
Selicia Applegate (left) and Amy Lundquist (right) hold up the completed Freedom Quilt made by community members.
Palatine Library District is unveiling a new 8-foot by 7-foot freedom quilt that was completed in the library’s makerspace, The Workshop.
Members of the community came together in a big way to complete this project in honor of Black History Month in February. Historically, freedom quilts were believed to use special coded blocks to communicate methods of escape for enslaved people.
During the first two weeks of February, library members were invited to grab materials and design their own block for the quilt. The last two weeks were dedicated to putting the finished blocks together and teaching members how to use the newly donated long-arm quilting machine in The Workshop. In the end, members made 42 blocks, surpassing the initial goal of 20 blocks.
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