by Christy

Bea and myself at her home on Chautauqua Lake.

Recently, I had the pleasure of spending a very blustery, very pleasant afternoon with a dear friend, Bea Burnette. We talked about lots of things as the hour whiled away, but our primary focus was on the quilts that adorn the walls and the beds of her home. It was an appropriate topic, because from our vantage point, high above Chautauqua Lake, the wind was howling and there was a stiff chop on the lake. We hunkered down in her living room and I set right to the task of getting the scoop on one of Bea’s favorite hobbies, quilting.

Bea and I go way back, and I’ve known, on a cursory level, of her quilting history all that time. I knew that she picked the craft up from a couple classes and from her niece, Gail. She still considers herself a student despite the fact that she’s been quilting since 1986. I think most craftygals would agree, if we’re really honest with ourselves, that we’re all permanent students of the various artistic disciplines we enjoy and devote our spare time to--there’s always something new to learn.

We start at the beginning. Like most of us, Bea looked at stuff (in her case, quilts) at craft shows or in stores and thought, "Oh, I could do that." So that is where it all began. Her home has always been decorated with a cozy, country cottage feeling, so instead of buying the quilts to hang on her walls and throw on her beds, Bea signed up for a quilting class.

"For that first class," she recounts, "we picked out the one fabric that we wanted to be in all the squares, and they picked out the rest of the coordinating fabrics. They did the cutting for us at first, and we had class once a week for three months. Each month we were to complete a different block for the quilt. It took me a total of five years to finish that first quilt." But Bea has many projects going at a time, so that isn’t too bad. In between working on a large quilt, she may fit in a few other smaller projects, such as a baby quilt or smaller wall hanging, which she told me she can finish in a couple days if she spends large chunks of time on them.

One of her first projects: She and five other ladies each made one square for one another’s hangings.

I was interested in a brief overview of her general process. I didn’t want to know what order a book said you should do your steps in; I just wanted to get a feel for Bea’s personal approach. "I usually see a picture or a print that I like." From there, she selects fabrics, launders and irons it all, and then cuts it according to her pattern with rotary cutters. Then she does the piecing, which is when you put the scraps together into the patterned blocks. Next, she puts her batting and backing on, and then ties the quilt and binds the edges together.

Quilting gets its name from one of the final steps, which is the overlay of stitching that either follows the pattern of the quilt, or goes off in a totally new direction and adds another layer of interest. There are two kinds of quilting, hand quilting and machine quilting. Bea is just now learning machine quilting, so most of the quilts she’s made to this point are tied. Here, you use yarn or embroidery floss to hold the backing, batting, and pieced-together covering together. You end up with a little grid of knotted tufts on the front of the quilt. You can pay for quilting services--either machine or hand--once you’ve finished assembling the quilt. "I had my son’s quilt machine-quilted once I’d finished putting it together."

She says the supplies you would need to start quilting are basic. The first is obviously a sewing machine, which doesn’t have to be super fancy; a basic machine will do you just fine. Bea recommends 100% cotton material and a blended thread in grey or beige to piece your blocks together. A cutting board is a must, along with some good scissors you use only for your fabrics. Also for cutting, a rotary cutter with two different-sized blades is a good thing to have on hand. You can get large rulers at the craft store made specifically for quilting and sewing. A good iron is also a must to keep those fabrics and seams in line. "Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you’re at the craft store for the first time," Bea encouraged. If you’re going to do the quilting yourself, you may want to pick up a template for the quilting pattern to follow.

"Do you just shop at Jo-Ann’s or some similar store for your supplies? Or do you shop in specialty shops for your fabrics?" I asked.

"Jo-Ann’s is great for supplies, and often for fabrics. Occasionally, I visit a specialty shop for material if I want really nice fabrics or am looking for a specific print." And while we were on the topic of fabric, Bea offered, "Picking out the material for my first couple projects was the most intimidating part of the project. I can still spend two or three hours picking out fabrics." Somehow, I can relate to this. Perhaps it’s because I just spent nearly an hour picking out two yarn colors for a color block scarf I hope to knit. I’m afraid I wouldn’t fare any better than Bea in picking out several fabrics for a quilt.

Bea’s niece made this adorable Christmas quilt for Bea to accompany her Santa collection (which is another interview all together).

Bea admits that cutting is one of the hardest parts of quilt making. "If it’s not done right, you might as well throw the material out. And I’ve done that--I’ve thrown a couple projects out because the cutting was a little off and then your whole quilt is going to be out of whack."

I was interested in what her favorite aspect of quilting was, since we’d been talking about some of the challenges. "Hanging it on the wall. Finishing it off!" she said jokingly. "No, I love it because it’s relaxing, and I have a sense of accomplishment when I’ve finished one. I also really enjoy figuring out how to put the blocks together in a pleasing way--in a way that’s pleasing to me." As far as what Bea is anticipating learning more of, she’s looking forward to picking out designs for quilting and getting more practice in machine quilting.

In looking at her various accomplishments around the house, I asked what her favorite project has been. "It’s in process, and it’s a crazy quilt. I love it because it’s just full of bright colors." At first glance I could see indeed why this is her favorite. She showed me the back of the quilt and explained, "It’s called a paper quilt, and it would actually be a good way to get started in quilting." The patterns used to be printed on paper, which you would sew your fabrics to and then tear the paper out of the project, but this pattern was printed on muslin. You just buy enough of the pattern to match the size of your quilt, and sew your pieces right onto the muslin. It makes for really straight lines since you’re following a pattern.

Here’s a glimpse at the back of the back of the crazy quilt with the muslin pattern.

And here’s the Technicolor dream quilt in all its glory!

"My dream project," admitted Bea, "would be this quilt I saw in Nova Scotia recently. It was a really simple, two-color quilt. It was beautiful! I think it would be really challenging to do a quilt with only two colors in it and have it look really good. I’d also like to take some more classes, one in machine quilting, where I’d actually have a quilt I could work on in class so I can get used to managing all that fabric and learn what to do so the material doesn’t pucker and gather."

Perhaps a fitting, final thought as we wrapped up our visit, and certainly an appropriate closing remark here: while Bea and I were talking about the sizes of her projects, which have varied from a one-squared seasonal hanging to a king-size spread, she laughingly made the comment that her quilts always end up bigger than she anticipates. I remarked then, and I still believe now, that it has to do with the capacity of her heart and the love she has for those she quilts for.

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