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Wednesday, February 28, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
QUILT PROJECT:
Booths will be set up
in Sisters locations
Continued from page 4
communication, she noted.
“But it was just an idea
until the amazing ladies
from our quilting community
offered their help — on top of
all the other great things they
already do,” she said. “When
they joined in, that’s when we
really started doing our happy
dance.
“I hope our community
never loses that quality —
that sort of apathy-busting
willingness to be a resource
for one another,” Burgstahler
said. “It’s an attitude that
says: ‘Maybe I can help; but
even if I can’t, then perhaps
I can help you find someone
who can.’”
The Values & Visioning
quilt will feature space for
about 170 sentiments and will
measure 80 inches square.
“We made it big to fit as
many comments as possible,”
Burgstahler said. In addition
to being used to guide the
visioning process, the senti-
ments will appear on a proj-
ect web page, which also will
become home to any extra
sentiments that couldn’t make
it onto the quilt.
There is no cost to write a
sentiment. “We didn’t want
barriers to participation,”
Burgstahler said.
Specialty fabric mark-
ers will be provided at the
booths; and the squares are
pre-backed with freezer paper
to make them easier to sign.
After its debut at the quilt
show, the quilt will be dis-
played locally.
“We’re looking to have it
in a few local spaces — like
the library — and then give it
a visible, permanent home,”
Burgstahler said.
There’s also precedent for
community quilts to be “auc-
tioned” each year, she said.
Instead of owning the quilt,
the winning bidder would be
recognized on a piece dis-
played with the quilt; and the
bid money would go toward a
local need.
It would be a great
way to raise money for
good causes and keep the
visioning process alive
for many years to come.
— Amy Burgstahler
PHOTO BY AMY BURGSTAHLER
June Jaeger at work on the Community Values & Visioning signature quilt.
“It would be a great way
to raise money for good
causes and keep the vision-
ing process alive for many
years to come,” Burgstahler
said.
Service is a common thread for local quilt group
PHOTO BY AMY BURGSTAHLER
East of the Cascades quilter Janet Storton uses her vintage Singer
Featherweight to prepare a blank square for the signature quilt.
The East of the Cascades
Quilters — led by Diane
Tolzman and Gilda Hunt —
are shepherding production of
the quilt for the Community
Values & Visioning sig-
nature quilt project. The
project also has drawn
encouragement and vital
support from others, includ-
ing: Kathy Deggendorfer,
Jill Miller, Jeanette Pilak,
Jean Wells, Jeff McDonald,
Zoe Schumacher and Judy
Trego. Quilters involved
i n c l u d e : To l z m a n a n d
Hunt, Janet Storton, Janet
Roshak, Sue Olsen,
Cece Montgomery,
Nancy Frazeur and
June Jaeger.
Tolzman says she’s
“thrilled” to help produce
the visioning-inspired piece.
“As people write on the
quilt, it will reinforce what
a special community we live
in, and it will lead us into the
future,” she said. “I hope this
process helps ensure our cur-
rent values continue and our
goals become a reality.”
Neither Tolzman nor Amy
Burgstahler, a C4C board
member and a lead coordi-
nator for the quilt project,
are aware of Sisters Country
engaging in a community
signature quilt project prior
to the Community Values
& Visioning signature quilt
project. And they believe
the metaphor of a quilt adds
extra significance.
“The idea of it being
comprised of many differ-
ent pieces of fabric, com-
ing together and bound by a
common thread… It’s a per-
fect way to memorialize the
Sisters visioning process,”
Tolzman said.
Burgstahler agreed. “We
hope the quilt serves as a
lasting symbol for the com-
munity — a legacy piece.”
The East of the Cascades
Quilters’ “common thread”
— a sincere love of com-
munity — inspires several
efforts that bring joy and
comfort to area residents. In
addition to making several
quilt show pieces, they sew
“Quilts for Kids” for local
preschoolers. They also cre-
ate quilts for distribution by
Family Access Network and
area police and fire depart-
ments. Tolzman figures the
quilters donated 160 quilts
last year. And this year they
will represent Sisters nation-
ally by quilting 15 Christmas
tree skirts for trees from
Sweet Home, Oregon, that
will be displayed at the
White House.