Meet
Elsie Campbell
by Jack Braunstein
This award-winning quilter is a co-editor of Quilting
Today, Traditional Quiltworks and Miniature Quilts.
"Caught red-handed, I felt guilty," admitted Elsie Campbell. But Elsie not
only felt guilty, she was guilty...of reading quilt books during working hours. But Elsie
was just doing her job! When she first joined the Chitra Publications staff, Elsie could
hardly believe that reviewing quilting books and magazines was considered
"work." So whenever her employer or co-workers saw her reading, she felt she had
been nabbed. Formerly a special education teacher, Elsie recalls, "In the school
where I used to work, not many people really understood why quilting was such a big part
of my life." However, now that her impassioned hobby and her livelihood are
intertwined, she says, "I am being more true to who I am."
Accepting the co-editor position required a great deal of courage. Elsie moved from
South Central Kansas, where she had a lifetime of connection with family and friends, to
rural Northeastern Pennsylvania. Yet there were moments when she longed to be back home
with loved ones. Now having the best of both worlds, Elsie returned to Kansas and
continues to work for Chitra from her home. Elsie's quilts have won monetary awards so she
had been earning a partial living through quiltmaking even before joining the Chitra
staff. Now Elsie is involved in quiltmaking on a full-time basis. Because her current
position in publishing demands that she constantly evaluate and learn about quilts, her
imagination is always being stimulated. By the time Elsie goes home to quilt, her hands
are eager to translate the ideas that have been brewing all day in her mind into fabric.
Early beginnings
Elsie became an avid sewer as soon as it was considered safe to put a
needle in a young child's hands. She started by sewing doll clothes and mending. Then, at
the age of seven, she made her first quilt - a doll-size coverlet. Elsie was raised as a
Mennonite in Deer Creek, Oklahoma, a town of 200 people where nearly half of the residents
belonged to her church. Her mother was a member of the Mennonite Ladies' Mission Society,
a group that quilts for hire with proceeds benefiting the relief efforts of the Mennonite
Central Committee. So while the 1976 American Bicentennial renewed interest in quiltmaking
throughout the century, it didn't change much for the quilters in Deer Creek. Quilts were
already an integral part of their lives.
Even though Elsie's earliest memories include the presence of quilts,
she didn't become a quilter until the 1980s. Instead, she was intent on sewing and
designing her own garments as well as crocheting, knitting and doing cross-stitch. Elsie
lived in Arkansas City, Kansas, when she took her first quilting class in 1989. It was
then that she rediscovered this medium through which she would express her creativity.
Elsie's quiltmaking skills reflect her background in sewing and the
needlearts. In addition, she brings her experience as a water-colorist and a custom
picture framer to her quilting. She explains, "For several years, I ran a framing
business which taught me that mats and a frame can give a picture more vitality or drain
the life out of it. I apply the same principle to the borders of quilts." Lessons
like this have helped make Elsie's work truly outstanding.
Making an award-winning quilt
Even her first full-size quilts revealed Elsie's mastery of the needle,
especially in her small, even quilting stitches. When her quilts are exhibited in national
shows, judges are always impressed by her exceptional quilting stitch. Realizing this is
her strength, Elsie intentionally quilts elaborate designs on dark, solid backgrounds so
the stitches show up readily.
Elsie's quilts are an interesting blend of the old and new. Her
Mennonite heritage provided her with the traditional sewing skills that are the foundation
of her quiltmaking. An admirer of antique quilts, Elsie will often create her own designs
using traditional patterns. While many of her quilts are entirely pieced, the award
winners generally include some appliqué as well. "Appliqué adds that extra bit of
sparkle that makes a quilt special," she notes. Rather than making "formula
quilts" with two or three fabrics, Elsie enjoys making quilts composed of numerous
solid colors or prints. She also favors radial symmetry in which a pattern repeats itself
while radiating outward from the center of the design. While continuing to take classes to
explore new skills, Elsie is also a very competent teacher who specializes in hand
quilting.
As steeped in tradition as her own work often is, Elsie also admires and
makes quilts that are quite contemporary. She will always remember her first visit to the
Museum of the American Quilter's Society. As she walked through the door, she saw
"Cosmic Pelican," a quilt made by Caryl Bryer Fallert. Elsie recalls, "I
never knew that a quilt or any work of art could be so beautiful."
Elsie is well along the path of making her own astonishingly beautiful
quilts. She's always at work on yet another exciting and innovative piece. As you view
this sampling of quilts she's created over the years, you'll appreciate Elsie's fine
craftsmanship!
Click on a quilt to view a larger image. Use your
browsers back button to return to this page.
 "Aunt MiMi's Triumph," Best of Show, Quilt America, 2000.
 "Great-Grandma
Goebel's Red & Green Appliqué Quilt" (78" square) is Elsie's
replica of a quilt made by her ancestor in 1857 when she was just 18-years old. (Elsie is still researching the history of this rare
pattern and welcomes any information you can provide.)
 Elsie complemented the Amish colors of "Pennsylvania
Dutch-ess" (104" square) with appliquéd Pennsylvania Dutch motifs. The
black background sets off her original feathered quilting design and her hand stippling.
 "Triple Trio" (90" square) was inspired
by a quilt made by Lucille Jewitt, which also had nine stars but used hundreds of print
scraps against a white background. The pattern for Triple Trio appeared in Issue #76 of Quilting
Today. The floral blocks are stenciled using freezer paper. Learn this method by
visiting Elsie's "Stencil Your Quilts
Using Freezer Paper," a past "Quilting How-To Class" located in our
Quilt Shop. The pattern for the stenciled and hand-painted 14" squares in
"Triple Trio" is available on our Quilting
Designs page, also located in our Quilt Shop.
 A few weeks after her father passed
away and while her mother was undergoing heart testing, Elsie made "Broken
Hearts for Daddy" (72" x 94") to help work through the grief.
Elsie invites you to visit
her website, where you'll find more
information on her, her quilts, her lecture/workshop fees and how to get in touch with
her. To purchase Elsie's book, Nine Patch &
Snowball Quilts,
click here.
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