Annual Stitch-a-Thon raises $1,385.25 for Millvale Community Library

The stitches weren’t the only thing tight-knit as caring crafters convened for the third annual Stitch-a-Thon to raise money for the Millvale Community Library.

The crafters gathered for five hours Sept. 6 under a canopy in the backyard shared by the library and Abeille Voyante Tea Co. to knit, crochet and stitch while watching episodes of “The Gilmore Girls” and sipping tea.

One of the stitchers, Pittsburgh resident Mya Burns, said the event was “very well-suited for fiber artists.”

“It’s a very tight-knit, pun intended, group of folks who care about fellow crafters and will show up to support small businesses and local spaces that support them,” Burns said.

Danielle Spinola, owner of Abeille Voyante Tea Co. and one of the Stitch-a-Thon organizers, said the idea for the fundraiser came from a joke between her and her Millvale friends that Millvale reminded them of Stars Hollow, the small town from the “The Gilmore Girls” TV show.

“I’m also a knitter, and so there’s an episode where the town comes together to knit to save the Old Muddy (River) Bridge,” Spinola said. “They come together in the square, and they all knit to raise money for the bridge.”

Stitchers raised money by getting friends and family members to sponsor their participation.

Donors gave $885.25 for this year’s Stitch-a-Thon, mostly by donating through the Givebutter nonprofit fundraising site.

This year, the Millvale Community Development Corporation matched the first $500 raised by the Stitch-a-Thon, bringing the total amount to $1,385.25, according to Melissa Mason, executive director of the Millvale Community Library.

“We are really appreciative for all involved in the Stitch-a-Thon this and every year, especially Danielle for working so hard to pull it all together. In Millvale, instead of ‘It takes a village,’ we like to say, ‘It takes a borough,’ ” Mason said.

Ten years ago, the Allegheny County Library Association started a campaign declaring September to be Love Your Library Month.

Each September, Mason said, the Jack Buncher Foundation “does a partial match for all libraries in Allegheny County on individual donations up to $500 and fundraising events during the month of September,” making the month an ideal time for library fundraisers.

“All of the libraries across the county of Allegheny, anything that we raise in donations this month, the Jack Buncher Foundation will partially match. And so that’s why we always try to do pushing for fundraisers,” Mason said. “Danielle has been awesome, and I will say this is the biggest Love Your Library Month fundraiser (for the Millvale Community Library) every year.”

Millvale Community Library’s librarian, Megan Hedges, concurred that Millvale is like Stars Hollow in that both are “quirky” communities with “little weirdo neighbors” who care for each other.

“Millvale is one of those neighborhoods that if anybody needs anything, people are really good about making it work. There’s a lot of mutual aid in this neighborhood, which is really great to see,” Hedges said.

Millvale Community Library organizes some of that mutual aid with its Free Fridge and Tool Library.

The funds raised will contribute to these projects, along with other programming at the library such as yoga and events for children.

In promoting the Stitch-a-Thon, Spinola and Amy Walker McCall of Millvale-based McWalker Yarns encouraged stitchers to bring to the fundraiser or create ahead of time 12-inch by 12-inch squares of knitted or crocheted yarn to yarn bomb the Rainbow Raccoon statue set to be installed in Rainbow Raccoon Park.

Yarn bombing is a form of street art that involves fitting objects or structures in public spaces with knitted or crocheted yarn.

Ben Avon resident Karen Derzic, who has attended two previous Stitch-a-Thons, spent her time this year knitting squares for the raccoon.

“I’ve seen pictures of him, and I’m really excited. So I’ve made two squares, and I love the idea of doing any sort of yarn bombing. When they did Knit the Bridge years back, I did do a part for that too,” Derzic said.

Jess Oest, a learning neighborhood manager for WQED, also ran a table during the Stitch-a-Thon with coloring pages for kids and materials from the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse that participants could use to weave squares for the raccoon.

“I saw the information on Instagram about the event, and I got really excited because I love the Millvale library, and I do some work with them, and I love the tea shop, and just Millvale as a whole. I love Millvale,” Oest said.

Burns won a Stitch-a-Thon tote bag filled with “local gems” for raising the most money out of all the stitchers: $377. The bag, designed by Hedges, included teas from Abeille Voyante Tea Co., yarn from McWalker Yarns, Love Your Library Month merchandise, a book about crafting and community and “an assortment of tea- and yarn-themed stickers.”

“Overall, it was definitely one of the best prizes I’ve ever won, and I can’t wait to drink some tea, start a new project and remember how lovely Stitch-a-Thon was,” Burns said. “This was my first time doing Stitch-a-Thon, and I can’t wait to do it again next year.”