Threads of Friendship

One family sent the ribbon from the bowling league medal their son had won.

Another sent the tie from their deceased daughter’s bathrobe.
A third sent a ribbon with the legend “Happy Anniversary” repeated over and over.

These are just three of the hundreds of “threads” that were woven into a four- by-six-foot decorative wall hanging to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Fidelity House Human Services. Fidelity House is a Merrimack Valley nonprofit devoted to helping developmentally disabled people make a better life for themselves.

The commemorative weaving was the brainchild of Fidelity House director Yvonne M. Allard of Newburyport. Barbara Provest of Framingham designed and created the piece.

The work will hang in the reception area for all to see as they enter the headquarters of Fidelity House, at One Parker Street, Lawrence. The nonprofit serves some 600 adults and children with developmental disabilities from the Merrimack Valley, the North Shore, and Greater Boston.

“I was casting about for some way to celebrate our anniversary, something from the heart,” Allard said in an interview with Northshore. “We didn’t want to do a fundraiser. I liked the concept of the threads coming together to make a whole. Fidelity House is more than an agency. It is the people who came together with this sense of mission.”

A few months ago, Allard wrote to these special people – individuals receiving services, their families, Fidelity House employees, board and corporation members, founders, donors, colleagues, neighbors, community groups, local and state officials, anyone who has helped the agency in some way – asking them to contribute “threads” that had special significance for them.

The response was immediate. Hundreds of friends, including Rosalie Ruggiero, founder of Fidelity House, and Lillian Pease, its first director, wanted their threads to be included in the wall hanging.

Allard had a vision that the threads could be woven into a work of art, an intricate and beautiful symbol of the interdependence of everyone involved in the care of the disabled.

She set about finding the right person to create it. Her efforts led her to the venerable Weavers’ Guild of Boston and Barbara Provest, a veteran weaver.

It took Provest weeks to sort the threads and weave the pattern, using the monk’s belt technique, an old Scandinavian pattern.

“I received a huge box of threads from Yvonne,” Provest told Northshore Magazine. “I had plenty to work with. There were interesting fibers, beautiful ribbons, some metallic, even shoelaces that people donated. I even had a  necktie. They were like puzzle pieces in different colors, reds, yellow, blues, and turquoise. It was a challenge, but great fun.”

It was exacting work. Each thread had to be placed precisely.

“It all had to be coordinated. And of course I had to work on it in daylight so I could see the harmonies of color,” Provest said.

“I enjoy the fact that everyone is represented through fiber. The string and thread that they donated is the weft [the horizontal weaving]. The warp [vertical threads] is the Fidelity House colors holding it all together,” she said.

“Barbara is a gift,” Allard said. “She was as excited about the project as I am. She said that as soon as she heard about it, she started to imagine what she would do.”

Allard thinks it is appropriate that woven art represents the strength of the Lawrence-based Fidelity House. “Lawrence has a great textile history. Here on Parker Street, we are completely surrounded by the big, old textile buildings. When we started this project, we hoped to do something to commemorate the agency’s 35 years of history with the many people important to Fidelity House. We are delighted with how it turned out.”

To see the wall hanging…

…to learn more about Fidelity House Human Services, or to volunteer, call Yvonne Allard, director, at 978-685-9471, extension 121. Fidelity House, One Parker St., Lawrence, can also be reached through its website, www.fidelityhhs.org .

Fidelity House was founded in 1971 by a group of parents who wanted an alternative to state institutions for the disabled children they would someday no longer be able to care for themselves. The agency opened its first group home for women in the Tower Hill section of Lawrence in 1972 and now operates 16 fully staffed homes for small-group living for both men and women throughout the Merrimack Valley.

Men and women also live in their own apartments, with staff support.

The FHHS Children and Family Services Group serves 458 families and individuals throughout the Merrimack Valley, the North Shore, and Greater Boston.

It is funded through contracts with the Department of Mental Retardation, through the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, and by private contributions.

Weavers’ Guild of Boston

Founded in 1922, the Weavers’ Guild of Boston is the oldest weavers’ guild in the United States. It meets the second Wednesday of the month from September through May (except December and January) at the Evangelical Congregational Church in Westborough. Visitors are welcome.

Call 508.870.0468. Visit www.weaversguildofboston.org or their office, library, and classroom space at 8 Church Street, Westborough.