RANGELEY – According to an old saying, “The best kind of sleep beneath Heaven above is under a quilt, handmade with love.”

Quilting-enthusiasts who spend the night at a new inn in Rangeley get more than just a quilt on the bed, they get to sleep under the roof of an entire 2,000-square-foot house dedicated solely to quilters and their beloved craft.

Carol and Dan Perkins, who moved to Rangeley from Auburn in 1986, have long had their eye on the circa-1891 house that sits just next door to them on Pleasant Street.

“Oh, what can we do with it?” Carol, who runs a the Threads Galore Quilt Shop out of her home, remembers wondering.

When the house came on the market in the fall of 2002, the couple quickly snatched it up, and having themselves enjoyed several weekends at quilting retreats, decided to try their same hands that usually create colorful quilts at a new endeavor – an inn just for quilters.

It seemed like the next logical extension of Carol’s quilt shop and was a way for the green-thumbed Dan to have another garden to tend, the two say.

Dan, a plumbing and heating contractor with a knack for carpentry, remodeled the charming two-story historical home, which features the actual wood floor graced by affluent visitors to the old Rangeley Lake House more than a century ago.

Charming country cool

Nine twin beds, with quilts of course, and a sofa bed provide guests with the best kind of sleep beneath the Heaven above and a large kitchen, living room, laundry room and 3.5 baths decorated with accouterments that jumped out of a Pottery Barn catalog make it a cozy place for any weary traveler to spend the weekend.

Dan jokes the two have discussed moving in.

But take note, the name says it all. The Quilters Inn is for quilters only.

Quilting magazines are piled high in every corner of the inn and each of the bedrooms are named after the patterns on the quilts that cover the beds inside: Bear Paw. Log Cabin. Dizzy Geese.

The quilting workshop is what truly makes the inn unique as a retreat for quilters. Twelve workstations, an abundance of soft overhead bulbs and natural light, and plenty of outlets make it the dream room for a group of women to plug in their sewing machines and create without abandon.

The price per night is $400 with a two night minimum or $2,000 for the week. The price is for the entire house, so the cost per person varies depending on the group size.

Guests provide their own food.

While to the non-quilter, opening an inn just for quilters may seem like a risky business venture, the Perkins note that there are 21 million quilters in the national and it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Business growing

“We are not surprised with the positive response we’ve gotten. After staying at a retreat ourselves, we knew it would be a success,” Carol said.

Already, a group of nine quilters from the mid-coast area has stayed. “They thoroughly enjoyed themselves,” Dan said.

Next month a group from the Waterville area is coming to stay.

He admitted that a lot of people “just don’t get it” when they hear about the inn just for quilters, but it’s not an unheard ofbe- be-