“My Forty Years in Thral to Irrepressible Creativity!”

Trunk Show by Elly Sienkiewicz, TKDAA®’s First Honored Quilter, 2014

Elly ponders, ‘What would my life have been like, had I not been born into the 20th Century’s Quilt Revival?” Come enjoy this once in a lifetime performance as ‘Miss Elly” begins a rollicking, sometimes poignant trunk show of her quilt journey with, “I learned quilting 40 years ago, by long distance phone from our Nation’s Capital, my hometown, to my Great Aunt Atha’s farm cottage in Alma, a postage stamp in the hills and hollers of far Western West Virginia. Atha was Great Aunt Gladys Hamilton’s “girl” by day and a professional quilter by night: She set her lantern on a bread board at one end of her quilt frame and charged for quilting by the spool . . .”

“When younger students began addressing me by the honorific “Miss Elly” I knew they knew I was ‘maturing.’ I confess I like that.” Elly’s later quilt years found her steeped in teaching the how-to and studying the history of Baltimore’s Antebellum Album Quilts. This period culminated in the contemporary international Baltimore Revival now in its fourth decade. Come hear her remarkable trip from a patchwork Turtle to her eye-opening conclusion in comparing original Baltimore School of Art quilts (on one factor) to our contemporary Revivalist Baltimores’Movement. Many if not most of we gathering are Revivalist quiltmakers. Elly’s story may essentially, be your story.. Come participate in history, gala classes, quilts, other entertainment, and friendships revisited. Come to TKDAA’s 2014 Grand Opening Session!  Y’all … won’t want to miss it!

Elly began her “Quilt Shop by Mail” in 1978 with neighbor Betty Martin. Between them they had six children under eight when Betty got an ulcer and sold out to Elly who had already gained 40 pounds. Elly sold it through the Wall Street Journal in 1985  she had written Spoken Without a Word. and found she much preferred teaching to managing a staff. You’ll meet her then already white-haired man at TKDAA. Elly’s husband, Stan, he is kindly carrying the quilt cases for our trunk show.

Elly holding Donna Collin's BlueRibbon-winning 8' block quilt made from Spoken Without a Word-1983. Donna first (to Elly' knowledge) miniaturized the blocks from Elly's first book, — and first to use Elly's mother-drawn Butterfly pattern (left of ribbon.)

Yes! The manuscript is finished and in edit rounds before it goes to designer and then more edit rounds before late Dec 2014 pub date. Come join us at TKDAA as Elly celebrates selling and signing copies hot off the press!