Patty Elwin Davis, Ithaca’s extraordinary quilter, has compiled a beautifully illustrated survey of 29 of her best works in a new book called “Twice-Told Tales — History, Literature, and Family Lore Retold in Narrative Quilts. Some of the quilts highlight special places Davis has been, including “Venezuela Farewell” and “Happy 150th Lone Star State,” a tribute to Texas history. The illustrations in this slim book are exceptional — brilliant, colorful and charming, with full-page images of each quilt and close-ups of some sections highlighted to show the extraordinary detail of Davis’ work. While the narrative themes of Davis’s quilts are varied, the one common thread that is vivid through them all is, as Davis herself says, “the object always being to tell a good story. Patty Elwin Davis will be at The History Center from noon to 4 p. Also today, quilter Patty Elwin Davis will sign copies of her book “Twice-Told Tales — History, Literature, and Family Lore Retold in Narrative Quilts” from noon to 4 p.

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