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The Salem CommUNITY Quilt Project

What is the CommUNITY Quilt Project?

Community quilt logo

  • What is it?

    • In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Salem Academy and College and in the spirit of cooperation and community that we all seek to foster on this campus, the staff of Salem Library and Student Engagement are proud to announce the Salem CommUNITY Quilt Project. Materials will be made available in the Student Center for anyone (students, student organizations, staff & faculty) to use to make squares that will be sewn together into a grand unity quilt to be displayed in the Salem Library!

  • When is it?

    • The Salem CommUNITY Quilt Project will begin on February 26th in the Great Room of the Student Centerand the finished quilt will be unveiled on Reunion Weekend, followed by a procession to bring the quilt from the Student Center to the library (as Salem members traditionally did when christening a new building. You can read more about this here!).

  • What do I need to do?

    • Just show up! No experience is required to participate. We will be providing periodic workshops through the semester where you can get help starting on your piece, troubleshooting a stubborn thread, or any other problems you encounter. You can also check out our Resources page in the guide for tips, tricks, and other quilting and fabric arts information!

  • How can I contribute?

    • We will be asking that students, staff, faculty, groups & departments to design a quilt square using embroidery that we will sew into a larger quilt. The squares will be simple and will utilize simple embroidering techniques so that even those with little-to-no experience with the fabric arts can participate!

  • Embroidering? I thought this was a quilting project. Quilt with Embroidered Squares, via Village Fabric Shop

    • That's right--it is a quilting project, but the individual squares that will create the quilt will be embroidered with patterns. That's your part! (See the image from the Village Fabric Shop for an example)

  • What do I need to bring?

    • Materials will be provided; however, if you have your own preferred materials, plan to bring them with you! We suggest that participants use embroidery hoops, needles, thread, scissors, and fabric markers. 

  • What if I want to use my own fabric/thread?

    • While we highly encourage everyone to participate, we will need to be selective about the fabrics and threads that are used, in order to create a cohesive quilt. Please reach out to Victoria Burgos or Cait Whitehead and they can determine if your personal materials can be utilized in the project! On a similar note, if you have supplies that you wish to donate to the project, please reach out to Cait and Victoria.
    •  Materials mentioned in the above question will be needed throughout the semester! Donation of funds for these and for fabric will also be appreciated.

    • If you yourself or someone you know is interested in the final steps of quiltmaking (cutting and sewing fabric) please contact us to let us know. We will be making and sewing together at least 450 pieces of fabric (and this number may increase with more submissions)! 

  • I have more questions that are not answered here.