Weekly Folly

This week's folly is not about a folly at all but about an American gem-the late Virginia Lee Burton, the children's book author, who lived in Folly Cove with her husband and two boys. Folly Cove is located in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Virgina Lee Burton is one of my favorite authors. She wrote and illustrated the classics,Mike Mulligan And His Steamship,Katy And The Big Snow, Maybelle The Cable Car and my absolute favorite children's book, The Little House.My mother used to read The Little House to me nightly. I did the same for my children and now my grandchildren. The story, like most she did, was based on her own life.

"Burton was also a gifted textile designer who, in 1940, founded The Folly Cove Designers in Gloucester, Massachusetts where she lived with her husband, noted sculptor, George Demetrios. This design collective produced highly sophisticated and detailed textiles that were sold throughout the United States. Virginia Lee Burton was a woman ahead of her time, a Renaissance woman whose art and literature remain an enduring part of America's cultural heritage." (Amazon) The Folly Cove Designers disbanded in 1969 the year after her death. You can still buy wares at the Sarah Elizabeth Shop, located in Folly Cove and online.

You can read more about her HERE