Wednesday, July 5, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Classroom is a favorite space for featured quilter
By Jodi Schneider McNamee
Correspondent
Tamra Dumolt made
her first quilt in 1993 while
expecting her first child.
“I taught myself from a
book. And the quilt was a
crib-sized Around the World
design, with puffy polyes-
ter batting and hand-tied
with yarn,” Dumolt told The
Nugget.
Dumolt’s love for sewing
began when she was 12 years
old after learning the basics in
home-economics class. Her
mother inspired her by pro-
viding increasingly difficult
clothing patterns that chal-
lenged her skills. She also
participated in 4-H sewing as
an independent member and
entered garments in both the
county and state fairs.
Her enthusiasm for quilt-
ing really took off when she
visited the SOQS with her
mother several times in the
early 1990s.
“We enjoyed walking
down the quilt-lined streets
of the unique little Western
town. I told mom that I would
like to live in Sisters,” said
Dumolt
In 2000, Dumolt’s Oregon
City neighbor convinced her
to take a quilting class at the
Pine Needle in Lake Oswego
with her.
“I knew I wanted to do
more quilting after that,” she
said.
I n 2 0 0 3 D u m o l t ’s
dream of moving to Sisters
Mark your calendar for...
materialized when her hus-
band’s job relocated them.
Although his store was in
Bend, they chose to buy a
home in Sisters to raise their
two daughters in the Sisters
School District.
“When my friends heard
I was moving to Sisters they
said I would have to become
a serious quilter,” she said.
And that’s exactly what
she did.
Dumolt began teaching
a variety of classes at the
Stitchin’ Post in 2010.
“Being in the classroom,
both as a student and as a
teacher, has been my favorite
aspect of quilting: the con-
nection to other quilters,”
Dumolt said.
Quilt-making is now an art
form, but historically quilt-
ing has been a social activity
bringing women together and
supporting each other.
“Quilting has given me the
opportunity to connect with
so many women on a per-
sonal level; building friend-
ships, celebrating successes,
and sharing losses. Every day
I was inspired by the amazing
talents of my co-workers, the
knowledge and experience of
the teachers who have visited
the Stitchin’ Post, the enthusi-
asm of students in the classes
I teach, and the friendships
I have come to know as a
quilter.”
Jeanette Pilak, executive
director of SOQS, first met
Dumolt when she was work-
ing at the Stitchin’ Post.
“As a teacher, she has
Author Presentations
Wednesday • 7/5 • 4 PM
The Promise Girls
Marie Bostwick
An emotional novel about families and the love,
memories and secrets that bind them together. It follows the lives of two sisters,
former child prodigies, whose modest lives fall short of their once-great ambitions.
Thursday • 7/6 • 4 PM
This Road We Traveled
Friday • 7/14 • 6:30 PM Kim Cooper Findling
Bend, Oregon Daycations: Day Trips for Curious Families
is
your go-to guide! Covering 19 “daycation” spots, this book is packed with details
and planning tips that will make it a useful reference even to long-time locals. It is
especially geared toward fun family outings; you won’t want to miss it.
John Bruning
Indestructible: One Man’s Rescue Mission That Changed
the Course of WWII In this remarkable WWII story by New York Times
bestselling author John R. Bruning, a renegade American pilot fi ghts against all
odds to rescue his family — imprisoned by the Japanese — and revolutionizes
modern warfare along the way.
Saturday • 7/29 • 6:30 PM
am especially honored to be
selected as Featured Quilter
this year. It feels like the
perfect ending to the Sisters
chapter of my life.”
This year, Dumolt has
returned to teach a class of
her own at Quilters Affair,
called “Modern Ohio
Star.”
“I designed this class to
show how to use up small
scraps of fabric from previous
projects,” Dumolt explained.
“The class is an exercise in
color placement and uses
my favorite quilting tool,
the Double Strip Ruler by
Creative Grids. I have created
an innovative technique using
the tool in a way no one has
previously done.”
Dumolt will have 16 quilts
on display during the SOQS,
July 8. Two will be in the
Teacher’s Tent and an addi-
tional two quilts can be found
at the Farm Girl Special
Exhibit.
“Farm Girl was a club I
started at the Stitchin’ Post in
2015 inspired by Lori Holt’s
PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER MCNAMEE
Tamra Dumolt is this year’s
Featured Quilter.
book ‘Farm Girl Vintage,’”
said Dumolt.
Dumolt’s quilts have a
contemporary style, using
bright colors and crisp geo-
metric designs. And the
remaining 12 quilts will
be at the Featured Quilter
Exhibit.
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541-549-4349
260 N. Pine, Sisters
Have a safe & happy 4 th of July
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Find the RIGHT one, FAST
Jane Kirkpatrick
Tabitha Brown is determined to follow her son
out of Missouri to embark on the Oregon Trail. She brings along with her a hired
wagon, her reluctant daughter, and optimistic granddaughter. Tabitha knows the
road won’t be easy, but she may be unprepared for the perilous journey.
Saturday • 7/22 • 6:30 PM
the leading ability to trans-
late teaching through various
techniques and styles so that
every type of person can learn
– a real gift and the key to
being an excellent teacher,”
Pilak said. “She has a deep
passion for fabric and quilts,
a fabulous sense of humor
and a great eye for color and
design. Selecting her for our
featured quilter was a unani-
mous decision.”
In 2016 Dumolt was asked
to be a substitute teacher for
a vacancy at Quilters Affair
while Sue Spargo (this year’s
Inspirational Instructor) was
undergoing treatment for
breast cancer and unable to
attend.
Right now, Dumolt is in
a transitional period and has
relocated to Washington after
her husband, Tom, received
a promotion and started
working in Bellevue last
September.
“I have lived in Sisters
for 13 years and our daugh-
ters were raised here and
both graduated from Sisters
High School. Something
tells me, Sisters will always
be home to me,” she said. “I
LeeAnn Kriegh
The Nature of Bend: The Insiders Guide to Central Oregon
Plants and Animals is a beautiful and informative nature guide. Join us
for a special evening while LeeAnn shares a slideshow on “Engaging the Seven
Senses in the Central Oregon Outdoors.”
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