Ever wonder what to do with your old but tattered treasures? Here’s an opportunity to take care of them. A book repair workshop will be held on May 8, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the York Public Library. Kary Bath, Regional Manager for KAPCO, will show you how to repair your damaged books. Bring your broken spines and torn pages and use KAPCO’s materials and expert guidance to make them whole again. Light refreshments will be served. There is no charge to attend. You can register for the event at the Main State Library calendar at http://evanced.info/maine/evanced/eventcalendar.asp
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Monthly Archives: February 2014
Quilt exhibits in libraries
There seems to be a plethora of quilts being exhibited in libraries this month. What a wonderful way to brighten up winter in Maine! I stumbled on the first one at the Falmouth Public Library – such beautiful quilts, including one made with old handkerchiefs. These quilts were made by the Cobblestone Quilters, a group of over 85 members who are interested in quilting, fabric art, and sewing. Cobblestone quilters are active in the community donating quilts to Maine veterans, Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, the neonatal unit at Maine Medical Center, and Meals on Wheels. They make raffle quilts to support Habitat for Humanity, Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Boys and Girls Club. Over 25 quilts by Cobblestone Quilters are on display during the month of February. These quilts represent a variety of quilting styles, techniques, and fabric choices.
Then I read about an exhibit being held at the Portland Public Library downtown branch:
http://www.portlandlibrary.com/events/words-art-quilts-maine/
This is a traveling exhibit: Members of Art Quilts Maine, a statewide guild chapter dedicated to the exploration of contemporary quilt art, respond to an annual challenge with diverse and colorful results. This year’s challenge, issued in October 2013, is titled, “By These Words . . .” Quilts were to be inspired by Words—poetry, quote, idiom, saying. Eight members met the challenge, and the collection went on view in July at Maine Quilts 2013. Since then they have been on exhibit in Farmington and Skowhegan, and will travel to Waterville when they leave Portland.
Finally, I just came across this exhibit, held at the Wells Public Library, of quilts by Ernest Nason, a local artist who worked as a carpenter for many years. When an injury took him off his feet for a while, he decided to take up quilting.
I leave you with a picture of one of our island quilts, exhibited this summer at the Long Island Historical Society space:
Seed libraries
Here on Long Island we’re still in the midst of winter with cold temperatures and lovely snowfalls. It’s a winter wonderland. But it seems like the sun is getting stronger and the days longer, so we can start dreaming of spring. With that comes the idea of planting seeds. In the library world there is a new movement to add “seed libraries” to the concept of the library being a place where all sorts of things are available, beyond the traditional books and media.
At a seed library, patrons can check out seeds for free. They then grow the fruits and vegetables, harvest the new seeds, and “return” those seeds so the library can lend them out to others.
What a great idea! If anyone is interested in taking this on, I’m sure our library director would love to talk with you.
Spring is coming!