Quilt for Two Rivers celebrates the outdoors in a classic American art form

To date, the Tale of Two Rivers conservation campaign has generated an original microbrew, an annual cycling event, a plein air paint-a-thon and a movie screening. 

Now up: a modern quilting bee.

A collaboration between the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, the National Forest Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service, Quilt for Two Rivers brings together 20 leading Pacific Northwest fiber artists who are combining talents on a single work; a 40-foot quilt with Whychus Creek running through each individual segment. 

Fulfilling one aim of the Treasured Landscapes program, the project is strengthening community connections to the outdoors, specifically to two Wild & Scenic-designated Oregon rivers, Whychus and the Metolius River. 

“These are not your grandma’s quilts, they are works of modern art,” notes Ann Richardson, Executive Director of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, a co-sponsor of Quilt for Two Rivers.  “And this is a unique, inspiring way to tell the story of how salmon and steelhead are making a comeback in these important waterways.”

Jean Wells, founder of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (the world’s largest outdoor quilting festival), named her segment of the quilt “Coming Home,” honoring restoration work that is bringing back native fish to Whychus Creek.  Her project is a family endeavor:

“My son Jason took me to the magical place on Whychus that you mostly see in the piece.  Other elements come from a hike to waterfalls in the upper reach I took with my six-year-old granddaughter, Livy, who took some of the photos I used in conceptualizing the work.  My daughter Valori is going to paint steelhead in the water section of the quilt.  My dream is to see them coming home to Whychus, and having Jason be able to go fishing there.”

The 17-panel final masterpiece will be sold either as a complete installation or as individual quilts.  A second, smaller quilt (four panels, seven feet long) along the same theme is also in development.  Half the proceeds from sales of the quilts will go to restoration projects on the two rivers, with the other half going to the quilters.  Both quilts will be unveiled June 1, with the large work exhibited at the Sisters quilt show as well as in Portland and Tacoma.

One goal has already been met: encouraging people from different walks of life to visit outstanding natural areas they may not know about in their own back yards.

Stay tuned for the upcoming “name the quilt” contest, blog posts and a short video by Liking the Quilt for Two Rivers Facebook page. 

Quilt for Two Rivers is a project of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, U.S. Forest Service,  and the National Forest Foundation, funded by US Bank with the participation of the Deschutes County Cultural Coalition, the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In the Eastern United States, National Forests are almost myths. People have heard of National Forests, but they don’t really know where they are or how they work. Until not too long ago, I was one such person.

Growing up in Michigan, my family went on maybe a dozen camping trips with our pop-up camper at state campgrounds. I had never camped in a tent in the middle of the wilderness. I never doubted that I could, I just never had the opportunity to prove it to myself. This changed last August when three friends and I traveled north and to the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area in the Huron-Manistee National Forest for a weekend of camping along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Summer vacationing in Michigan is all about the lakes. Whether it’s the “big lake,” as we fondly refer to the Great Lakes, or one of the thousands of our beloved inland lakes, Michiganders and Midwesterners love the water. Despite all the time I’ve spent at lakeshores, our camping weekend at the dunes turned into one of the best beach weekends I’ve ever experienced.

From the Nurnberg Trailhead, we hiked with our gear for about a mile towards the lakeshore. Unlike most National Forests, we hiked almost exclusively on sand through the trees.  As sand filled our sneakers, it quickly became clear that the walk would be easier barefoot. After we scouted the end of the trail near the lake, we picked an area that had been used as a site before, where we would limit our impact on the surrounding dunes and vegetation. Tucked back on a little sandy ridge, our site was approximately a three minute walk to Lake Michigan, perfection.  

The three minute walk wasn’t exactly a “walk in the park,” as they say. We climbed over two giant dunes to make it to the water’s edge, and then faced the same challenging trek back to our campsite. By the end of the weekend my calves were feeling each and every walk we had taken to the lake, but every journey over the dunes made each swim all that much better.

For the next three days we filled our time with sleeping, swimming and eating. Our toughest decisions were whether to swim or play Frisbee.

We could not have asked for more perfect weather if we had ordered it ourselves. For the first two days the water was uncharacteristically calm, providing perfect conditions for lakeside lounging. As the sun set Saturday night we swam in the crystal-clear water and cherished the sandy bottom beneath our feet. Sunday evening, however, Lake Michigan showed its true colors with huge waves, or white-caps, as we call them. Whether it was diving into one as it broke or riding one to shore, those waves were easily my favorite part of the weekend. I wanted to stay out all evening to play in the waves.

By the end of the weekend, none of us were eager to return to civilization. Thanks to this quiet corner of the Huron-Manistee National Forest, for a few days it seemed as if we had lived in a fairytale where we didn’t have to worry about school or jobs, and we didn’t need to check Facebook or return text messages. We just enjoyed the simple pleasures of each day – sunshine, cool water, and good friends. My first camping experience on a National Forest will certainly not be my last.