Beflast Free Library

Knit2Together
2024-01-17 16:00, 2024-01-24 16:00, 2024-01-31 16:00, 2024-02-07 16:00 (America/New_York) | Abbott Room
Knitters, crocheters, yarn enthusiasts of all experience levels are welcome to join us every Wednesday , from 4:00-5:30 pm in the Abbott Room.
This drop-in event is a chance for knitters- and crocheters too- of all ages and experience levels to chat, get tips, and learn from each other while working on their own projects. Library staff will have computers available to demonstrate how to use Ravelry.com and other websites to help find patterns and organize your work. Registration is not required. For more information please call 338-3884 ext.10
Contact bharrington@belfastlibrary.org to sign up to to join the knitting group.

Book Discussion "Well-Behaved Indian Women"
2024-01-22 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
The Belfast Free Library will offer a book discussion on the book, “Well-Behaved Indian Women” by Saumya Dave on Monday January 22, 6:30 pm at the Belfast Free Library.
The discussion, offered in collaboration with the 2024 Camden Conference, INDIA: Rising Ambitions, Challenges at Home will be facilitated by Judy Stein.
In the novel, Dave follows three generations of Indian and Indian-American women who struggle to define themselves as they pursue their dreams and grapple with the pressure to be the “Perfect Indian Woman.”
Pre-registration is required as space is limited. Books are available to borrow from the Belfast Free Library. To sign up stop by the main circulation desk or call 207-338-3884 ext 10.
For more information about the Camden Conference visit camdenconference.org

The Wheelbarrow Poets Meet
2024-01-23 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-01-30 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-02-06 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-02-13 09:30 - 11:00 | Abbott Room
The Wheelbarrow Poets meets weekly on Tuesdays in the Abbott Room from 9:30-11:00 a.m. Writing prompts are sent in advance of the gatherings by Belfast Poet Laureate Maya Stein, and participants share work and discuss. Open to writers ages 18 & up. Email hello@mayastein.com for more information and to register.

Book Discussion: "Sacred Instructions Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change" by Sherri Mitchell (Weh'na Ha'mu'Kwasset)
2024-01-23 15:00 - 16:30 | Abbott Room
Curl up with a good book that inspires appreciation of the natural world!
The Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition and the Belfast Free Library invite you to join our discussion series. We will be reading three books throughout the winter months. Our first book , “Sacred Instructions Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change” by Sherri Mitchell (Weh’na Ha’mu’Kwasset) , will be discussed on January 23rd, 3:00-4:30 in the Abbott Room.
Winter can be a time for introspection and Sherri’s Mitchell’s Sacred Instructions provides much for us to reflect upon. Using her perspective as a member of the Penobscot Nation, she considers how our values shape our relationships with each other and our environment and how values differ between Western and indigenous cultures. Her book is both a history of indigenous wisdom and a roadmap for bringing collaboration and respect to our lives. Discussion to be facilitated by Kate Hanson
To register for the discussion and to reserve a book, please stop by the main circulation desk of the Belfast Free Library or call 207-338-3884 ext 10.
The next books are:
Tuesday, February 27: The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2022, ed. by Ayana Johnson.
Tuesday, March 26: Landslide by Susan Conley

Encouraging Wildlife in Our Gardens with Gail Presley, Wildlife Biologist
2024-01-23 18:30 - 20:00 | Virtual Program on Zoom
This program is the first in the Belfast Garden Club Evening Lecture Series co-sponsored by the Belfast Free Library.
The program is offered on zoom. Register for the zoom link here.
Watching a male Cardinal tenderly feed his mate makes us aware that they must be nesting nearby. Seeing a fox hunt for small rodents makes us realize it depends on our property for food. Through planning and placement, we can enhance the habitat features wildlife need to thrive in our gardens. In this talk, we’ll explore habitat needs, how to design your landscape to provide habitat, how to choose plants to add or remove, and other steps toward rewilding our landscapes.
Gail Presley worked as a wildlife biologist who worked in landscape conservation planning for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for 22 years. Later she led the Georges River Land Trust for seven years. Her property in Rockland was a blank canvas that she began to fill with vegetable and flower gardens, fruit trees, and native plants. She has a BS from California Polytechnic State University in wildlife conservation.

Be Red Cross Ready
2024-01-29 18:00 - 19:30 | Abbott Room
Home fires, floods, hurricanes and wildfires are becoming more frequent and can be devastating to our loved ones, homes and communities.
Build confidence by learning simple steps you can take now, to help prepare and protect yourself and your loved ones. It’s easy to learn through our free disaster preparedness training.
We will also have an opportunity for individuals and families to sign up for free in-home smoke alarm installations and to create a fire escape plan!
Sponsored by the America Red Cross. For more information visit redcross.org

Knit Along Launch
2024-02-03 13:00 - 14:00 | Abbott Room
The Library’s Knit2Together is happy to host the Knit- Along (KAL) kick off meeting with pattern designer Reah Janise Kauffman. All are welcome to join!
Here are the details of the KAL:
Good Karma Yarn and Soap and Heavenly Yarns announce the first joint Knit-Along (KAL) featuring two new cowl designs by Reah Janise Kauffman using Good Karma’s DK weight yarn—Cowler (a single-color, guernsey stitch pattern) and Cowler 2 (a 2-color mosaic pattern).

Participants can select one or both patterns for the KAL. The price for one pattern is $5, $8 for both patterns with the coupon code “cowler KAL.” The coupon activates on January 20, 2024, but please wait until the official start date of February 3 to begin. Patterns are available on Ravelry.
The official start for the KAL is February 3, 2024 and ends Thursday, February 29, 2024.
Please post a picture of your finished cowl(s) on your Ravelry project page with a link to the pattern(s). At the end of the KAL, three participants will be randomly selected for a prize.
A kick-off meeting will be held at the Belfast Free Library on Saturday, February 3 from 1-2 pm. For those who cannot attend, a Zoom meeting will be held the same day at 4 pm.
To sign up for the KAL, send an email to rjkkal@gmail.com, especially if you will be joining the kick-off Zoom meeting so that she can email you the Zoom link.
Samples of the cowls are available at Good Karma Yarns in Bridgton and Heavenly Yarns in Belfast.

Artist Talk and Reception: Susan Hess
2024-02-06 15:00 - 17:00 | Abbott Room
Miniature Echoes: Through the Art of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers, an exhibit by fiber artist Susan Hess will be on display in the Kramer Gallery January 31- February 29, 2024. The exhibit is in recognition of Black History Month.
In 2006, the U.S. Postal Service chose ten quilts created by the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, and issued a book of 39¢ stamps as “American Treasures: Quilts of Gee’s Bend.” Inspired by the exhibit of the quilts at the Philadelphia Art Museum, the life stories of the women of Gee’s Bend, and the recent pandemic and social unrest, Maine fiber artist Susan Hess has replicated the ten stamps in miniature using weaving and embroidery techniques. She has self-published an autobiographic book entitled Miniature Echoes Through the Art of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers.
On Tuesday February 6th, at 4:00 pm Susan will give a brief history of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers and how her project unfolded. Books and note cards will be for sale at the reception. All are welcome, light refreshments will be served.
Susan has self-published an autobiographic book entitled ‘Miniature Echoes Through the Art of the Gee’s Bend Quiltmakers‘. She exhibits the artwork and presents programs to share how endeavors of creative imagination can reorient the societal, cultural and personal considerations of one’s awareness.
Bondage

Kiss & Tell: A Love-Themed Reading Event
2024-02-08 18:30 - 20:00 | Abbott Room
All are welcome to come and read a love-themed poem. Sign up starts at 6pm, readings at 6:30.
