Until 7th grade, my family lived in New England. I have the best memories of growing up in a little town called Boxborough, in Massachusetts.

The colonial history of the area in which I grew up has always fascinated me. Living not far from Concord and Lexington, we field-tripped to all the popular haunts from that historical era.

And of course, as an adult, I look back on the places there that I’ve never been to, but wish I had. Places like Plymouth Plantation. Never been! Martha’s Vineyard – never been! I always think that I’ll go back and see it all with the eyes of an adult – visiting the same places, experiencing new places, and testing whether or not the charm of the area where I grew up is as real to me now as it is in my memory.

When the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston published the book Women’s Work: Embroidery in Colonial Boston, it struck a chord with me. The title encompasses two things I love: my happy memories of the place I grew up and embroidery. So of course, I had to get the book!