Erica Wilson

I learned today that Erica Wilson died.  I think that more than anyone, other than my mother, Erica Wilson had the strongest impact on my love of needlework. Her work was very visible in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when my interest began to be serious, and her design style always greatly appealed to me. I can still remember her designs in Better Homes and Gardens Needlework and Crafts magazines and Woman's Day magazines that my mother would buy.

I wanted to be Erica Wilson when I grew up.

Here's the New York Times article and a post on the DMC blog.

I met her once at a TNNA trade show (thanks, Susan, for that opportunity). I was tongue-tied and overwhelmed and she and her husband were gracious. (Thinking about it in retrospect, tongue tied was probably better than squealing or gushing.)