Storied quilts

Every quilt tells a story. The fabric, the workmanship, the purpose all speak of the quilt and the quilter.

But some quilts have additional stories to tell. Jodi Warner's "Patchwork Imaginings" collection are like those. The quilts are designed to pair up with favorite children's books, to enhance with color and fabric the delights of a charming tale.

The quilt collection has hung at libraries, and Warner has taken it to schools to talk about reading. And even though her own children are now all grown up, the quilts are still a fun reminder of their favorite literary adventures. "It's a fun way to interact with storybooks," said Warner.

The project began more than 15 years ago when Warner decided to enter a contest sponsored by the Museum of American Folk Art in New York. "I think quilts are great American folk art," she said.

At that time, her kids (she and her husband have two sons and a daughter) were at an age where they liked to listen to books on tape while riding in the car. The kids would listen, and Warner, who was already a noted quiltmaker, would play mental games, thinking how she would design a quilt to go with the story.

One day they were listening to Beatrix Potter's story of "Peter Rabbit." And Warner decided that would be a fun one to do for the contest. The judges thought so, too. Her quilt was chosen as one of two finalists from Utah and toured the country with the exhibit for five years. It was also a finalist for the Judges' Award.

"When it came home five years later, the boys remembered the story and began talking about it. And we decided it would be fun to see what other quilts I had that would go with books. And then I started making quilts just for books." Books such as "The Big Pumpkin," by Erica Silverman; "Rosie's Walk," by Pat Hutchins; "The Pumpkin Blanket," by Deborah Turney Zagwyn; "Once There Was a Bull . . . Frog," by Rick Walton; and "The Right Knight and the Wrong Daze," a book of poems written by Warner's mother, Helen Glissmeyer.

"One day, one of my sons came bouncing home from the library. He had discovered "The Tub People," (by Pat Conrad), and he wanted me to make a quilt."

Mostly, the quilts are her own interpretation of the stories. A few of them copy an illustration out of the book. Because the quilts were featured in national magazines and public galleries, Warner did get permission from the authors and/or publishers for that.

Now busy with other projects, Warner hasn't made any more storybook quilts for some time. "I still have a list of books that I think would make good quilts," she said, and she still enjoys sharing them with school and other youth groups.