SOQS. A week of quilt classes, artists and garden tours, lectures, and special events all leading up to a beautiful outdoor quilt show, embraced by the entire town of Sisters.
This quilt, Creating Community, by Janet MacConnell, was used for the 2022 SOQS poster. I have to say, it pretty much covers everything about the event in one very sweet quilt! If you would like to read about the artist and the quilt, you can read more at https://www.soqs.org/show-poster-2022.
7:00 am on Saturday morning, you will see people congregating in front of the Stitchin' Post Quilt Shop to watch the Sisters Fire Department hang the first of many quilts that will adorn the business district buildings for the day. It is amazing to watch, not to mention a mind-boggling undertaking of many volunteers, all working to hang quilts on each of the shops, a bit like adding the perfect pair of earrings to a favorite dress.
These are not only the first quilts to be hung each year, but they are quilts made by the Stitchin' Post staff. A perfect way to celebrate all of the hard work that goes into making this day possible.
Before you know it, every shop, window, wall, sidewalk, front porch, and fence in downtown Sisters is sparkling with beautiful quilts for all to enjoy!
And then . . . you discover the park!
City Green Park is where all the workshop teachers' quilts are displayed. You might also get a chance to meet some of your favorite celebrity quilters.
I have tried to link each of these photos back to the rightful owners' Instagram pages. Please be sure to click on the photos to get the stories behind each photo, follow their page or leave a comment of thanks for the lovely pics!.
And of course, Ms. Freddy Moran greeted everyone with all of her whimsical faces!
Freddy's faces will be opening in an exhibit at the International Quilt Museum next month. I included details and links at the bottom of this post.
How can you not love this?
Here is the Palace Guard with the hardworking Dana Boyd, posing in the Cherrywood Challenge exhibit for Princess Diana.
If you would like to see more of the beautiful quilts that were on display, check out a few of the links below. There was a whole quilt community smiling for the camera!
Don't get me wrong, I love Sisters, Oregon any day and any season.
In fact, it has turned into a lovely family meetup spot. A lovely midway point between San Francisco and Portland. But there is truly a magical spirit in the air on the day of SOQS.
The International Quilt Museum will be hosting an exhibit of Freddy Moran's face quilts, curated by quilt collector, Roderick Kiracofe. The exhibit will be opening Aug 9th. Freddy will be speaking and doing other wonderful, creative, and colorful things at the opening. Watch for more news from IQM, or follow Roderick Kiracofe for updates and info. Here are his current posts.
Whew! For thinking this would be a short post, I got a bit long! I hope you enjoyed it. And just so you know... SOQS is always held on the second Saturday of July. So mark your calendars now for 2023 and I will meet you with my coffee at 7am to watch that first quilt go up!
What a lovely post as the reminder of a really fun week! The second Saturday of July is best spent at the. Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show! I am so happy I got to hangout there with you and Freddy!
Thanks pati for all the links in this post!I loved being able to connect with you in that environment! I think that dress is going to be the favorite piece of my wardrobe ever :-) XXO Janis Stob
Love that you wrote this up Pati! It is in fact a magical week - you can literally feel it in town. So many amazing people come to take classes with the Stitchin' Post with teachers from all over and make connections and get inspired and then there is the wrap up celebration of so many diverse and wonderful quilts on display. It a great mix of people connecting and creative inspiration spreading! xo Kelly Sheets