STITCH BY STITCH: Local Library Rekindles A Creative Tradition
Altoona Public Library and Eau Claire County 4-H present summer sewing workshops
Honoring a longtime partnership, the Altoona Public Library Summer Reading Program and Eau Claire County 4-H Club are teaming up this month to present a free, two-part sewing workshop for young adults.
The workshops will take place from 5-6pm on July 8 and July 15 at the Altoona Public Library (1303 Lynn Ave., Altoona) with signups open to students entering grades 7-12 who are part of the summer program.
Rachel Hart-Brinson, the bilingual 4-H coordinator and University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension educator for Eau Claire County, will be leading the students to create heatable cloth “corn packs” while learning to safely operate a sewing machine.
Hart-Brinson, who began sewing at age seven through her own 4-H program, spoke highly of the tactile skills sewing can bring to young creatives.
“I think there is a benefit to building skills in creating something and feeling confident in building mastery of doing something,” Hart-Brinson said. “Sewing offers the ability to build your own sense of style and understand more about how clothes are put together.”
Regina Arndt, a youth services librarian at the Altoona Public Library, said these sewing activities take place during Tuesday night workshops throughout the library’s seven-week summer reading program events for teens.
“While these workshops aren’t required for the program, a lot of kids enjoy them and come when they can,” Arndt said.
The reading program, which is open to anyone entering grades 7-12, currently has 137 members. Arndt emphasized that in-person signups for the program are open throughout the summer, and that it’s never too late to join. “We never turn a kid away,” Arndt noted.
Some of the other reading program activities have included walking field trips touring local businesses, juggling, and crafts like water marbling. Arndt said these events can have a turnout of anywhere from five to 15 teens.
Hart-Brinson spoke fondly of the partnership between the library and 4-H program. She said in addition to summer reading activities, the club frequently holds events at the library, and the collaboration helps to raise awareness about the 4-H community.
"If anyone is looking to build relationships with young people and teach them crocheting or cooking or anything in-between, there's lots and lots of opportunities for that."
Rachel Hart-brinson
University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension educator for Eau Claire County, bilingual 4-H coordinator
“There are lots of kiddos who are part of our programs, but families have different needs than they did a long time ago,” Hart-Brinson said. “Joining a club that meets once a month and having a community that way just doesn't work for everybody.”
Arnt and Hart-Brinson both expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming workshops and summer programs offered at the Altoona Public Library.
While she praised the resource-rich programs available for youth in the Chippewa Valley, Hart-Brinson also stressed the need for volunteers to help lead these activities — like sewing — which bring value to the community.
“If anyone is looking to build relationships with young people and teach them crocheting or cooking or anything in between, there's lots and lots of opportunities for that,” Hart-Brinson said.
To sign up for the upcoming sewing workshops or learn more about the Altoona Public Library, visit their website online. For 4-H inquiries and volunteer opportunities, email Rachel Hart-Brinson at rachel.hartbrinson@wisc.edu.
