Quilters’ paradise: Stitches in Bloom at The Oregon Garden Jan. 22 – 24

By Kristine Thomas

Silverton residents Carol Wallace, Carol Heist, Mary Goodson and Kathy Bovee all share a love of fabric, texture, design, colors and patterns.

They enjoy the challenge and creativity of creating quilts.

What sets each of them apart is how they use each of those elements to create something that is entirely their own. Although their work differs, they each respected the craftsmanship and artistry found in each of their quilts.

“For me, quilting is the interplay of color and design coming all together,” Goodson said.

Wallace, Heist, Goodson and Bovee met on Jan. 8 at Heist’s home to discuss their love of quilting and the quilts they will be entering in the Stitches in Bloom Quilt Show, held Friday, Jan. 22 to Sunday, Jan. 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Oregon Garden.

New to Silverton, Wallace met Heist,
Goodson and Bovee for the first time. The other three knew each other in various ways with Heist and Goodson both members of High Fiber Diet and Goodson and Bovee both having attended Bovee’s Quilt Camp last summer.

Within a few minutes, the women laughed and chatted like old friends, discussing a topic near and dear to their hearts, quilting. “I think quilts are something that have a lot of stories to them,” Goodson said.

Carol Wallace

All it took was one quilt show and Carol Wallace, 69, was ready to become a quilter. She went and bought a sewing machine and began learning all she could, including attending Quilter’s Affair workshops, which takes place before the Sisters Quilt Show each July.

“I had done needlepoint and had made enough pillows and Christmas ornaments and gave what I made to everyone I knew that I was ready for something new,” she said.

She’s dealt with the challenges of making her corners match and learning how many times she can tear out a seam without destroying the fabric, (answer: Four times). A quilter for more than 10 years, she has about 20 quilts in her closet that need to be “quilted.”

“I love picking out fabric and love spending time in fabric shops,” she said.

She hand sews her bindings while watching TV. One question never to ask a quilter is how long it takes to make one.

“I will start on one and take a break and start on another one or make some table runners which are fast and easy to make,” Wallace said. “I think one misconception people have about quilting is that it doesn’t take long to make a quilt.”

Wallace enjoys all the elements it takes to make a quilt from the patterns to the colors.


Carol Heist

When she was a young girl, Carol Heist said her mother taught her to sew. “I made my own clothes for a long time including a few prom dresses,” she said.

When she entered college, Heist, 73, didn’t have time to sew a button or hem a skirt. When she did begin to sew again, she created “wearable art.”

“I enjoyed making clothes for others but I got tired of the fitting issues,” she said.

She began her journey into quilting by first making a pillowcase and then a double wedding ring quilt. Now she makes art quilts.

She believes when creating a quilt that “there are no mistakes. Only creative opportunities.”

Beginning by hand dying, silk screening or painting all her own fabric, Heist then decides how to cut, place and sew the pieces to create her artwork.

“Quilting is about taking all the classes you have taken and all the knowledge you have acquired to make something,” she said.

What she enjoys the most is creating the fabric for the quilt. Each of her quilts started with white fabric. She and Mary Goodson are members of High Fiber Diet. The artists create fiber art, both two- and three-dimensional and wearable art. The group will have an exhibit at the quit show, called Making Our Mark.


Mary Goodson

Growing up with a mother who was a home economics teacher, Mary Goodson, 69, learned to sew at a young age. She remembers taking a quilting workshop where the instructor asked the students to describe their favorite dress.

“My favorite dress was a hand-me-down that had layers of sheer,” she said.

Coincidentally, her artwork includes layers to both draw the viewer in and create depth.

“Most of my pieces tell a story,” Goodson said. “They are a way for me to express my emotions.”

While her pieces are created to hang on a wall, Goodson wants them to be more than a wall hanging.

“I want people to look at my work and feel something,” she said. “I sold a piece to a woman who said it was calming to her. I hope my work connects with the people who buy it or see it.”

The first thing Mary Goodson looks for in a quilt is the craftsmanship.

“I am a stickler for craftsmanship,” she said. “I think the design and the pattern needs to draw the person in but if you get close and don’t see the craftsmanship, that is a turn off for me.”


Kathy Bovee

When Kathy Bovee was a little girl, she enjoyed lying on her parents’ bed and studying the family’s quilt of a flower garden. “It was the only brightly colored item in our house,” she said. “I liked studying the colors and the hexagon patterns.”

When she was 10, she learned to sew, with her first item being shorts with zippers, darts and pockets.

“I made my own clothes until I was 14,” she said. In college, she bought a sewing machine so she could make her own backpack and two-person tent and other items to support her outdoor adventures. After college, she set her sewing aside for 20 years.

About eight years ago, her sister-in-law invited her to Quilter’s Affair, her introduction to her love of quilting. Each time she took a class, she learned a new tip or technique. With the color wheel memorized, she loves going to quilt shops in search of fabrics.

“With fabric, you see potential and you see patterns,” she said. “Putting together a quilt is a lot like a puzzle.”

Bovee said you can learn a great deal about a quilter by the color and patterns used in the quilt. Her quilts are a rich mixture of vibrant colors.

“Growing up, my favorite garment was pink and brown plaid culottes,” she said. “I think my love of color comes from growing up with white walls.”