I will, eventually, get around to showing you what’s been happening in my studio over the past while, but in the meantime, here’s the big reveal of the 2019 raffle quilts and book bag made by the faithful Greenwood Public Library quilters to raise funds for the library.
We decided to go a bit modern this year. We chose a traditional pattern (the name of which I’ve forgotten but we keep archives; I can find out) and recoloured it to produce a clean, crisp, modern look with lots of graphic impact. We’re particularly happy with the black and off-white and grey backgrounds and borders, which make the intense pure colours pop. Here’s the main prize, a queen-size quilt. The back of this one is a subtle, small-scale floral in grey.
Many thanks, as usual, to Miriam March of Whispering Pines Quilt Studio near Rock Creek, who did a superb job of quilting this quilt on her long-arm machine. And even more thanks to Miriam for having donated her time and expertise: the money we save on the quilting is money that goes directly into library programs and materials.
We chose a swirly pattern that I’ve often asked Miriam to use: I love it. The swirls and curves complement the sharp angles of the quilt beautifully, and equally beautifully echo the circles in the outermost border.
Second prize is a lap quilt (again, I can find out what the pattern is called, if you wish) quilted by Myrna Charlton, and third prize is a book bag, which will be stuffed with brand-new books. The bag is the product of the design skills of Ann Mudrie and Gerri Hollett and the sewing expertise of Ann Mudrie. First, the front of the quilt. Note the scrappy binding; we’re proud of that.
And then, the back of the quilt and the other side of the book bag.
Don’t you just love that back? Some of us think it’s even better than the front. As you can see, both the book bag and the lap quilt were made with fabric left over from the main prize quilt. We’ve learned from experience that it’s a lot easier to display and photograph the three pieces together if the fabrics are at least related, if not actually the same. In this case, we had enough scraps left that we didn’t have to raid our own stashes to fill in any gaps. At least that’s my memory of how things went. It’s more than a month since we had our work bee to sew down the binding so the details are a little hazy.
Now then: quilt raffle tickets are available now! As always, single tickets are $2 apiece or you can purchase three tickets for $5. If you’d like to purchase tickets, please get in touch with the library at 250 445-6111 or [email protected]. Or if you’re among my friends and family and you’d like tickets, let me know and I’ll make sure you get them. We have had winners from all over the place in past years and we’ve always managed to unite winners with their quilts or bag; we promise the same will be true this year.
We think this is the 16th year that we’ve gotten together to raise funds for the library this way. And why do we do this, year after year after year? Partly it’s for the run of spending time together through the long months of late winter and early spring, but mainly it’s because this raffle is one of the main fund-raisers for the library each year. You may be interested to know that libraries in BC have been seriously underfunded for the past decade. According to a recent newspaper article by Cari Lynn Gawletz, library director of the Grand Forks public library, the BC government funded BC libraries to the tune of $17.7 million in 2008. In 2009, that funding dropped to $14 million per year and it’s been frozen there ever since. The current government is in the consultation stage of deciding on its 2020 budget, and the BC Libraries Association and related groups are mounting a campaign to lobby the province for $20 million for 2020. That doesn’t seem like a lot to ask, given where we were a dozen years ago. And let me tell you, libraries are stretched so thin they’re squeaking. I don’t know how we do it, actually, offering wonderful existing and new programs, purchasing superb materials for loan to patrons, and keeping our physical facilities from crumbling into dust. But as the chair of a library board, I can tell you that the worry about funding is relentless. Like writing grant applications, fund-raising is a fact of life for every library in the province, and our quilt and book bag raffle has proven to be one of our best tactics for bringing in some funds.
So remember: when you buy a ticket or three, you’re not only getting a chance to win one of these beauties but you’re doing your part to keep our library’s doors open and the lights on. In a tiny community of about 650 people, the library is hugely important. We want to make sure we do our best to have as much of a positive impact on Greenwood as we possibly can. Thanks in advance for helping us out.