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Elaine Myers holds one of her art quilts.

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Quilter says creativity springs from ‘thinking outside the box’

by Wanda Combs
Editor

Elaine Myers says every quilt is a “work of art,” even the quilts made for utilitarian purposes a hundred years ago.
Quilting captured her attention in the early Seventies during the quilting resurgence surrounding the United States’ bicentennial observance. Myers, the featured quilter at the Old Church Gallery Quilters’ Guild show this weekend, found her connection to this old-time tradition while she was a student in college. A theatre major at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, she says she would often be sitting backstage during performances and waiting to take care of quick changes and “wardrobe malfunctions” so she began hand piecing scraps from the costume shop. She worked several years on that first quilt and eventually became hooked on quilting.
Myers participated in community and college theatre, but never pursued it as a career – “it kind of went by the wayside…It was a lot of fun,” she notes, and provided her with some important experience related to quilting. “In college, I was creating costumes as art forms…larger than life because they’re made for stage work…so when I was introduced to quilting, the two meshed very well.”
The influence of her costume design teacher also played a role in her development as a quilter, Myers says. He “was very outside the box in thinking,” and used recycled items in his work. “That opened the door for me to think that way when working on quilts.”
Through the years, Myers says she ended up working in a local book store and for a construction company. “I never felt defined by my job.” Working, she said, was a way to pay for living expenses and pursue her interests.
Myers’ quilting style has evolved into free form, patternless designs – art quilts. She quilts mostly wall hangings – “a smaller form to play and experiment with” – and some garments. “I don’t need any more quilts for my bed,” she adds. She has donated many quilts to fundraisers over the years.
As a quilter she is drawn to bright colors, she says. “I have yet to make a pastel quilt.” She also prefers odd fabrics – silks and grassy materials along with embellishments, not typical choices for quilts. “One hundred percent cotton holds up better as far as quilts for washing. When you’re doing wall hangings, you don’t have to worry about washing, or whether someone is going to sleep under it.”
Quilting is a creative and relaxing pastime for Myers. “There’s something very fun and freeing in doing something different,” she comments. “And something comforting about working around the frame. There is a calming feel to hand quilting.” Myers gets that opportunity in Newport, where she is a member of the Loosely Woven Quilters. Those three hours a week around the quilt frame are a social outlet. “There a bond that occurs. You don’t get that at the sewing machine.”
Myers moved from Manassas to Newport five years ago. She and husband Scott, a Virginia Tech graduate, have a farm near Mountain Lake, and the surroundings provide lots of inspiration for nature scenes in her work. The couple has two daughters, Rebecca, 28, a sergeant in the Army stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington, and Sarah, 20, a 2007 Virginia Tech graduate living and working in Northern Virginia. In addition to Elaine’s involvement with the Newport quilters, she is a member of the Old Church Gallery Quilters’ Guild and serves as treasurer for the Virginia Consortium of Quilters, a statewide quilting organization. She most recently started a longarm quilting business, The Quirky Quilter, and machine quilts other folks’ completed quilt tops.
The Old Church Gallery Quilters’ Guild show this weekend is held in the cafeteria of the Floyd Elementary School. A boutique is also part of the show, and those attending get an opportunity to cast their vote for the “Viewer’s Choice Award.” Admission to the show is $2.00 for adults.