Sisters, Part 1

Sisters... no, not my sister and I... that perfectly charming small town in Oregon which hosts the world's largest outdoor quilt show every July.  I went there with several friends this year, and I am so glad that I checked it off of my bucket list.  I may even go back for a second experience.  It was that wonderful!  Why part 1?  Well, I have such an overabundance of photographs from the week, that I am breaking it up into two posts.  The official outdoor quilt show was on Saturday, July 13th.  We headed up a few days early so that we could also partake in the Sisters Garden Club annual Garden and Home Tour, called Quilts in the Garden.  It always takes place on the Thursday before the big show and consists of a number of homes that are opened up for the day with quilts hung out in the their gardens.  Today's post will be less words and more photos than most... all from the Garden Club show.

The first stop on the tour was at Hawks Haven Reserve, the home of the Rognlien's, and a 90-acre wildlife reserve set amid the Three Sisters Mountains with lovely views.  The quilts were hung amid a grouping of trees right off the back patio of the home.

The Best Time by Kay Gutierrez

Pick-Up-Sticks by Kim McCray

Sunset on North Temperance Creek by Kathy Chism

Eastern Oregon by Ruth Kinane

Back Country by Dawn Williams

A photo of the quilts displayed at this home.  Beautiful views!

Steppin' Out by Cindy O'Neal

Gleam of Snake River by Linda S. Ripsch

Trout on the Metolius by Cece Montgomery

The second stop on the tour was at a farm instead of a house, Seed to Table Farm.  It's a non-profit educational farm that works to increase the health and wellness of the Sisters community by providing farm based health and science education.  It is a 2-acre organic farm that grows 30,000 pounds of produce, feeding up to 200 families weekly during the season, as well as providing fresh produce for school lunch programs and Central Oregon Food Banks.  And, on this day, it was surrounded by beautiful quilts!  These were all made by the same woman, whose name I didn't write down (sorry!).

We asked if this was a vintage quilt... no!  It was actually the makers FIRST quilt.  She really picked a hard one, and it came out so beautifully!



A shot looking down on part of the farm.

Third stop was at Apregans' Black Diamond Ranch.  This is a historical ranch surrounded by hayfields and beautiful views of Black Butte and Mount Jefferson.  The ranch has traditional gardens, including perennial borders, a rose garden and greenhouse, a raised bed vegetable garden, and a chicken yard.  And many antique quilts on this day...

A number of antique quilts laid out on the fence around the vegetable garden.

Some lovely stars right next to the chicken coop (the coop isn't in the photo).

Hexagons and Baptist fans!

The views behind these antique hexi quilts!

Dresden plates blowing in the breeze.

A gorgeous Victorian crazy quilt, dated 1913.

The fourth stop required us to catch a ride because there wasn't much parking at the home.  It was worth the wait!  This location is home to the Patty and Craig Apregan, who created lawn-free gardens around the house which reflect the different garden styles she has seen on her travels... woodlands, shade gardens, perennial borders, prairie meadows, a French dry garden, and native grass plantings.  And, of course, beautiful quilts!

A birdhouse quilt right next to the bird house.

A lovely water feature just behind a gorgeous garden.

Check out that view from the living room!

Last stop for the day was at the Cline property, right across the street from Black Diamond Ranch.  The home and barn were just completed a few years ago, in 2015.  It was lovely.

I think I've probably overloaded the photos in this post, so I'll cut it off here.  In a couple of weeks, I'll post Sisters, Part 2 with the photos from the big show.  I hope you enjoyed these and got some inspiration!

Keep on quilting!
Jenny