Taranaki community textile project started during lockdown now on display

The completed quilt is now on display in New Plymouth. Photo / supplied

A community textile project aimed at keeping people connected during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown will be on display in Stratford later this year.

The project, Taranaki APart Together, was the brainchild of a group of friends that included New Plymouth district councillor Amanda Clinton-Gohdes and New Plymouth MP Glen Bennett.

Glen Bennett (left) and Amanda Clinton-Gohdes (right) with contributor Lesley Ault. Photo / supplied

Their idea was based on the idea of people being able to work together even when lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions were keeping them apart. They asked people to make individual squares for a quilt that could then be connected after lockdown to create a community quilt.

Once they had put the call out and created a Taranaki APart Together Facebook page, beautiful squares began flooding in as knitters and sewing enthusiasts, along with people who had never tried quilting before, gave it a go.

A close-up of some of the squares. Photo / supplied

The squares weren't just beautiful, they were meaningful too, with many contributors sending a note or letter with their completed square explaining the meaning behind their design. Some squares included references to individual places around the maunga, while others featured nods to the lockdown experience, with appliqued teddy bears referencing the bears people put in their windows for children to spot on their walks appearing on some squares.

The quilt has now been completed, with the individual squares stitched together, and it is on display in New Plymouth at Access Radio in the Top Town Complex. The plan is for it to be on display there until Labour Weekend, before it travels around the maunga going on display in Stratford and Ōpunake in locations to be determined.

The details:
What: Taranaki APart Together - A community quilt project
Where: Now on display at Access Radio, Top Town Complex, 119 - 125 Devon St East, New Plymouth
More details: www.facebook.com/taranakiaparttogether