Phyllis Biffle Elmore, Quilt of Souls - A Memoir

Join Janice Gilyard and Cherekana Feliciano for a conversation with Phyllis Biffle Elmore as she discusses her book, Quilt of Souls - A Memoir and her family history.  Phyllis Biffle Elmore was born in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of four, she was sent to the tiny town of Livingston, Alabama to be raised by her grandmother Lula Horn (1883-1988), who made beautiful quilts out of the clothing of her loved ones. Each strip of fabric tells the story of the wearer’s life and death. She shared these mostly tragic, sometimes witty, but always moving tales with little Phyllis as she sewed their clothes into a quilt that threaded broken lives back together. Phyllis now shares these profound stories with the world as Grandmother Lula told them to her.

After retiring in 2013, Phyllis began writing full-time and started her memoir, Quilt of Souls. Soon after, she began promoting her ‘Quilt of Souls’ quilt via lectures and other public presentations. She self-published a portion of her memoir in 2015, which garnered a great deal of buzz from social, print, and television media. As a result of the popularity of her Quilt of Souls exhibit, she has been interviewed and appeared in over 35 media outlets including internet blog talks, online newspapers, social media forums, television, radio, and media advertisements. She has also been a guest speaker at over seventy venues including, libraries, genealogical conventions, quilting clubs, book clubs, colleges, and secondary schools throughout the United States. Phyllis received her Master’s Certificate in Creative Writing from the University of Denver.

Phyllis Biffle Elmore (thequiltofsouls.com)