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Sunday 10 January 2021

CHETHAM'S LIBRARY

 

  When the subject of libraries was chosen as the next challenge, I thought that I would like to do something based on one of the libraries in which I have worked. In the late 1980’s I was a newly qualified librarian who had been unemployed for a year, when I found a place on an MSC Scheme at Chetham’s library in Manchester, where I was involved in cataloguing books and tracts until I managed to find a permanent post eight months later. Chetham’s library was founded in 1653 by Humphrey Chetham and is the oldest library open to the public in the English speaking world. It is in a beautiful medieval building from the 1420’s, which you can see in this selection of photos: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Chetham%27s_Library I was really lucky to work in such a place and have fond memories of my months there. You can find out more about the library on their site: https://library.chethams.com/ and there are a couple of short videos about the library and its history:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ibnx-kabOw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDJeVNhogn8&t=17s

   I did some sketches from the photos that I found on line, and decided to make a lino print from them. I was quite pleased with my prints, despite the errors in the drawing, which resulted in a wonky door, and which I only noticed when I had almost finished cutting the block. I think I made the error when I was straightening out some lines after I had transferred the drawing to the block, and decided to alter some of the other lines. I had originally intended to transfer print the pattern of the leaded windows onto a sheer fabric and place that over the print, as if you were looking through the window to the other part of the building. Unfortunately it didn’t work: the sheer wasn’t sheer enough, the print of the building wasn’t dark enough and it just looked as though it was a very foggy day. The print on its own was too small for the size of the quilt, and I really wasn’t sure what to do with it after that. Quilter’s block set in, and it took me a long time to come up with any way in which I could use my print for this project. I finally came up with the idea of joining two of the prints together, but it was still too small, so in the end I gave up and made two small quilts, which are practically the same and put them side by side to make the correct size!