Dan Duggan and Peggy Lynn will use one art to appreciate another when they perform at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center as part of Sunday's citywide Holiday Traditions.

Lynn, a quilter, is planning to perform several songs praising the fabric art with Duggan, her partner and husband.

“We don't make our own clothing, or even our own meals anymore,” said Lynn, an Auburn native. “But with quilting, you get to choose what pleases you and put it together.”

Many of the scheduled musical selections come from “A Stitch in Time,” Duggan and Lynn's album devoted to quilting, its history and its role in American culture.

One song recounts how slaves on the Underground Railroad would read quilt block patterns along the way to plot their movements. Cloth laid over a window sill or fence could signal whether an area was safe or not.

The musical versatility of Duggan and Lynn permits them to mix up the arrangements at their performances. Both sing, while the other may accompany on the guitar, or in Duggan's case, the dulcimer or piano. At the Schweinfurth, these talents will serve a message about a hobby dear to both the art center and the musicians playing there.

“Like most quilters, the quilts I make aren't for myself, but for family members or others,” Lynn said. “So I get to make a gift. No one else can make the quilt you make.”

David Wilcox

253-5311 ext. 245

david.wilcox@lee.net

If you go.

What: A Stitch in Time: Music about quilting by Dan Duggan and Peggy Lynn

When: 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14

Where: Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn

Cost: $5 museum admission

Info: Call 255-1553