Monroeville Library celebrates 50th anniversary blanketed in cozy art

With shelves upon shelves of fiction, there's no shortage of yarns in Monroeville Public Library. Now there's no shortage of yarn, either.

As part of the yearlong celebration of Monroeville Public Library's 50th anniversary, librarians have organized the Blanket the Library exhibit that combines a charity drive and an art exhibit.

Local knitters, crocheters, tailors and seamstresses donated small blankets, shawls and scarves to drape or hang all over the building.

Sally Wightkin, the library gallery manager, said the roughly 175 pieces will go to local hospitals and charities at the end of the month. Until then, the pieces will be on display covering the library's first floor.

“We pretty much have the first floor covered,” Wightkin said. “Anyplace where they're not in the way.”

Wightkin, who started knitting as a first-grader in a Detroit Waldorf school, made a small blanket.

One donor who didn't give a name left eight or 10 child-size afghans. Many of the pieces came from community groups and churches.

Wightkin said the idea for the exhibit came from the world of installation art — a contemporary genre three-dimensional pieces of art. Around the time librarians were looking for ideas to celebrate the building's 50th anniversary, which is this year, a local piece of installation art was fresh on their minds.

Volunteer artists covered much of Pittsburgh's Andy Warhol Bridge in colorful yarn a year ago in a community art project called Knit the Bridge.

“We were kind of brainstorming, and Knit the Bridge had just finished up,” Wightkin said.

Gideon Bradshaw is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-871-2369.