Elly's path from career woman to stay-at-home mom of three, led her to become an early professional in the nascent quilt movement of the early 70s. Elly notes that her Wellesley College Class of 1964 is a "cusp generation" - women who as freshmen expected to live their mothers' 1950s societal ideal, but who were the object of radically different expectations by the time they graduated. Elly herself earned a Masters of Science degree and taught high school for seven years. A history major with a lifetime love of needleart, Elly's traditionalist desire to stay at home once her children arrived led to home-centered enterprises related to the burgeoning quilt world industry. Her experiences range from quilting teacher, to retail mail-order proprietess, to respected quiltmaker, to author, historian, and president of the Elly Sienkiewicz Applique Academy. Elly's devotion as a teacher, her concern for her students and her love for quiltmaking have made her a cherished mentor. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Stan, and, whenever they can be there too, their children and grandchildren.
It is always exciting news in the applique world when Elly Sienkiewicz comes out with a new book. In Elly Sienkiuewicz's Beloved Baltimore Album Quilts we find 25 blocks, 12 quilts for inspiration and numerous embellishment techniques. Album quilts are perhaps the most glorious of all applique quilts. The blocks are often done by many different stitchers and contain symbols that are representative of our culture, both past and present. All the patterns in the book are from the Happiness is in the Journey quilt, one of the quilts from the Houston Special Exhibit. They are sized at 8x8 finished. There is an enlargement chart for those of you who would like to work in a larger size format. You will find wonderful photos and illustrations for various applique techniques from beginning basics to such techniques as weaving fabric for baskets and creating dimensional flowers. Art materials covered include: threads, fabric manipulation, beads and acrylic paints and inks. I also liked the instruction on creating a dog tooth border. The quilts at the 2010 Houston Special Exhibit started from a grain of an idea Elly had in the middle of the night. Over the course of 3 years (2007-2010), 245 volunteers from 36 states and 5 countries created 12 Baltimore Album quilts. The twelve quilts plus an additional 28 quilts from around the world made up the 2010 Houston Special Exhibit. The block makers names are listed along with a map of the quilt to help the reader locate the specific block in the photo of the quilt. I am sure there are names you will recognize. This is a MUST have book for your applique book library, and will be a great resource for both the beginner and the more experienced artist.
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