For a long time, our Library displayed a wall hanging by the staircase leading down to the children's room. The hanging had been especially handmade by the mother of Kathy Kennedy, Ms. Kennedy being a former director of the Library. But over the years, the hanging had been damaged with water stains, and unfortunately it was not possible to have to repaired.
In 2007, Christy Fusco (our current director) asked Carol Olson (a library clerk) for help. Carol is a member of the Quilt Company East Quilting Guild, as well as being a member of the Appliqué Mini-Group within the Guild. Carol suggested speaking with her group to see if its members might be interested in creating a new library quilt.
The appliqué group was interested and immediately began planning the new library quilt. Carol suggested a combination of two patterns -- one titled "Getting in a Good Book" (which featured the dragon and wizard design seen above) and the other featuring a row of school children reading books. In order to make the quilt truly unique, it was decided that each "reader" character that was created would be personalized in some special way by the quilters.
The finished product features 21 individual "blocks," each one featuring a hand-sewn picture of a person reading a book. Each character was specially designed by the person who created it and represents something in each member's life. Geri B. made two blocks representing her parents' history, while Karen W. created one to honor breast cancer awareness. And one very special square features a hand-embroidered memorial to former Library director Kathy Kennedy -- as well as to her mother, Vivian Kennedy, who had created the original Library wall hanging that was being replaced.
The centerpiece of the quilt features 448 two-and-a-half inch squares in a checkerboard pattern, surrounding the hand-stitched dragon and wizard (the centerpiece was created by Carol and Lorrie M.).
The completed quilt makes for a positively beautiful tapestry that will be sure to hang in the Library for many years to come.
The Guild has been meeting at the Library for years. "The Library has been a great tool for the Guild in general," says Carol. "We have many different groups within the Guild, and the Library's been a great place for all of them to meet. We wanted to show our appreciation for being able to use the Library on a continual basis."
The specialized blocks are naturally a particularly personal touch to the quilt. "The members of the group eagerly took on the challenge of creating the quilt," Carol adds. "Not only did we have fun making it, but I believe our creativity and excitement shows in our blocks."
For the Library staff's part, our deepest thanks go out to the members of the Appliqué Mini-Group who worked so hard to create this beautiful gift: Denise D., Lorrie M., our own Carol Olson, Celeste M., Geri B., Kay R., Karen W., Donna P., Pat van D., LuAnn U., Sally G., and Janet S. We also want to especially acknowledge group member Sharon K., who also contributed to the quilt and passed away before its completion. Our deep thanks and appreciation to all of these ladies for their time, effort, and library love!
The quilt will be formally dedicated to Monroeville Public Library on Monday, July 18, 2011, at 10:00 A.M. in the Library. We hope you'll join us there.
-- Post by Ms. B
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