July Quilt Installed at Library

The collaborative quilt project between Virginia Public Library and the Going to Pieces Quilt Guild continues in July with a quilt aptly filled with sparkle.  With a surprising color combination of red, purple and silver, “Ladies Choice” was designed and quilted by Karen Lamppa, a long-standing member of 4 regional quilt guilds.

Mrs. Lamppa was raised in a family that valued the art of handwork in the form of knitting, embroidery, sewing, weaving and also quilting.  She believes this is why she was destined to embrace the fiber arts which led to a major in Home Economics.   She became a local celebrity in 2007 when one of her quilts was accepted by the Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky to be displayed in a series called “Stitches from the Upper Midwest”.  This work was one of only 30 selected from entries from 4 States.

Ladies Choice

“Ladies Choice” is the result of a 6 month block of the month challenge for the All Range Quilters project for which the primary requirement was to include an umbrella and a flower.  Karen’s personal challenge was to use fabrics from her stash for her blocks.  It was only after she finished the blocks that she found the perfect fabric for her outer border which highlighted her unusual color choice. 

Nancy Maxwell, Director of Virginia Public Library has been “amazed by the quality of works displayed by our local artists and their dedication to their craft.   This project has been an inspiration for many of our patrons.”

The motto of the Going to Pieces Quilt Guild is “Inspire, Instruct & Improve.”  Area sewers are welcome to attend the monthly meetings of the Guild.  These are held the 3^rd Tuesday of each month from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. in the basement of the First Covenant Church at 232 5^th St South.  Quilting retreats are sponsored by the guild every Spring and Fall.  For more information, contact Darcy at 750-7035 or Betty at 741-4348.  New members are always welcome!

Be sure to visit the library to tour the lobby throughout the next 4 months to see each new installation.  For more information on this project, or other services the library provides, please call 748-7525 or check the event calendar at www.virginia.lib.mn.us.

One Book, One Community -- The Dance Boots

The Dance Boots

One Book, One Community

Join us in reading The Dance Boots by Linda LeGarde Grover, this year's One Book, One Community selection.  This collection of short stories portrays an Ojibwe community struggling to follow traditional ways of life in the face of a relentlessly changing world.  A cycle of boarding schools, alcoholism, and violence haunts the stories even as the characters find beauty and solace in their large extended families.  

Linda LeGarde Grover

For the first time, in addition to the Virginia, Duluth, and Cloquet public libraries, the Superior and Two Harbors public libraries are participating, as well.  As a result, there are many more programs than in the past.

The featured One Book, One Community event will be held at the Fitger's Brewery Complex on Tuesday, April 14, at 7:00.  The evening will feature the Oshkii Giizhik singers and a talk by Linda Grover.

There will be three events in Virginia.  The first is on Monday, March 23.  The Oprah Book Club will meet at Gethsemane Lutheran Church at 4:30 to discuss the book.  Non-members are welcome to attend.  

The second event in Virginia will be at the library.  Linda Grover will be here on Thursday, April 16, at noon.  She will talk about her book, sharing the background for the stories, characters, and settings.  Copies of the book will be available for purchase and autographing.

Murder of Joe White

The final event in Virginia features Erik Redix, who will be at the library the following week, on April 23, at noon, as part of the overall One Book, One Community series of events.  His book, The Murder of Joe White:  Ojibwe Leadership and Colonialism in Wisconsin, examines the events surrounding the attempted arrest and subsequent murder of Ojibwe chief Joe White by Wisconsin game wardens in 1894.  

For more information, as well as a complete schedule of events at all of the participating venues, click here.  Event brochures are also available at the library.  For more information, contact us at 748-7525.

This program is supported in part by the Friends of the Virginia Public Library.  

A complete list of supporters can be found on the One Book, One Community brochure.