The Way Home
Beverly Zulueta
Eubank, KY
Like many of today’s quilt makers I too had done a great deal of sewing and other needle works that is until I discovered quilt making.
In 1976 our country was preparing to celebrate the bi-centennial and many articles were written about the history of our country. The articles that were making the biggest impression on me were ones about the history of quilting in our country and the efforts to bring this art form back to the fore. One article showed a couple of quilt patterns and some basic instructions on making a quilt. Needless to say, my first efforts weren’t a big success; my applique was raw edge with a hand buttonhole stitch; nine patches with various fabric content and seams that didn’t match. After a few less than satisfying results no further attempt was made for many months, but the ideas were still “brewing” in my mind. One fall day I read an article in our local paper about a beginners quilt class being given at our local school through the Adult Education Program and signed up. Martha McCarthy was my first teacher and I owe much to her great teaching skills and encouragement. Martha was an excellent teacher and a talented quilter, she taught us to make a quilt with such “technical” tools as a good pair of scissors, ruler, pencil, needle and thread and some template material. We learned about color and how to draft our own patterns and not to rely on finding one we could purchase. Now each time we saw a tile floor, a stained glass window or any design in nature and said to ourselves, “boy that would make a nice quilt,” we were able to do just that.
My first full sized, finished, quilt was a sampler made for our middle daughter’s sixteenth birthday, all pieced and quilted by hand. In the early years of my quilting I guess you could say I was a “quilt snob,” if the work wasn’t all done by hand then it wasn’t a real quilt! For many years this is exactly how I did all my quilts and wall hangings, but somewhere along the way I realized that as soon as the sewing machine had been invented women pieced their quilts using this new, modern conveniences. Quilt tops could be made more quickly and most were still quilted by hand. Well if this was acceptable and good enough for them then it was good enough for me. Today I use whatever method best suits the piece I’m working on. My favorite works are those made using hand applique.
In 1984 my first self designed wall hanging was finished and entered in the Vermont Quilt Festival, winning a second place ribbon and rest as they say was history; I was hooked but good.
Over the years I had taken as m any classes, workshops and seminars as possible; taught classes; hand quilted for others; repaired a few very old quilts and tried to help anyone interested in learning how to make a quilt. There are no other known quilt makers in my family before me, but I have taught my mom and sister how to make quilt “the old fashioned way” and now two of my daughters have made a quilt and are interested in keeping the tradition going.
All the quilters I have met over the past twenty five plus years have each added something to my quilting knowledge and experiences, the culmination of which has brought me to this challenge, “Travels in Time” and first place winning.
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