On This Day in History Quilt for May 3.

James Joseph Brown, “The Godfather of Soul,” was born on this day in 1933 in Barnwell County, South Carolina. At the age of six Brown was sent to live with his Aunt Honey Washington who ran a brothel in Augusta, Georgia. Young James got his performance experience on the streets, dancing and singing to attract customers to his aunt’s business.

This quilt titled “But I Know Crazy” was made by Luke Haynes for the 2009 Quilt Alliance quilt contest “Crazy for Quilts.” Haynes says in his artist’s statement: “This quilt made itself. With the title of the project I couldn’t help thinking of the James Brown quote “I don’t know Karate . . . But I Know Crazy”. Having laughed at that line every time it came up in the song, it made an association for me with the word crazy. When Amy told me of the crazy quilts contest, it just made sense. I also played with new methods here.”

View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view.

Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/james-brown-is-born

Posted by Amy E. Milne
Executive Director, Quilt Alliance
amy.milne@quiltalliance.org