If you’re anywhere near San Francisco between now and the end of the year, get yourself over to the deYoung Museum to see the exhibit of quilts made by the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama. These quilts just knocked me out. I’ve always thought quilts are beautiful and interesting. I like the combination of utility and art; I like thinking about the community of women making the quilt, sitting around stitching (and also, in this case, singing) together; I like the combination of individuality (each quilt is unique) and the fact that when a woman sits down to quilt, she can use, refer to, or improvise from quilt patterns that stretch back generations. I don’t know how to quilt, but it strikes me that it’s a lot like cooking. Or writing. One of the quilters in the exhibit’s accompanying film says, “That quilt would cook in my mind.” I love that.