LIVERPOOL — Members of the Plank Road Quilt Guild will make sure Liverpool Public Library patrons can drop into the Carman Community Room to explore National Quilting Day on Saturday, March 19.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Carman Community Room, members will mingle for an informal show-and-tell session. They’ll bring examples of their favorite pieces to stir conversations and imaginations. Patrons will be able to ask about the quilting process, such as: how to start off the journey from scratch; how to elevate crafting talents for more complicated methods; or how to create the patterns seen in the room.
Also available starting at 10 a.m. the same day will be six sessions of Let’s Learn to Sew in the Sargent Meeting Room.
“When the Plank Road Quilt Guild reached out to us and inquired about displaying their quilts for the community to see, we saw this as an opportunity to not only show adults the skill of quilting, but to share the skills with the children of the community,” said Joellyn Murry, LPL coordinator of Children’s and Family Services. “Many of the quilters are former educators, so when we asked if they would lead a sewing class for our youth, they embraced the idea of teaching children to sew and introducing them to the art of quilting. Not only were they willing to provide instruction, the Plank Road Quilt Guild members also graciously donated all the fabric and batting for the projects.”
Members of the Plank Road Quilt Guild will be available to teach children 8 to 12 the basics of sewing and how to operate a sewing machine safely.
“Children who sign up will be introduced to sewing on a sewing machine and piecing together a quilt block,” Murry said. “They will then be able to bring home an actual quilt block they have sewn. Books about sewing and quilts will also be available to check out from the library.”
The sessions will start at 10 a.m., 10:35 a.m., 11:05 a.m., 11:35 a.m., 12:05 p.m. and 12:35 p.m. There will be five openings for children at each of the sessions. Children must be registered at the library website calendar page (lpl.org/events/programs-and-events/events-calendar).
The Plank Road Quilt Guild started with seven members in 1982, and has grown to more than 70 members. This will be the organization’s first return to a National Quilting Day event since its appearance on March 16, 2019, in the Baldwinsville Public Library.
National Quilting Day has grown in recognition worldwide, too.
In 1989, the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society organized what they called A Quilter’s Day Out. Two years later, the National Quilting Association’s officers voted that the idea should go national. National Quilting Day started in 1992, and soon enough, quilters from other nations were asking to get in on the event every third Saturday in March.
