Honoring Black History Month — a very fun piece to kick off February. 

Not all history is in the books.

I grew up with quilts my great aunt had made, crazy quilts stitched from scraps of Victorian velvets and silks she obtained from a millinery shop that burned down. I didn't get to know her, but I felt connected to her—and a mysterious past where people wore hand made hats—through her incredibly careful and creative stitching. 

A quilt is document of time passing, of handiwork and contemplation, sometimes of collective effort. The best quilts are the ones made from old scraps --- clothing we remember wearing and wearing out as children. Like my great aunt, my mother is an artist, and she made us quilts as kids that had the odd bit of easter dress sewn into them.

I don't have much of a hand for quilts but I have great respect. One of the best art shows I've ever seen was The Quilts of Gee's Bend, at the Whitney Museum back in 2003. So I had those incredible works in mind when I made this.

Here's to the histories we pass to each other, through stories, through craft, through family. And let's pause a moment to honor the history that's been lost, too, whether because of oppression or just the passing of time.