Pictured (from left) Stitched Together members Shirley Cloyd, Linda Griffith, and Pam Geringer.
In September of 2022, the Nevada Public Library welcomed a local quilting group into its meeting room. The meeting room, when available, is open to many types of community groups who need a space to gather.
To the members of Stitched Together (ST), who needed a larger space for their charitable quilt-making, the library offers great lighting, carts to transport supplies, a little kitchenette area, and “the library staff has been fabulous to work with,” said Pam Geringer, one of the ST members.
Shirley Cloyd said ST started about 15 years ago when several quilters, who attended the Shipley Schoolhouse Thursday morning coffees, were told about a quilter who had passed and her family didn’t know what to do with all of her supplies. The quilter had made quilts for Hope Ministries.
“So, we got to work,” Cloyd said, “utilizing her material to make more quilts for Hope Ministry.”
Since that time, ST has given quilts to a number of charitable causes, including Martha’s House of Hope, Wings of Refuge, Youth and Shelter Services, Home for Awhile, and two women’s shelters.
“Our material is all donated,” Cloyd said, “but once in awhile we sell quilts to make money to buy more supplies.”
Cloyd finishes the group’s quilts on her own long-arm machine at her home, but the space at the library is perfect for all the work that goes into piecing these quilt tops together prior to them being finished.
“It’s a really, truly delightful group,” Geringer said. Some original members have passed on and a few are away for the winter months, but on many workdays you’ll find Geringer, Cloyd, Linda Griffith, Betty Toot, Wanda Kamp, Nancy Reiter, and Connie Smith sitting at a sewing machine during their gathering time. Sometimes you might even find a husband. Neale Cloyd was busy working with the ladies on Jan. 10.
ST is meeting weekly at the library on most Tuesdays. They are open to anyone who loves quilting to join them.
As for the Nevada Public Library, the staff loves seeing the library’s meeting room in use. If you have a group that might benefit from this space, please reach out to the library staff, 515-382-2628.
–Written by Marlys Barker, City of Nevada
