Oregon Culture Keepers Roster Menu

There's a sisterhood in quilting, and the Chiloquilters, a women’s quilt group in Chiloquin, fulfill that role for each other. In 1999, Linda Wood put up a notice on a community bulletin board; she asked those interested in quilting to a meeting. Thirty-five women showed up, and they formed two groups: one that met weekly, and one that met monthly. The weekly group has continued with about 20 members over the years. They raffled off their first quilt, a maple leaf design, to help build the Chiloquin Community Center; the quilt raised over $1,000. According to Wood, “that set us in motion,” and “we haven't stopped since then.” The Chiloquilters meet in the Two Rivers Village Arts Gallery to sew and quilt together on individual and joint projects. A few of the members who are more experienced, such as Morna Bastian, mentor the others, and new members are welcomed with open arms. Each year, the group makes a new quilt to raffle off for charity; they strive each year to craft a bigger and better quilt. In the spring, the Chiloquilters hold a quilt show in the Chiloquin Community Center to showcase all their newest quilts. The group is also proud to participate in Project Linus, an organization that donates homemade blankets to children in need. A sampling of group members includes Eileen Bucklin, Judi Dowd, and Joyce Merwin. Eileen Bucklin (Chiloquin) has experience with American northeastern-style quilting as well as with Hawaiian-style quilting and applique. Judi Doud (Chiloquin) stitches her own quilts and has a business specializing in longarm quilting; she also donates her services to quilt the Chiloquilter's annual raffle quilt. Joyce Merwin (Chiloquin) learned to sew from her family at a young age. She enjoys making artistic quilts of with the Chiloquilters and particularly likes working on collaborative pieces with the group, which are often displayed in quilt shows, donated to charity, or made for the community.