Meet Your Neighbor

Fourth Generation Quilter Creates Masterpieces from Material

By Pat Friedrich

Each of our lives is built much like a quilt. They are made up of bits and pieces of happiness and sadness all stitched together with love. This is certainly true of Helen Bruner, longtime Zachary resident who created the beautiful historic Zachary Centennial Quilt currently on display at the Zachary Public Library.

When asked to make this quilt, Helen first pieced together the city’s rich history by r e-reading the 1975 Bicentennial Committee’s book, Zachary Faces and Places: a History of the City of Zachary, Louisiana . The designs she created for the quilt came directly from the wonderful photographs in that book.

“I chose the railroad depot as the center of the quilt because it is the oldest place in our city,” Bruner said. “The McHugh Store, Amrhein Cotton Gin and the six other blocks in the quilt also signify an important part of our great history.”

“Quilting is an act of love,” she said about her passion. Although she did not keep a tally of how much time she spent on the quilt, Helen modestly estimates that the Centennial Quilt took about 400 hours to complete.

Priceless collection

Bruner’s own collection of family quilts is priceless. In addition to the countless quilts that she created, Bruner is proud to have many quilts handmade by her ancestors. They include a crazy quilt made by her great grandmother. Sometimes they were made from old scrapes of clothes and even feed sacks.

“I plan on donating the crazy quilt to a museum so that many people can appreciate it,” she said. “I also plan to donate a quilt given to my mother in which the cotton batting (the material inside the quilt) was actually grown by the quilter.”

Helen knows that her mother will live on forever in the hearts and memories of those who knew and loved her. She will also live on through the many beautiful quilts that she made and those that she started. “My mother lived to be 92 years old. Even at that age, she was still planning quilt projects,” Bruner said. “My mother has left me many projects to complete.”

Next generation

And Bruner, the mother of three sons, may be creating the next generation of quilters. “One of my granddaughters has asked me to help her do a quilt.” All of her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren are proud recipients of her beautiful handmade comforters. “One of my grandsons said he wanted a quilt with fish on it.” And so, “Fish Tales,” a quilt made up of blocks of different fish appliqués was born.

Another granddaughter, born in the month of April, picked out “April Wreath” pattern from a book. “They get to pick out the pattern and I get to make the quilt.” That arrangement works well for everyone involved.

Getting Started

If you are interested in learning how to quilt, Bruner suggests taking a class. “My great grandmother, maternal grandmother, paternal grandmother and mother all quilted. Yet I hadn’t gotten the bug. My mother kept nudging me to learn. Finally, I took a class with a friend. After that, I was hooked.”

Machine or hand quilting is the question often asked by beginners. There is no “right” way; it is just a personal preference. “I prefer to make my quilts by hand,” Bruner said. “That way I can quilt anywhere. I find that it is very relaxing.”

Helen also finds that by sewing by hand, she can ensure that each of the blocks of the quilt come together with perfect corners and edges. “ I sometimes do my appliqué on my sewing machine.”