Sisters, Oregon is a rustic, charming, scenic tourist mecca. Both summer and winter seasons are ideal times to visit Sisters. Old West charm and panoramic beauty invigorate one on a hot sparkling summer day. Hiking and mountain climbing are glorious experiences under clear blue sky that is not often seen further west in Oregon. Brilliant winter snow draws in cross-country and downhill skiers.
view from Sisters
photo: http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/the-curbside-classics-of-sisters-oregon/
Sisters has another claim to fame. An annual quilt show held every July attracts 10,000 visitors from all over the world. I have gone once expressly to the quilt show, and have passed through a few times on a jammed US 20 while the show was under way. Traffic inches along the two-lane road as through-travelers gape and gawk at the dazzling colors and intricate designs displayed on porches and buildings in the form of artfully stitched quilts. They hang from eaves and rafters, cables and clotheslines, waiting to be ogled by one and all.
quilts fly from every possible space
photo: https://countryheritagetours.com/tour/sensational-sisters-tour/
Truly though, this post isn't as much about the Sisters Quilt Show as about an amusing event that occurred the year I attended with a group of women who love quilting as much as I do. We strolled along the boardwalk eye-balling each quilt from inches away. No touching allowed. We noticed that down the street on an empty lot, a semi-truck had pulled in, and crowds were gathering around it. Lo and behold, the semi was painted with the Quilted Northern logo, the rear door was raised, and the driver was tossing out six-packs of Quilted Northern toilet paper!!
What a brilliant advertising stratagem! In minutes the boardwalks of Sisters were filled with quilters toting packages of Quilted Northern toilet paper tucked snugly under their arms as they continued on their quest to identify their favorite quilt. We quilters love anything quilted, including toilet paper . . .
I couldn't help but wonder what the through-travelers thought as they observed this astonishing phenomenon from their creeping cars. Was Sisters fresh out of TP? Was its slogan "you're welcome to visit but bring your own TP"? Was Sisters's food so wild and crazy that one must have TP available at all times? Or was there something lurking in the Sisters water supply? I'll never know what travelers thought, but I won't forget the smiles on the faces of thousands of quilters each armed with a six-pack of cushy TP!
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