FARMINGTON – Visitors to Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers will notice a new addition in August, as a state-wide quilting group displays their newest creations; quilts based off children’s books.
Art Quilts Maine members Anne Walker, of Rangeley, and Julie Weaver, of Mt. Vernon, were hanging their group’s work Monday morning, for a month-long display. Art Quilts Maine, whose members specialize in contemporary quilt art with an emphasis on creativity, typically choose a theme for each annual project. Last autumn, the group decided to choose a literature-based challenge; basing their designs off a favorite children’s book. The books then served the quilters as the basis for original designs.
Some quilters inadvertently chose the same book, not discovering the overlap until they met at a quarterly meeting this year. Frances Hodgson Burnet’s “The Secret Garden” drew two depictions, for example, as did Barbara Cooney’s “Miss Rumphius.” Other books include “Lotty’s Visit to Grandmama,” written in 1877, perennial favorite “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christen Anderson, and “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein.
Sixteen quilts will be displayed at DDG’s, with the store also preparing a display of what source books proprietor Kenny Brechner could find. The bookstore will host an evening exhibition of the quilts on August 16 at 6 p.m. Many of the quilters will be in attendance.