Piece by Piece: Crazy Quilting and Making Memory in 19th-Century Massachusetts, with Tenesha Carter Johnson

Look closely at a crazy quilt and you’ll find a life woven in the mosaic of textured surfaces: a scrap of wedding silk, a ribbon from the county fair, a souvenir swatch, a sliver of someone’s favorite dress. Gaining distinct popularity by the end of the nineteenth century, “crazy” quilting was more than a technique, but how makers kept record of what mattered to them. What did it mean to spend hundreds of hours of nimble labor into something you’d sleep under every night? These quilts reveal how ordinary women turned scraps and keepsakes into personal archives—and what their quilts can still tell us about the relationship between memory and material culture today. Tenesha Carter Johnson is a curator and cultural historian, with a particular investment in American quilt and textile histories. Her work explores the relationship between material culture and public history, wherein quilts serve as records of lived experience and historical intervention. She holds a BA in Art History from Spellman College and MA in Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture from Bard Graduate Center. Her research has contributed to leading institutions and digital resources such as the Museum of African American History, Boston & Nantucket; Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture; and, The Fashion & Race Database. This lecture is presented as a part of our 2026 Lowell Lecture Series, “Engrave, Paint, Sew, Weave: Craft and Craftspeople in Massachusetts.” Craft transcends boundaries of place, time, and culture by communicating across literal and figurative distances. Many craft traditions are also deeply rooted in the places they are practiced in, influenced by local climates, geographies, and resources. Inspired by Paul Revere’s legacy as an artisan, this series delves into four local and regional histories of craft and craftspeople. Lectures take place on Mondays, September 14 and 28 and October 05 and 26, from 6:30 to 7:45 pm. Lectures are free to the public and can be watched online here or in person at Smith Commons (5th floor), Sargent Hall, Suffolk University, 120 Tremont Street. The lectures will be recorded and available after the fact at the same link as the livestream. The in-person location is wheelchair accessible and has accessible restrooms. Seating is in free-standing chairs which may be moved. The live-stream and recording will have auto-generated closed captions only. Please contact the Paul Revere House with any questions about accessibility. Presented in partnership with GBH Forum Network, the Suffolk University History Department, and the Museum of Fine Arts, with funding from the Lowell Institute.