The arts and agriculture truly intersect with the design we’ve just selected for our second annual Quilt Garden—a signature garden at the ranch that will be planted to reflect a quilt to be created in time for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, the the nationally recognized, world’s largest outdoor quilt show July 9. Following an open call for designs earlier this spring, “Celebrating Imagination,” submitted by June Jaeger, an artist, author, rancher and farmer of Sisters, was selected for its strong sense of place and community, and June’s expertise creating exceptionally beautiful textile art inspired by the natural beauty of Central Oregon.
Jaeger, who frequently uses hand-dyed and painted fabric as her medium, interpreted into her design for a wall quilt the view from her backyard: the snow capped Three Sisters Wilderness peaks framed by a fuschia, crimson, ochre and gold sunrises and sunsets, clear blue Whychus Creek and the Pine Meadow Ranch green meadow and pasture. She will create the quilt and suggested a garden design of purple peonies, marigolds, blue and white alysm, echinacea and herbs to be planted in collaboration with Director of Ranch Operations Pam Wavrin.
Jaeger, a fifth-generation Central Oregonian, was born in Prineville, raised in Redmond and ran Jaeger Farms in the Willamette Valley and in Northeastern Oregon with her husband, raising cattle, hay, potatoes, wheat, filberts and horses.
“The past twenty years I spent in the Ochoco Mountains in a log cabin I built,” she said. “The peace and beauty absorbed me while I designed patterns under the name of Log Cabin Quiltworks.”
Teaching classes in quilt design and how to paint on fabric in Sisters enticed her to retire here six years ago. She built a home next door to her sister, Jean Wells Keenan, founder of the annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, who opened The Stitchin’ Post in Sisters in 1975, has written more than two dozen books about quilting and is an avid gardener.
“We share my wet studio where we paint, print and dye fabric for our textile art,” said Jaeger. “It was an adjustment for both of us but we flourished, sharing ideas, experimenting, and playing.
My sister introduced me to quilting in 1969, 50 some years ago, the year my son was born. I used my college painting and design background to throw a different flair on my quilts and began designing patterns and wrote two books (Best Friends: Animal Portrait Quilts and Adventures In Landscape Quilting).”
The quilt garden will be planted in a 10-foot-by-10-foot bed and will be a permanent asset at Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts and Agriculture. The plantings within the bed will be changed annually for new artist designs. Every year, signage with the title and designer’s name will be placed near the bed, along with other celebratory and programming activities planned. Other outreach will also be done throughout the season to highlight the chosen designer, who will receive a stipend of $750. The inaugural Quilt Garden was launched in 2021 to honor the nationally recognized quilting tradition in Sisters.
