Valerie is an Architect and college Professor educated at Yale University and Washington University in St. Louis. She became very interested in designing and making quilts in 1998 as an outgrowth of her architectural background. It began as part of an investigation in the design classes that she teaches at Florida A & M University’s School of Architecture. Students were asked to investigate parallels between architecture and quilting. They studied issue related to composition, ordering systems, color and pattern. As a result, she felt compelled to gain actual experience with this medium. To her surprise, she found the design and making of quilts as engaging as the design and study of architecture.