eleanor burns joins quilters hall of fame
MARION, INDIANA–Tomorrow, All American Quilter Eleanor Burns joins another prestigious group, the Quilters Hall of Fame, in a ceremony honoring her accomplishments and outstanding contributions to the world of quilting. She will join more than 40 influential quilters who have been inducted into the Hall since its founding in 1979. 
Eleanor’s 35-year+ quilting career includes writing more than 107 quilt instruction books and hosting her own television show for more than 22 years. She also pioneered the Quilt In A Day approach to quilt-making, which included innovative cutting and piecing techniques, and is a noted teacher and role model in the quilting industry. In 2005, she was one of five quilters named an All American Quilter by an on-line survey hosted by American Quilters Society. In 1999, she also received the Michael Kile Lifetime Achievement Award for her work to advance quilting.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is part of a weekend of festivities being held July 19-21 at the historic landmark home of quilt designer Marie D. Webster. Marie is noted for publishing in 1915 the first book about quilt design, Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them. Her home now houses the Quilters Hall of Fame and features various quilt exhibits.
quilt drive organized for colorado fire victims
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO—Larimer County officials , the Red Cross and ACS Community Lift, an organization helping families in transition, have joined forces to set up a distribution center for community-donated household goods for families who lost homes in the recent fires in Colorado. And thanks to a plea by eQuilter.com owner Luana Rubin, those goods will include at least 100 quilts.
In a recent eQuilter e-newletter, Luana publicized the distribution center and the efforts to gather goods for the fire victims, including the need for blankets. And she asked the quilting community for at least 100 quilts to be donated, pledging to deliver initial donations herself. (Visit eQuilter.com on Facebook to see photo coverage of quilts being received by fire victims.)
More than 600 homes were consumed by fires that torched parts of Colorado in June and July, including the devastating Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, and the High Park fire in the Fort Collins area.
The distribution center will stay open through August. Luana invites out-of-state quilters to ship their donations to eQuilter.com and she will forward them on to Fort Collins, and possibly other parts of the state, depending on total donations.
“When I left the garment industry, and subsequently came into the quilt industry, I felt so lucky to have discovered this little corner of the textile world. Quilters are so generous, and it is always amazing to me how quilters can pour so much heart and healing into a handmade quilt, and then give it selflessly to a stranger in need,” Luana says in her e-newsletter.
‘zakka style’ wins international book award
CONCORD, CALIFORNIA—Rashida Coleman-Hale’s Zakka Style collective book has won an award in the 2012 International Book Awards. The book, published in late 2011 by C & T Publishing, Concord, features 24 imaginative projects from sewing and quilting designers around the world—all celebrating sewn products and projects that improve one’s home and appearance.
The book takes its name from the Japanese term “zakka,” which means many things. It’s been so popular that in only six months since its release, it’s already been reprinted five times.
Rashida Coleman-Hale, who compiled the book, blogs regularly about her sewing adventures with linen at I Heart Linen. She also just announced that she is now a fabric designer for Cloud 9 fabrics.
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Congratulations to Eleanor Burns!!! My first quilt tops were Log Cabin QIADs.
No matter who needs comforting, quilters always seem to be some of the first in line with quilts in hand, doesn’t it?
I have “Zakka Style” is already on my wish list too. Congrats on the multiple printings!