Sewing together a love of quilting and raising money for a good cause, the Quilt-A-Thon at the Franklin Public Library is entering its 22nd year. Local quilters will gather Friday and Saturday, April 21-22, at the library for the event.
The first Quilt-A-Thon was held in 1996 to raise funds for the library. It was the brainchild of Bobbie Watkins, who volunteered at the library each week shelving books and was a member of the Friends of the Library board.
Since Watkins is also an avid quilter, she worked with the Friends of the Library and her fellow quilters in the Polk Community Quilters, The Flying Needles of Franklin and the Bethel Church Quilters to create the first Quilt-A-Thon.
One quilter donated a small quilt top. The quilters then each solicited sponsors who gave a donation to support the quilters and the library.
That first Quilt-A-Thon was held for one day and raised almost $1,000 for the library.
In addition to raising funds, the event provided an opportunity for recruiting novice quilters by inviting youths and adults to observe quilting in action and letting them try their quilting skills while being mentored by experienced quilters.
The fundraiser has grown over the years and now features two quilt tops to be quilted in two days.
Some of the dedicated quilters who have participated in the Quilt-A-Thon over the years include Eleanor Mathias, Katie Heber, Krista Cloonan, Martha Dunagin, Pat Shaw, Rachel Ashbaugh, Sherry Bastecki, Edith Richards, Marilyn Brody, Judy Campbell, Colleen Scurry, Ginny Hanna, Sue Chatham, Peg Myers, Dottie Green, Andrea Plummer, Wendy Norris, Delores Doyle, Helen Hill, Rita Duncan, Evelyn Blum, Ruth Edge, Peg Cratty, Heidi Lucia, Bonnie Selker, Betty Kay, Debbie Oaks and Gwen Grinstead.
These women have raised many of thousands of dollars and have made the Quilt-A-Thon the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Friends of the Library.
All of the funds raised during the event are dedicated to a particular need identified by the library. In recent years, Quilt-A-Thon proceeds have help to fund new public computers, new windows and a door for the library courtyard and a LED lighting upgrade.
During this year’s Quilt-A-Thon, volunteers will once again quilt two quilt tops. Organizer Krista Cloonan noted that anyone can be a volunteer quilter and no quilting experience is necessary.
“We always look forward to meeting new people that have an interest in the art of quilt making,” she said.
“We will start quilting Friday morning at 10 a.m. and continue on until 4 p.m., and then resume work on the quilts on Saturday morning,” she added.
There will also be a small consignment shop of locally sewn or quilted items available with 10 percent of the sales going to benefit the library.
The two quilt tops are currently displayed at the library.
One, a traditional maroon and green floral appliqué, was completely constructed by hand by an Amish woman. The other, an “Alice in Wonderland” appliqué baby quilt, was reproduced by Cloonan.
Quilters are encouraged to find sponsors. Anyone who sponsors a quilter for $5 or more or who purchases a raffle ticket at the library will be entered into drawing to win one of the completed quilts or a Singer sewing machine.
Proceeds from this year’s Quilt-AThon will be used to purchase robots that provide an introduction to robotics and coding for children and a gaming system for the Teen Thunder program.
