Twenty-six
years ago Eleanor Burns introduced her first
Quilt in a Day book, fomenting a quiltmaking revolution.
She invited all types of sewers to participate in an age-old
tradition using her unique style; a diverse combination of
cutting and sewing applications which replaced scissors and
templates with rips and strips, bringing rotary speed to
patchwork. She also introduced an incredibly rapid
stitching system, applying the method of assembly line
sewing to piecework. Her concise, step-by-step directions
were easy to grasp, allowing anyone to be
successful at making a quilt. Eleanor
Burns gave quiltmakers techniques that
compacted months into merely a day, a quilt
in a day. Today, as she continues to passionately
devote herself to nurturing and motivating
thousands of want-to-be quilters with needed self-
confidence, her name and techniques have become
synonymous with quiltmaking.
Since 1978, when Eleanor self-published “Make
a Quilt in a Day: Log Cabin Pattern,” she has
become a prolific author, revered teacher trainer,
popular television personality, and celebrated
industry role model. She has authored over seventy
additional books that sell at a rate of over 6,500 per
week. She has trained thousands of instructors
throughout the world who teach her quiltmaking
methods. In 1990, Eleanor pioneered the way people view
quiltmaking with television. Her Quilt in a Day TV series
began airing on PBS and is still broadcasting nationwide
and abroad, even teaching patchwork in Japan. Adding to
all of that, she has developed her own “Signature” fabric
lines, a special edition sewing machine, and received
numerous awards and recognition for her lifetime of
achievements. It’s no wonder that the quilting industry
calls
Eleanor Burns the “Queen of Quilting,” and the “First
Lady
of Quilting.”
The story of how Eleanor became the queen of the quilting
bee mirrors the process of constructing an heirloom quilt.
Her life, like a patchwork quilt assembled from pieces
collected over time, has blended into an inspiring and
beautiful story. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1945 and
quite early on began sewing on a small, crank-handle toy
sewing machine. Seeking-out any available fabric, she
discovered her Aunt Edna’s chicken feeds sacks, allowing
her
hours of stitching time. By thirteen, she polished her skills
upon her mother’s newly purchased green Elna sewing
machine. Her childhood brought out an enterprising spirit
that was expressed in persistent tenacity. Being dyslexic
developed her extraordinary ability to make difficult things
simple, and teaching others was a way for her to impart her
passion for learning. “Perhaps no single teacher in the
quilting
industry is single-handedly as responsible as
Eleanor Burns for bringing so many people
into the fold of quilt making.” This quote
from Jack Braunstein’s writing in Traditional
Quiltworks in 1990, voices a sentiment that
is shared by tens of thousands of Eleanor’s
fans. In 1999 Eleanor was honored with the
most prestigious and coveted award within
quilting, the Michael Kile Award of
Achievement. She has been honored by
business associations for her inspiration and
positive impact, and received honors from
quilting magazines for her excellence. Elna,
USA honored Eleanor when they made her
an official spokeswoman. Benartex, Inc.
honored Quilt in a Day’s 20th Anniversary
with a collaborated textile design and later
offered a second line of fabric that she
designed. These fabric lines are quite
popular, highly successful, and continue to
enjoy strong sales today. Practically any quilt
shop has some reference to Eleanor Burns,
whether it’s her books, fabrics, quilting tools,kits, videos,
classes, or display of sample
quilts from her literary project collections.
For so many reasons the evolution of
patchwork keeps merging with her life
because her contributions have come from
the heart, which is the true origin of a
beautiful quilt. There are nearly 20 million
adult quilters nationwide, and many
continue to learn skills brought to life by
Eleanor. Even in this digital age, anyone,
anywhere that has Internet access can
connect with Eleanor through her Quilt in a
Day website. There, they can ask questions
and even obtain videos from her lifetime of
quilting instruction. From all levels, Eleanor
speaks the language of quilters worldwide
and continues to inspire this ageless art.
Even though Quilt in a Day is a quarter of a
century old it remains very contemporary.
That first book, which is still her most
sought-after publication, is the No. 1 best-
selling book at JoAnn’s Craft Stores around the country.
From the Internet to her
ongoing sales of that first book, Eleanor
continues to uniquely inspire thousands of
quiltmakers worldwide everyday, one person
at a time. Eleanor Burns and Quilt in a Day
will continue to impact the patchwork
community though television programming,
teacher training and the publication of
instructional books. The diverse pieces of
Eleanor’s life continue to be sewn together,
bringing quiltmaking an inspiring presence.
With the ongoing support of her sons Orion
and Grant, and her sisters Judy and Patty, she
continues to seek ways to draw others to the
joy of quiltmaking.
Please contact Quilt in a Day at
1955 Diamond Street
San Marcos, CA 92078
1-800-777-4852
www.quiltinaday.com |
