Everyday Use

story of my love of textiles + quilts

My love of textiles and fabric and fiber came from my aunt Olive Saloma Dameron. She was the first quilter I knew. At seven, she taught me how to crochet, and I’d make barbie blankets and pot holders. Then she taught me to sew. Before she died, she made a wedding dress for my favorite Black Barbie.

ignore the bedhead; behold this Black beauty

I was just 7 when she passed (she was only 36), but her love of textile arts & crafts guides me today. You’ll find my homages to her in almost anything I do — my consulting business, Red Olive Culture Commons. My farm, Saloma Acres (and within it, Saloma Studio—the name I use for all my crafty-things see some stuff here).

Going through her things after her death, my grandmother gifted me the bulk of her craft-y things. I had a sewing machine. Miles of yarn and thread. Scrap fabric—a young…