Willamette Heritage Center Doc Day

The Oregon Quilt Project held a big documentation day yesterday at the Willamette Heritage Center in Salem, and we saw dozens of wonderful quilts, old and new. Oregon Quilt Project would like to extand a big thank you to the Willamette Heritage Center and Mission Mill Museum, local volunteer coordinator Vickie Simpson, and all the local volunteers. While we're working on the new picture gallery, we thought you'd enjoy pictures of a few of the many outstanding quilts we saw yesterday.

The photos in this blog are for viewing purposes only, all rights reserved, and may not be reproduced without express written permission from the Oregon Quilt Project.

Red and Green Quilts

OQP# 2010.01.002, from our first day of documentation in Sisters.

'Tis the season for red and green quilts, so we thought We would share a few other favorite red and green quilts seen in the first few months of the Oregon Quilt Project statewide documentation. Today's blog is pictorial, so without further interruption, here are the quilts!

OQP# 2010.01.011, also seen in Sisters on out first documentation day.

OQP# 2010.002.008, from our third documentation day in Sisters.

OQP # 2010.02.013, also from our third documentation day in Sisters.

OQP# 2010.002.029, also from day three in Sisters.

Virtually Whole Again

This lovely old quilt is not what it appears to be. The quilt, OQP # 2010.02.066, appeared at the crack of dawn on June 27th, our third day of a three-day documentation event in Sisters. It was not in one piece, though. It was in three. Still is, as a matter of fact.

How are we looking at a picture of a one quilt, you may ask? We did a virtual restoration, digitally reconstructing the image of a whole quilt using a clever piece of software called Adobe Photoshop. We are pretty sure Photoshop wasn’t around when the earliest quilt documentation days were held back in 1981 in Kentucky, but we are sure glad we have it now! Too bad more people don't know how to use it.

There was one big piece, and two narrow strips with swag borders. One end of the big piece was finished with applied twill binding, where it had been cut. We photographed all three pieces, and talked to the owner about the quilt. She wasn’t sure what to do with it.

We talked about options, from restoration and conservation, to storage and where it could go in the future. Even though she seemed a little distressed about the quilt in three pieces and the conundrum of what to do with it, we reassured her. We told her about the quilts we have rescued, and how we feel they have definite cultural, educational, and artistic value despite condition.

While we were talking, Someone casually mentioned that great things were possible with Photoshop. If there was an opportunity, we could digitally recreate the image of a whole quilt. It was a side comment, and we are sure she didn’t really expect us to do anything about it, but we did. We hope she is pleasantly surprised when she receives the pictures of the quilt, virtually whole again.

Note: to all participants in the June documentation days, the packets are in the mail and should arrive shortly. All other information packets for July documentation days are still being processed.

Sisters: Jean Wells Keenan is the Toast of the Town

Jean Wells Keenan during the artist’s reception for her show at the High Desert Gallery in Sisters.

by Bill Volckening 

I should be sleeping right now. Big day tomorrow...umm...today (yikes!). It’s my first time attending the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon. Sisters is a small community in central Oregon with less than 2000 residents. But each summer in early July, the town transforms into a quilt mecca welcoming tens of thousands of visitors for Quilters Affair and the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. 

Approximately 1200 quilts are displayed outdoors during the quilt show, now in its 35th year. Quilt show founder and quilt guru Jean Wells Keenan displayed just a handful of quilts in her first show, and she wanted it to have the feel of an arts festival. After many years and tremendous growth, the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show remarkably maintains the feeling of an arts festival. 

The Oregon Quilt Project is here, and we’re trying a mobile quilt documentation all over town - but the real story is Jean Wells Keenan, who is absolutely the toast of the town! Keenan has been present at most of the events throughout the week, including Thursday’s artist’s reception at the High Desert Gallery, where she is showing recent work; an exuberant presentation by Ricky Tims later Thursday evening, and Friday’s picnic and quilt retrospective with Alex Anderson. During the evening, Karen Alexander and Mary Bywater Cross payed tribute to Keenan with news and notes about her induction in the Quilters Hall of Fame. And what a lucky guy I am - I had a seat toward the front!

Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims brought enthusiasm and humor to the quilt presentation at Friday’s picnic.

I’ve only been here for the last couple days, but it’s been going on all week - and what a mind-blowing experience! It’s serendipitous to be here for the first time when the town is celebrating Keenan, who has had such a significant and far-reaching positive impact. Quilt Show Director Ann Richardson, who appeared at the picnic to thank the sponsors and pay tribute to Keenan, also deserves much credit for the success of this amazing community event. - as do the hundreds of volunteers, staff, and community partners. It takes an army!

So, I’m ready for the main event! The camera battery is charged, I’ve got a flip-cam for shooting some video footage, sunscreen and extra towels. We’re setting up the Oregon Quilt Project booth early, so I really should try to get some sleep. I’ll be dreaming of an entire town covered head-to-toe in quilts. Sounds like heaven!

Two Patriotic Quilts

OQP # 2010-01-002 - “My American Log Cabin” by Sally Powers Rogers 

Two patriotic quilts made a huge impression on me during our first documentation day on April 28th in Sisters, Oregon. Both quilts were made by Sally Powers Rogers of Redmond, and both took classic patterns to a whole new level. 

The first quilt was called “My American Log Cabin” (pictured above) and was machine pieced during “Desert Storm” in 1991 in Tacoma, Wash., and hand quilted in Redmond during the 2003 Iraqi War. I was immediately struck by how well made and sturdy the quilt was. It was perfectly square, had a nice weight, and included a wonderful selection of fabrics in patriotic red, white, and blue. Rogers’ artistry and sense of purpose made a well-known pattern something completely new.

OQP # 2010-01-003 - “Patriotic Nine-Patch” by Sally Powers Rogers

The second quilt (above) was called “Patriotic 9-Patch” and included birthday blocks from the Ridge Rippers Quilters. It was machine pieced, strippy, a la Kaye England, and hand quilted with wool batt. Rogers made the quilt for her father on his 100th birthday, June 21st, 2005, and the array of patriotic fabrics was simply unbelievable! This quilt transported me to the 19th century, and made me feel like I was looking at a very old quilt the day it was finished. It was fantastic! 

OQP # 2010-01-003 - “Patriotic Nine-Patch” by Sally Powers Rogers (detail)

We don’t always think of recently made quilts as historic objects, but these quilts truly captured history. Both arrived for documentation as cherished family objects in perfect condition, and both were eloquent, concise statements about the era. The last two decades were a time of incredible change - a time when people of the United States felt and expressed patriotism in the face of many great challenges. The two quilts from Sally Powers Rogers are strong visual and cultural statements. They celebrate freedom, paying tribute to the past, saluting the present, and looking optimistically toward the future.