The hand-crafted poppies and a large multi-coloured wreath adorning a display of Anzac and war-themed books at the library have been created by members of The Little Yellow Suitcase — Fibre Crafts Group.
Founded in February, the South Dunedin Community Library-based fibre craft group is led by handcraft enthusiasts Sharon Rose and Barbara-Ann Whelan, with support from the library team.
Ms Rose said the library was keen to work with community groups to encourage more members of the public to visit and enjoy its programmes.
‘‘It worked out perfectly for us — South Dunedin is a great hub and the library is amazing,’’ she said.
The group, which meets informally near the library entrance on Wednesdays from 10.30am-noon, and Thursdays from 5.30pm-7pm, provides a friendly, welcome space for people to enjoy knitting, crochet, needle work, felting and other fibre crafts.
Ms Whelan said, although the group’s leaders did not provide teaching, they were able to offer advice to people.
‘‘People bring in their own projects to work on and enjoy a chat at the same time, she said.
Periodically, the group worked together on a project, which was how the Anzac Day-themed display came about.
Over recent weeks, the eight regular Little Yellow Suitcase — Fibre Crafts Group members had been hard at work making more than 160 red, purple and white poppies for the window display and wreath.
South Dunedin Community Library assistant Michelle Feary accessed a broad range of books on the theme of war to create the Anzac display shelves, many of them brought from the stacks at Dunedin City Library.
‘‘We wanted the display to offer a wide range of perspectives on war and related topics and we have some really interesting topics — from military history to clothing,’’ Ms Feary said.
The Anzac-themed displays will continue at the library for the next couple of weeks.
The Little Yellow Suitcase — Fibre Crafts Group is keen to welcome new members to its Wednesday and Thursday sessions. Interested people are welcome to come along.
For more information, email brannywhelan@gmail.com or phone South Dunedin Community Library on (03) 474-3690.
