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Chat rooms and bulletin boards on the Internet were quick to pick up the news that a vendor at the 2002 Fall International Quilt Festival in Houston had allegedly vandalized a quilt on display after closing on the last day of the show, destroying the quilt and damaging another.
Daniel G. Puckett, owner of Design-A-Quilt of Paducah, Kentucky, was reportedly caught in the act of throwing bleach on Midnight in the Garden of Good and Elvis, a quilt by Arlene Blackburn of Millington, Tennessee. The bleach also damaged Amy Stewart Winsor's quilt, Make An Appointment, that was hung next to Arlene's. Puckett was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, a felony under Texas law, and at the time of this writing, had been released after posting bail. The Harris County prosecutor assigned to the case says Puckett could serve as much as two years in prison for the incident.
"This dreadful assault was a premeditated act," said the president of Quilts, Inc., Karey Bresenhan, director of the International Quilt Festival. "In 28 years of Quilt Festival, we have never before experienced such an attack. For the 2001 and 2002 shows, we tripled our usual level of security, but even that extra effort could not prevent this act of destruction. Two quilt guardians were within 15 feet of Puckett, and even then they could not move quickly enough to stop him. We are known for providing loving care and protection for the quilts that are entrusted to us, and we are heartsick about what happened to the two quilts. Arlene and Amy, the two quiltmakers involved, have been both courageous and gracious. They are truly a credit to the quilt world."
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