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Wednesday, July 8, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper “Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show”
Challenges create opportunities: Keeping SOQS strong
By Katy Yoder
Correspondent
Jean Wells knows a
thing or two about starting,
running, and nurturing a
business.
She opened Stitchin’ Post
in 1975 and grew the quilt-
ing shop into a robust com-
mercial success with a stel-
lar reputation and national
recognition. That same
know-how fostered the
birth and longevity of the
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show
(SOQS) as an event, and
eventually a well-managed
nonprofit organization.
For many, quilting con-
jures up images of peace-
ful blocks of time creating
quilts, sometimes alone and
sometimes with friends.
That may be true, but so is
the reality of challenges and
hurdles for an organization
whose success can be a tar-
get for those who’d like to
snatch a bit of those hard-
won benefits for themselves.
That’s when years of experi-
ence and hard work come in
handy.
Wells learned at an
early age how to face tough
situations.
“I watched my Dad do
it as a crop duster,” she
recalled. “From his aviation
background, he had the idea
that when forest fires hap-
pened, you could use a mod-
ified military plane to spray
the fire to put it out. He was
the first person in the U.S. to
develop a plane to do that.
I remember when he flew
home a Navy surplus plane
that barely looked flyable. I
watched the ups and downs
and challenges in my dad’s
business, and learned that
sometimes you have to punt,
and that’s normal.”
Wells knows how to reas-
sess and push through. As a
business owner, she has rein-
vented Stitchin’ Post several
times in the past 45 years.
“ W hen things begin
to feel irrelevant, it’s time
innovate,” she said. “I always
believe in putting heads
together; more opinions
are better than one. That
approach to adversity has
served us well.”
After each event, the
SOQS board, including past
executive directors, Ann
Richardson, Jeanette Pilak,
and current director, Dawn
Boyd, have evaluated their
successes and challenges.
Their efforts and solution-
oriented attitudes created a
foundation that future orga-
nizers can work from.
SOQS has weathered
storms, both literally and
metaphorically.
Rain and wind are never
an outdoor quilt show’s
friend. Planning for a rainy
day is a must to ensure all
the quilts hung throughout
Sisters aren’t damaged. Wells
directed her staff to devise
a contingency plan for all
kinds of emergencies.
“If we didn’t have a plan
in place, it wouldn’t go as
smoothly,” she said.
Over the years Quilt
Rescue Teams, a group of
stalwart and well-prepared
volunteers, are on call to
drive golf carts, vans and
bikes wherever their ser-
vices are needed. They carry
tools including ladders, extra
wire in case wiring breaks,
masking tape, hammers, and
safety pins. Every cart has
orange buckets to carry tools
easily to deal with whatever
might come up. There is
radio communication with
an Oregon Department of
Transportation command
post and the City of Sisters
because of street openings
and closings. Volunteers
wear bright, easily spotted
shirts with Quilt Rescue
Team in bold letters.
“We don’t rescue quilters,
just the quilts,” said long-
time volunteer and Quilt
Rescue Team member, Clyde
Dildine, with a laugh.
Another challenge has
been the folks who have
tried to steal some of the
organization’s hard-won
thunder by slipstreaming
off SOQS momentum and
world-wide notoriety. A few
years ago, Wells and her staff
experienced just how deter-
mined some can be. They’ve
dealt with organizations try-
ing to start a Central Oregon
quilt show the same day as
SOQS. Wells said they came
after her personally.
“I was actually frightened
of these people. It went on
for three or four years. He
was trying to jump on our
bandwagon and ride our
coattails and it was extremely
uncomfortable,” she said.
“There have been people
who tried to take away what
we were doing in one way
or another. We have stood
firm that we’re a grassroots
organization with day-to-
day sharing and caring. That
has done very well for us.
We had to hire an attorney
and write letters. We never
thought we’d need legal help
to protect our show.”
It’s not the only time
organizations have tried
to profit from the SOQS’
established reputation and
loyal patrons.
“They wanted a piece of
the action during quilt show
day. That kind of diluted
commerce hurt all the busi-
nesses in Sisters,” Wells said.
“Vendor issues came up with
people outside the area trying
to take a piece of the pie. The
income that comes in that
day should stay in the com-
munity and support busi-
ness owners who are work-
ing hard to stay open dur-
ing the winter and shoulder
seasons. We are protective
of our business sponsors and
want them to be successful.
We are grateful that coun-
cil members supported us.”
For Wells, it’s the people
and the connections people
have through quilting that’s
really the inspiration for the
show. Groups of people who
met because of the show
from different parts of the
world, meet every year at the
PHOTO COURTESY SISTERS OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW
The virtual quilt show will include some of Freddy Moran’s colorful,
playful faces.
show. That’s part of why the
show has survived.
This year’s SOQS team
is showing how they can
pivot in the face of adversity,
this time created by a global
pandemic.
SOQS has created a
virtual show that contains as
much of the excitement and
inspiration guests receive as
they stroll through Sisters
on Quilt Show day. It won’t
be the same, but SOQS will
prevail and come back stron-
ger than ever. It always does.
Wildflower Studio Celebr ates th e 45 th Sisters Quilt Show!
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