By Kayla Pickrell

Catherine Brereton, English and women’s studies junior, was awarded the scholarship for the Gaines Fellowship for the 2011-12 school year.

A part of the requirement is the Jury Project— students must create a project that connects UK to the community.

As a knitter, Brereton decided to focus her project on knitting and creating a quilt that would benefit more than just the local community.

“We want to celebrate the good stuff and show the more personal stories from the LGBT community,” Brereton said.

Her decision was to let the community create and knit 144 squares to be sewed together to complete a quilt.

“There are people contributing from all over the world — South Africa, the Arctic Circle, Canada, England…” Brereton said.

People can contribute in many ways: sending money to buy the products, sending yarn, as well as sending squares.

Each contributor will have a bio by their square, a quote and a story to highlight their contribution.  Some individuals, however, have decided to stay anonymous.

“Anonymity is just as powerful as showing who you are,” Brereton said.

On top of the mailed-in squares, Brereton holds meetings often where 20 to 25 people show up to knit.

“People have come to me learning to knit just to be able to make a square for the quilt,” Brereton said.  “Some of them even have holes in them.”

Brereton believes that the way the squares are made reflect how they are in life.

“I didn’t know how to knit at first, but after the first Knit-In that Catherine arranged, I felt competent and excited to get started knitting some squares,” Jenna Goldsmith, English doctoral candidate, said.

Some of the squares have tilted sides and missing parts, but it shows how people are in the community.

“The imperfection makes it perfection,” Brereton said.

The final quilt will be featured in a showing, to be bought by someone in the community.

The quilt is a dedication to LGBT members with stories of AIDS and suicide, but also of celebration.

One story included a couple in California who won king and queen for homecoming.

A square with a unicorn symbolizes a young man who committed suicide, but in his note he stated that he wanted to be remembered as a unicorn.  His father is coming down to speak from Ottawa, Canada, to speak when the quilt is released.

The money made from the sale will be put toward a scholarship for an LGBT student at UK.

“I cannot say enough how much I look forward to seeing the project further develop and eventually culminate in a beautiful blanket and a scholarship for a deserving student,” Goldsmith said.

Ideally, if more than $1,000 is made, Brereton would like to make multiple scholarships for succeeding years.

The one who purchases the quilt will be able to do whatever they want with it, but Brereton hopes they will keep it on display or allow people to add squares to it. Regardless, people will be able to become impacted by the quilt.

“The stereotypes and prejudices get broken down when individuals start asking questions,” Brereton said.

By the end of January, Brereton hopes to have reached the 144 square count and start on the quilt.

“If it changes one person’s perspective and thinking, then it is a job well done,” Brereton said.