A recent Instagram post by Italian designer, Gaia Marfurt, caught my eye. It was her new pattern design, called “Kindred Spirits”, featuring Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. Gaia is a talented freelance illustrator and pattern designer. Her designs are elaborate, complex and beautiful—and packed with charming details.
What a serendipitous discovery! This sweet design struck a chord with me. Not only does it honor one of my favorite fictional characters but it reminds me of a recent visit to Prince Edward Island. Regular readers may recall that my husband is from “the Island” and we were in Eastern Canada to see close family members last fall. While there, we had a chance to see a little of the Island. It’s uncanny how many of the elements featured in Gaia’s design remind me of places I visited.
Take the lighthouse for instance. Pictured below is the Rustico Harbour Lighthouse with a snippet from Gaia’s design.
Other examples, shown below, are the fishing boats and the colorful fishing village of North Rustico.
A visit to the Island wouldn’t be complete without admiring her signature red sandstone cliffs.
At the heart of it all is Green Gables, a 19th century farmstead and literary landmark. Notice the quote carved in the fence “It’s delightful when your imaginations come true, isn’t it?” That is 100% Anne Shirley or, more accurately, 100% Lucy Maud Montgomery who created the legendary heroine.
As explained at the L.M. Montgomery Cavendish National Historic Site of Canada visitor center, “This farmstead… once belonged to Montgomery’s cousins, David and Margaret Macneill… Montgomery never lived here, but she often visited throughout her life. The farm inspired the fictional Green Gables and became a literary landmark.”
The inside of the farmhouse is well worth a visit. It has been furnished to reflect how Green Gables was depicted in Montgomery’s novels. Here are a few vignettes I captured.
The star attraction is Anne’s bedroom in the east gable. In Montgomery’s story, Anne rushes to open the window on her first morning at Green Gables. “Anne dropped on her knees and gazed out into the June morning, her eyes glistening with delight. Oh, wasn’t it beautiful? Wasn’t it a lovely place? Suppose she wasn’t really going to stay here! She would imagine she was. There was scope for imagination here.”
When Anne’s foster mother, Marilla joins her, Anne gushes over the view. “Oh isn’t it wonderful” … the garden and the orchard and the brook and the woods, the whole dear world. Don’t you feel as if you just loved the world on a morning like this? And I can hear the brook laughing all the way up here. Have you ever noticed what cheerful things brooks are? They’re always laughing.”
The bridge pictured below crosses a “laughing brook” at the bottom of the slope below the east gable window. The path leads to a pretty, spruce grove, that Anne dubbed the “Haunted Woods”.
A visitor center exhibit explains: “No place of natural beauty inspired Montgomery more than the wooded path she named Lover’s Lane. Montgomery discovered the tree-arched lane when she was 12 years old. It became a sanctuary for her. At every stage of her life, she walked the curving, red path to find solace and inspiration. She took dozens of photographs of it over the years, more than of any other place, and she paid tribute to it in her poetry, non-fiction and fiction. Montgomery immortalized Lover’s Lane in Anne of Green Gables as one of Anne Shirley’s most beloved places.” Lover’s Lane, pictured below, is indeed a magical place.
It’s heartening to know the places Montgomery described so lovingly have been preserved for all to enjoy.
More Info
To see more of Gaia Marfurt’s beautiful designs, check out her website or Instagram account. Many of Gaia’s designs are available via her Spoonflower shop which is where I first came across her work. I purchased a piece of fabric with the Kindred Spirits design and have been pondering how best to use it. I plan to share the results soon.
Update Jan 26, 2021: After noodling it over, I decided to use my new Kindred Spirits fabric to make a tote bag. See the results at Kindred Spirits Tote Bag. Now I can carry my memories of Prince Edward Island with me whenever I head to the store or take a road trip!
For more FanningSparks’ stories and photos about Prince Edward Island, Canada, see Shutter Therapy in North Rustico and Beacons of Light.
For information about visiting Green Gables, see Parks Canada Green Gables Heritage Place or Tourism PEI All Things Anne.
For information about visiting Prince Edward Island, Canada, see the Tourism PEI website.
Today’s Takeaways
1. You never know when one of your favorite artists will create a design that strikes a chord with you.
2. Consider seeking inspiration from the locations and situations that inspired others.
3. Never doubt the joy of serendipity.
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