Genoa resident Pat Ridey examines a quilt at the Genoa Public Library. Monday for Genoa Main Street’s Quilt and Needle Arts Walk, staff helped more than a dozen visitors in the first two hours. Genoa had its first downtown quilt walk about three years ago, Main Street director Mim Evans said, but when the local quilt shop took its business exclusively online, no one believed they had the expertise to host another event. Crafters can sit around the fire at the Illinois Community Credit Union to work on their projects, stop by the library to browse patterns and enter raffles and contests throughout the week. From the front window to the back room, the library is covered in quilts and needlework hung on walls and shelves and draped over chairs and quilt racks.

Tags: quilt, downtown, free quilting patterns, display, quilting patterns, quilting machine