Twenty five years ago Eleanor Burns introduced her first Quilt in a Day book, cultivating a quiltmaking revolution. She presented her unique style, a diverse combination of cutting and sewing applications, creating new techniques altogether. Quilting techniques that replaced scissors and templates with rips and strips, bringing rotary speed to patchwork. She also presented an incredibly rapid stitching system, applying the method of assembly-line sewing to piece work. This invited all types of sewers to participate in an age-old tradition. Her concise, step-by-step directions were easy to grasp, allowing the possibility for 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, spreading her vibrant enthusiasm within everyone. She motivated thousands of want-to-be quilters with needed-confidence and assurance. Altogether, the impact of her influences opened the door to a renewal. Her efforts sowed the seeds that have grown into many techniques that are commonly used today. Since then, her name and techniques have become synonymous with quiltmaking because her contributions and life's story are equal in inspiration and fate brought to the art of piecing a beautiful quilt.
Since 1978, when Eleanor self-published that first book "Make a Quilt in a Day: Log Cabin Pattern," she has authored seventy additional books that sell at a rate of well over 6,500 per week. Her ever-growing fan base continues to branch-out, passionately nurturing this art on a daily basis. Throughout the world today, there are thousands of instructors teaching her quiltmaking methods. Eleanor's impact has provided roots that have grown towards many directions. Her inspiration continues to evolve into newer techniques brought forth by fresh crops of quiltmaking authors. 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. She even changed the way people view quilts with television. Her Quilt in a Day TV series began airing on PBS in 1990 and is still broadcasting nationwide and abroad, teaching patchwork in countries like Japan. Adding to all of that, a quarter of a century later she has gained several fabric lines, a special edition sewing machine, numerous awards and top 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 a process similar to constructing a beautiful quilt. A patchwork quilt assembled from pieces collected over time, yet creating a perfect complement of blends today. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1945 and quite early she 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. Square sacks may seem limiting, but Eleanor's provident nature motivated ingenious ways to utilize every last scrap. 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 blanketed in persistent tenacity. Being dyslexic brought further strengths because she found ways to make difficult things simple. Naturally, teaching would be a way for her to impart grand possibilities to others. As a young woman, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Edinboro State College and continued graduate work at Penn State University to become a special education teacher. Thereafter, she taught for the Pittsburgh school system. In 1967 she married Bill Burns and the process of piecing together her work with family life began.
In 1973 Eleanor's first son Grant was born. Like so many women of that era, she became a homemaker. With small amounts of spare time, she began sewing again. Neighbors and friends recognized her incredible talent and folks begged her to teach them, so she set-up classes in her basement. In 1975 she was about to have her second son Orion when the family moved to Southern California. These new adjustments caused her family to struggle at making ends meet, so she pleaded with the Carlsbad Parks and Recreation Department to let her teach sewing classes. She got the job, but with one condition, she had to teach a patchwork class because of America's approaching Bicentennial. Eleanor's enterprising spirit kicked-in and she created two beautiful patchwork pillows that impressed them, so she was hired as an expert. A newspaper article on her expertise brought 90 new students overnight. Eleanor's household responsibilities left no time for class preparation, so she developed simple cutting and piece work techniques that would eventually become the basis for the Quilt in a Day method.
Quilting bees talk! The buzz of Eleanor's warm and easy-to-understand teaching style, along with her quick and simple quiltmaking system, filled her classes to capacity. More classes and projects required more money to buy fabric, Eleanor truly needed a creative solution. Remembering the challenges of discovering and using Aunt Edna's chicken feed sacks, she located a dumpster outside of an Oceanside clothing factory. There she picked-out the usable fabric scraps. On one of those trips, along with her sons helping, she came upon an inspiring sight. A long string of trouser waistbands, joined in a continuous strip, with pockets attached every couple of feet. This vision brought about her incorporation of assembly-line sewing system with her quilting techniques. The queen bee was about to debut.
Piecing together all those elements, Eleanor devised a simple way to make a fast Log Cabin Quilt. Her techniques were so easy that her students quickly completed quilts. And Eleanor's affectionate and bright character encouraged them to continue onto other quilting projects. In turn, her students, family and friends strongly encouraged her to write a book about this system, gearing it towards beginning quilters. So, with some help from her husband, she wrote the book, he typed, drew illustrations and copied it, and together they shipped them out of their garage.
By 1979, all those parts of Eleanor's life quilted together beautifully, but its enduring blend was about to be tested. Her marriage broke up, but thankfully, she still had her quilting classes and that initial book; however, she knew that she would have to take a big financial risk if she wanted to make a sound future for her and her two young boys. With the encouraging support of her two sisters Patty and Judy, she stretched her pennies into a few extra dollars and professionally typeset, photographically illustrated and printed one thousand copies of her book. She then went to county fairs throughout California demonstrating her techniques, thus selling-out of books before they could pull them from their packing boxes. She then found small stores, quilting shows and flew all over the country teaching classes, training teachers and distributing more copies of that book. Eleanor's life, her patchwork quilt had become an heirloom.
By 1987, she was writing, lecturing and teaching while operating a growing business in San Marcos, California. Eleanor, her sons, sisters, and small staff of family-like employees worked hard to maintain a quilt store while handling wholesale mail-order duties. The 14,000 square foot complex also included a television production studio where she first produced her "Quilt In a Day" TV show. Initially the shows were aired on The Learning Channel, TLC, but in 1990 the PBS network began broadcasting her series.
Over a decade later, she continues to produce her very popular series there, with 13 to 26 new shows per year. Viewers who watch her program feel as if they are sitting-in on a quilting bee because of her down-to-earth style. She has incorporated the Quilt in a Day technique with traditional quilt patterns, making some of the most intricate designs simple. This key element contributes to her longevity, making her shows timeless. Her instructions are balanced-out with the teaching of the fundamentals, history, and the traditions of quilting that she communicates with her fun-loving humor. She's a natural at public speaking, teaching newcomers and experts with equal force. And Eleanor has also created many sensible quilting implements; yet, she never hesitates to showcase outside products or quilters in lieu of finding a better way, thus making her a favorite to many.
“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 still shared by tens of thousands of Eleanor's fans. In 1999 Eleanor was honored with the most prestigious and coveted award presented within quilting, the Michael Kile Award of Achievement. She has been honored by business associations for her inspiration and positive impact onto 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. The relationship grew, offering two more lines. 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, and that seems to be 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 who has computer access to the Internet can connect with Eleanor through her Quilt in a Day website. There they can address questions, tips, and obtain any video 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 is so very contemporary. From the Internet to her ongoing sales of that first book, Eleanor continues to uniquely inspire thousand of quiltmakers worldwide everyday, one person at a time. Eleanor Burns and Quilt in a Day will always be a big part of the patchwork community. All the pieces of her life do work well together, so beautifully, bringing quiltmaking an inspiring presence that was meant to be. With the continued help of her sons Orion and Grant, and her sisters Judy and Patty, she will keep bringing people into every stitch of her life, encouraging them step-by-step throughout her delightful patchwork path. So as Quilt in a Day celebrates its 25th anniversary, of Eleanor Burns, the Queen of Quilting, you could say that she has quiltmaking nicely sewn-up.
"Make a Quilt in a Day: Log Cabin Pattern" First Edition 1978. It is now in its Fifth Edition, 2000.
Business Advocate Award for San Diego, 1993. An award for her positive impact for women business owners.
San Diego Book Awards Association 1996. A certificate of award for outstanding accomplishments in "How To" books.
Primedia Awards 1992, 1994, 1998 Awards of Excellence: "Quilter's Almanac" 1992, "Appliqué in a Day" 1994 (Certificate of Excellence), "Bears in the Woods" and "Flying Geese Ruler" 1998.
Michael Kile Award of Achievement 1999
Eleanor Burns was the recipient of this "Lifetime Achievement Award". Bestowed upon her by Quilts, Inc., the host of International Quilt Market, for her support of the quilting industry and her work to achieve a long-lasting effect for the advancement of quilting. This award is the most prestigious and coveted award presented in its field.
Elna USA made Eleanor Burns an official spokeswoman in 1997, and she continues to appear in many of their ads. In 1999 she was honored with a limited edition "Quilter's Dream Signature Series" sewing machine. In 2001, Eleanor worked in conjunction with Amazing Designs, a Division of Tacony Corporation, to create a personalized quilt label program for embroidery sewing machines. Elna, USA is an underwriter for the Quilt in a Day TV series.
Benartex, Inc. and Eleanor collaborated to design Eleanor's Anniversary Florals in 1998. This fabric line was showcased in "Grandmother's Garden Quilt" book. With the overwhelming success of this line, Rainbow Florals was introduced in 2001. Eleanor designed 6 color ways consisting of large-scale prints, floral strips, checks, and tone on tone prints. A third line of fabric, called Yours Truly, Eleanor Burns will debut this May, 2003. It consists of deep primary colors and pastels, including florals that have several scales and tone-on-tone pieces. Eleanor has included 108 inch backing fabric to coordinate any quilt utilizing this fabric.
North County Times, San Diego 2002 Women of Merit Award
Eleanor Burns was honored with this prestigious award for her contributions and achievements for Women in North County.
Quilt in a Day, the television series is aired on over 125 PBS stations Nationwide including: New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington DC, Denver, Knoxville, Indianapolis, Chicago, Dallas, Lincoln, Sioux Falls, Albuquerque, Boise, Las Vegas, San Diego, and San Francisco, naming major markets. Each show runs 26:40 or 22:00 minutes dependent on broadcast of non-commercial or commercial television.
2000 Quilting in America survey by Quilts, Inc provided statistics that "There are nearly 20 million adult quilters nationwide, spending approximately $1.84 billion per year on their hobby."
Thousands of instructors teach Eleanor's methods in all 50 states and throughout the world including: Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, America Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
All books written by Eleanor Burns are published by
Quilt in a Day, Inc., 1955 Diamond St. San Marcos, CA 92078
Eleanor also publishes a number of patterns and designs by other quiltmakers.
