“Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show” Wednesday, July 8, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Tonye Belinda Phillips:
hillips:
s: A local l tr
tre
treasure
By Katy Yoder
Correspondent
W hat do words like
whimsical, abstract, bright,
playful, and unexpected all
have in common?
Fo r Tonye B e l i n d a
P hillips it ’s how she
describes her motivation
and design for this year’s
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show
(SOQS) raffle quilt. Phillips
realized a long time ago that
yielding to constraints about
making everything match
doesn’t work for her. She’s
proven over her quilting
career that her instincts are
correct.
The raffle quilt, “My
Kind of Town,” has a joy-
ful musicality bubbling with
notes of purples, shades of
chartreuse greens, yellows,
and sunset orange. Orbs
bounce across the rooftops
of tall, slender houses reach-
ing towards mountain skies.
Inspired by this year’s theme,
it’s a homey, happy place
full of possibility and new
ways of combining color and
texture.
Since she’s this year’s fea-
tured quilter, it was a natural
decision for show organizers
to ask Phillips to contribute
her second raffle quilt for the
Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.
“It was perfect for me to
do it,” said Phillips from her
home in Camp Sherman.
“I love using fabrics that
many people wouldn’t think
of using together … colors,
prints, textures, just really
mixing things up… we call
them scrappy quilts. The
idea came into my head
to do something that’s a
combination of whimsical,
abstract, bright, playful and
unexpected.”
When people look at her
designs, including this year’s
raffle quilt, Phillips gets
comments like, “I’d never use
those fabrics together.” But
when they understand how
it all works together and cre-
ates a cohesive image that’s
pleasing to the eye, she sees
their smiles as they expand
their design concepts and
step out of comfortable, pre-
dictable combinations.
“It shows you can be free
to mix it up,” she said. “I’ve
lived in the same place for 50
years, but I like to be spon-
taneous and I’m up for most
things. I’m active and like
change even though it might
not look that way. A lot of
people get bogged down in
everything having to match.
I’m the opposite and it works
for me. It’s a personal thing.
If you’re loving
ing it that’s
hat’s
what’s most important.
mportant.
mpo
tant.
It’s a process to o learn
earn
arn
how all those things
hings
go together. You
must trust your
ur
intuition; that’s
the hang-up for
some people.”
Dawn Boyd,
SOQS execu-
tive director,
enjoyed hearing
ng
positive reactions
ions
from folks when
n she
took the raffle quilt to
an event in Salem.
lem.
“Everyone loved
oved the quilt,
especially the detail. Every
house color block is differ-
ently quilted. They loved the
back of the quilt as much
as the front, because it was
another amazing piece of
quilt art. The back is ador-
able. It’s back at the Stitchin’
Post now. The raffle tickets
are $5 each and can be pur-
chased at the Stitchin’ Post
or on our website SOQS.
org,” said Boyd.
Phillips’ relationship
with SOQS goes back to its
founder, Jean Wells Keenan.
She remembered when
Wells was a home econom-
ics teacher at Beaverton
High School in the late
1960s. Tonye moved to
Central Oregon in 1969 and
then to Camp Sherman in
1972. She began working
for Black Butte Ranch and
reconnected with Wells who
moved with her family to
the Ranch. From the begin-
ning, Phillips found Wells
exceptionally supportive and
encouraging.
Phillips’ mother taught
her stitching in Portland.
She was always working
on knitting or crocheting
projects.
“I didn’t learn to quilt
until I took my first class in
1992 from Jean working on
a sampler quilt with several
blocks and different tech-
niques at Stitchin’ Post,” said
Phillips.
But she yearned to learn
hand quilting and applique
— anything done by hand
she loved.
Seeing Phillips’ skill and
unique use of color, tex-
ture and prints, Wells asked
her to be a teacher at the
show’s educational program
Quilter’s Affair in the late
1990s.
“I’ve been teaching ever
since,” Phillips said.
Phillips’ first time as the
SOQS featured quilter came
in the late 1990s as well.
“There’s special exhibits
around featuring a local quil-
ter and their body of work.
I’m the Queen for the Day,”
she said with a laugh.
Since her first stint as fea-
tured quilter, Phillips wrote
a book, “Hand Appliqued
Quilts – Beautiful Designs
and Simple Techniques.” It’s
been republished in soft cover
and is available at Stitchin’
Post.
“I
“I’ve
also gotten back
into han
hand embroidery
and
nd de
d
decorative stitch-
ing and working
wit
with wool fabrics
w texture,” she
with
s said. “I teach
a lot with Sue
Spargo, using
wool and cot-
ton hand appli-
q
que and deco-
ra
rative
stitching
and embroidery
in b
bright whimsi-
cal des
designs and tex-
ture and colors. We
teach once a year at Stitchin’
Post and in Santa Barbara
in September at the Santa
Barbara Quilting Retreats.”
Phillips has also designed
several of her own pat-
terns, which are available at
17
“I took my
knitting with me
backpacking...
I always take projects
with me wherever
I go. That’s the
beauty of handwork.”
— Tonye Belinda
Phillips
Stitchin’ Post.
“I don’t have a website
anymore, and am focused
in Sisters,” she said. “My
husband and I travel a lot
and I take my work with
me sailing and traveling. I
took my knitting with me
backpacking last summer
off the McKenzie Pass with
our kids to Scott Mountain.
I always take projects with
me wherever I go. That’s the
beauty of handwork.”
PHOTO BY PAIGE VITEK
2020 raffle quilt, “My Kind of Town” by Tonye Phillips, quilted by Laura
Simmons.
SOQS
Sponso
r
JEAN WELLS Featured Local Artist
Jean incorporates themes inspired from nature, and enjoys
working intuitively — letting each design take on a life of its own.
Stop by the gallery to experience her amazing quilts in person.
On display July 8th-11th & July 15th-18th.
Gallery Hours: Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. • 303 W. Hood Ave., Sisters • 541-549-4994 • theclearwatergallery.com