Unlike her mother, grandmother and generations dating back to the 1800s, Louise Williams does not quilt. When she was younger, her refusal to carry on the tradition was an act of rebellion, breaking the bounds of what was expected of her. Instead of working in the Freedom Quilting Bee cooperative, sewing pillow shams for Sears Roebuck and quilts for collectors, she went to school and left the state. “I barely can put a button on or sew a hem. That was something that escaped me,” Williams said. “But this was always home.”