silicon valley – ELIZABETH KAY BOOTH

Spring color palette, as purchased at Stitches West.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all! I am not Irish and do not particularly celebrate. I’m much more likely to spend my day cooking ropa vieja, platanos fritos, and rice and beans than corned beef and cabbage. But I realized as I was organizing my yarn purchases from Stitches West that the miniscule Irish blood in me must have been in full force that weekend.

This is on the drive to Silicon Valley, but it is how I imagine Ireland.

California has been in a very serious drought for quite some time now, and in another few months, there won’t be green anywhere except for well-watered yards. But in driving to Silicon Valley, we passed scenery that made me feel as though I was driving through the Irish countryside. And although green is not usually the color I gravitate towards, I somehow managed to come home with a spring palette of deep oceanic green with a touch of melon.

A work from the International TECHstyle Art Biennial 3 (ITAB) display

This last weekend, I traveled to Silicon Valley with my husband and kids. My husband had a conference, and I found myself with a full Saturday and two kids to entertain. I browsed through the hotel’s “Discover San Jose” brochure, and settled on the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles as our first stop. I am so glad I went! It is a small museum, but had excellent exhibitions going on and a little community craft room where the kids got to make stuffed felt animals.

The museum's mission statement, and wall of handcrafted items in the community craft room. — The museum’s mission statement, and wall of handcrafted items in the community craft room.

I really loved the International TECHstyle Art Biennial 3 (ITAB) and Piecing with Pixels installations, and I hope you enjoy the photos, even though it was hard for my photography skills to do these works justice! The items from the Piecing With Pixels are for sale works, so if you are in the market and see something you like, do contact the museum.

From the International TECHstyle Art Biennial 3 (ITAB):