I thought I'd give a little explanation of the quilt show hostess job. I had the first shift (9:30-11:30) and got a great spot right on Cascade Avenue. That's the main street through town which is closed to traffic for quilt show day (causing major traffic jams, but that's another story!). Generally there are two volunteers for each section of the show and the area that I had was at the Sisters Drug & Gift. In part of my section there was a special exhibit called "Garden Inspired Quilts" by Hedda Wright. I was thrilled to keep an eye on these marvelous applique quilts! Hedda was there for most of my shift, telling folks all about her quilts. I was especially thrilled to see that she is also a fan of Tonye Phillips and Sue Spargo. Tonye inspired quilt above, Sue below.
Much of the time was spent in just watching the quilts to be sure no one touched them and that they stayed put. I also answered questions for show goers and handed out show magazines. But for me the best part was getting a good look at the wonderful quilts in my care.
Isn't this one wonderful! Apparently the pattern is based on an antique. Lots of show goers wanted to know why the bottom corners were cut out.*
At one point I had to call quilt rescue because this quilt was shifting and too many people wanted to touch it so they could take a photo. Quilt rescue came in their trusty golf cart with ladders and clothespins and fixed it all up. Later in the day I was standing in front of a quilt when it blew down and I just heard tonight that one of my quilts blew down as well. It's common. Often a show goer will rescue it and look for the hostess to hand it to for safe keeping. The show has all sorts of contingency plans in place in case of emergency or bad weather.
Ahh, that's better!
There's also a lot of standing and walking around when you are a quilt show hostess. I attempted to stay out of the sun and found Ryan's quilt on the opposite corner, so I got a picture of that.
While sitting in my shady spot for a little break I heard singing all of a sudden and turned around to see this quartet singing some old time tunes!
When my shift was over I rushed back to the Stitchin' Post for my next position at the Friends of the Show booth. At the booth we were fundraising for the show which costs $100,000 to put on each year. My friend Sarah came over for a visit and to show off her show goodies.
By 1:30 I was done and could enjoy the rest of the day. I'll get to that in the next post, but thought I would also mention that the volunteering can really pay off. Last night was the volunteer thank you party. I went with another friend and had a wonderful time. In addition to a delicious meal they raffled off a bunch of stuff from gift certificates to merchandise to quilts made by Stitchin' Post employees and even Jean Wells herself. I had volunteered over 10 hours this year, so was in the "Top Ten" category. We had the first chance with the raffle items and I was thrilled to win a $100 gift certificate to Donterra Artworks in Sisters!
*For those who don't know, the bottom corners were cut that way to allow for the quilt to hang properly on a four poster bed.