Fiber artists collaborating on the Quilt for Two Rivers are blogging about their quilt panels for the 40-foot masterpiece-in-progress which honors Sisters, Oregon’s Treasured Landscapes. Featured this week:
“DEEP IN THE WOODS”
After we moved from Illinois to Eugene in 1967, the first vacation we took away from the Willamette Valley was to Sisters, Oregon. Sisters, in general – and the Camp Sherman/Metolius River area, specifically – had been highly recommended to us by friends in Eugene who spoke of it in almost reverent terms.
It was easy to see why.
We in awe as the clear, cold headwaters of the Metolius River gushed from the ground to form a full-grown stream. Our hike along the shoreline toward the hatchery was an easy and enjoyable stroll. We marveled at the steady downhill flow of the stream with its layers of rock, ripples and occasional pools – abundant with rainbow and bull trout.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the shade of trees and paused to appreciate all we had seen and done. How blessed we felt to have visited an area that was easily accessible, but evoked a sense of remoteness – an area of preserved and protected natural beauty, yet open to all.
When I learned that the conservation network that our Quilt for Two Rivers group has partnered with seeks to restore Whychus Creek to its former glory, similar to that of the Metolius, my memory of that 1967 trip came to mind and I chose as the theme of my quilt, “Deep in the Woods.”
I hope it captures the simple beauty and serenity that will again be Whychus Creek.–Judy Johnson
