Fridays in June: June 6, June 13, June 20, and June 27
11:00 am-12:00 pm
In-person & Virtual – Registration Required
Please join local yoga teacher, Michelle Heron, as she leads a 4-week Yoga for Community Care series at the Melrose Public Library. Yoga will be held in-person at the newly renovated library in the lower level Meeting Room with an option to attend online through the ZOOM platform. Each class will include accessible yoga poses, attention to breath, and mindful awareness to bring in supportive care and community connection as we shift from spring into summer.
Expect a gentle to moderate yoga flow where we will move from seated to standing to lying down poses. Suggested props for class: a yoga mat, towel/blanket, strap, yoga blocks, extra pad for knee cushioning, and an optional eye pillow.
Classes are free and open to all to join; however, registration is required for each session. Register for either in-person or virtual attendance.
Get creative this June with vibrant projects, clever yarn tips, and sunny-day sewing!
Using your library card and PIN, create your own account for FREE and nurture your creative side with 1000+ video classes in painting, knitting, crafting, sewing & more!
A handy little pouch that’s cleverly constructed and useful to boot? Yes please! In this Creativebug class, you’ll learn how to draft your very own vintage-inspired accordion pouch from scratch, then sew it together step by step. With its layered compartments and compact design, this project is as functional as it is fun to make. The finished pouch is perfect for travel, or for keeping your favorite jewelry, sewing notions, or tiny treasures organized at home. Get ready to stitch up something both charming and practical!
CbMixtapes are playlists made of specific bits taken from different classes and grouped together by a common theme. It’s a fun way to learn how one topic is approached by a variety of artists with different techniques, all rounded up in one curated mixtape.
Whether chewy, crunchy, or melt-in-your-mouth, candy satisfies the sweet tooth of artists everywhere. See how these six Creativebug artists paint, doodle, sketch, and draw candy. And if that’s whet your appetite, check out the full Daily Practice series of each artist below:
If there’s one thing crocheters and knitters can agree on, it’s this: weaving in yarn tails is no one’s favorite task, especially when adding new yarn mid-project. In this technique class, crochet designer and author Twinkie Chan teaches four tail-free ways to join yarn invisibly: the magic knot, the weaver’s knot, the Russian join, and the braided join. These methods work best when joining the same color yarn and aren’t ideal for precise color changes in colorwork, but with a bit of practice, you can get pretty close. Each join has its own strengths, and everyone tends to find a favorite. Come discover which one works best for you.
Crochet designer and author Twinkie Chan shows you two easy ways to turn a hank of yarn into a center-pull ball. While most yarns from big craft stores come in skeins—ready to use with a convenient yarn tail—many yarns from local shops are sold in hanks. A hank is a large loop of yarn twisted into itself, and if you try to work directly from it, you’ll quickly end up with a tangled mess. That’s why learning to wind your own center-pull ball is a must. Twinkie walks you through the process with and without a yarn swift and ball winder, so you’re covered either way.
Nikki Furlong of Simply Quilled Designs lives in the Pacific Northwest and is inspired by nature and all its colors and textures. She brings this inspiration to the art of paper quilling. Paper quilling is a traditional and little-known art form. She takes long thin paper strips, coils them tightly, and then bends and shapes the coils into intricate designs. In this class, Nikki will teach you how to paper quill a mini pot of flowers. You’ll learn how to use a quilling tool and transform paper strips into tiny circles, cups, teardrops, petals, and scrolls. Then you’ll assemble these paper shapes into a tiny, charming bouquet with touches of paper greenery. Even the soil is paper! You have the option of placing your potted flowers under a glass dome for protection, and Nikki will also show you how to make a wire clip to add a photo or note. This project is easy to personalize for the perfect gift, and you’ll have a lot of fun playing with paper shapes and colors to create your own flowers and arrangements.
Take your custom front torso sloper from Sanae Ishida’s foundational class and turn it into a beautifully fitted, sleeveless tiered dress. Beloved instructor and pattern maker Sanae guides you through each step, from transforming your sloper into a dress bodice to gathering the skirt, adding pockets, and customizing details like shoulder width and number of tiers. It’s a perfect project for practicing precision while embracing creativity and personal style.
Transgender YA and now Adult author Edward Underhill will be joining the Boyden Library, Foxborough (in collaboration with a multitude of MA & NH libraries) as part of the “Together With Pride” initiative to discuss his two newest books; The In Between Bookstore (Adult debut released in January 2025) and In Case You Read This (YA released in May 2025) with Boyden’s Teen Librarian Jennifir Huston.
The Melrose Public Library extends its gratitude to the Boyden Library for hosting and the Ashland Public Library for generously providing Zoom access for this event.
RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
About Edward: Edward Underhill grew up in the suburbs of Wisconsin, where he could not walk to anything, so he had to make up his own adventures. He studied music in college, spent several years living in very small apartments in New York, and currently resides in California with his partner and a talkative black cat. He is the author of the young adult novels Always the Almost and This Day Changes Everything. The In-Between Bookstore is his first book for adults.
About The In-Between Bookstore: A poignant and enchanting novel about a magical bookstore that transports a trans man through time and brings him face-to-face with his teenage self, offering him the chance of a lifetime to examine his life and identity to find a new beginning.
About In Case You Read This: When Arden and Gabe randomly meet in the lobby of a motel in Nebraska, it feels like fate. Both are trans, but more importantly, both are huge fans of the band Damaged Pixie Dream Boi. Clearly, the universe is trying to tell them something. Right?
But after an incredible evening of hanging out, the pair part ways only knowing the other’s first name. And as both boys struggle to adjust to their new homes, their thoughts keep being drawn back to their time together. Is one perfect night enough to bring Arden and Gabe back to each other, or will the boys need some help to find each other again?
This program is hosted by the Boyden Library, Foxborough, is brought to you in collaboration with a multitude of MA & NH libraries, and is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library.
Are you tired of screens taking over? Are you wondering how to help your kids thrive in a digital world? Gain the confidence and tools you need to tackle tech head-on with Better Screen Time’s Tech-Healthy Family Formula. This formula provides five steps parents can take to help reduce screen time, restore family time, and finally feel peace of mind.
Parents will learn how to:
Create a family tech plan with their kids
Take a slow-tech approach to introduce technology
Teach their children about digital dangers and distractions
About Andrea: Andrea Davis is a former secondary ed teacher turned screen time navigator. She is the founder of Better Screen Time where she shares family-tested ideas from the (tech) trenches as a mom of five. She is on a mission to help parents worry less about tech and connect more with their kids. Andrea is the author of Creating a Tech-Healthy Family and is certified by the Digital Wellness Institute. Andrea and her husband, Tyler, live in beautiful Hood River, Oregon where they love spending time outdoors as a family.
RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.
Presented in partnership with a wide array of Massachusetts and New Hampshire Libraries. Made possible, in part, by the Friends of the Melrose Public Library.
Love Historical Fiction but not sure what to read next? Join guest host author, Kerrie Maher for 30 minutes of pure book recommendations – the best of historical fiction out there! Catch this program every month, regularly hosted by Jane Healey!
Kerrie Maheris the USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of The Paris Bookseller, All You Have To Do is Call, The Kennedy Debutante, and The Girl in White Gloves. She is also the author of This Is Not A Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World under the name Kerri Majors. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and founded YARN, an award-winning literary journal of short-form YA writing.
A list of all recommendations will be shared for those who register. There will also be recordings of each meeting uploaded to the Ashland Public Library YouTube Channel.
This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Ashland Public Library and is in collaboration with a multitude of MA and NH libraries.
