I was thrilled to see this Victorian crazy quilt by Elizabeth Parkhurst Williams which is currently on exhibit at the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. I love how these quilts serve as a repository of souvenirs, a diary of remnants and a document of the period. Scraps of a wedding dress, a christening gown, a ribbon from a meeting.

As an artist, I love the explosion of pattern, texture, color and embellishment and can’t help but feel inspired when I pour over one! Of course, I come from a long line of women who were handy with a needle. My great grandmothers worked in the woolen mills of Lawrence, Massachusetts and I’m lucky to have rugs and afghans that they crocheted. My grandmother loved to hook rugs and embroider and my mother sewed and made quilts, they even combined their talents on a crazy quilt of their own at one point.