Important announcement from AAQI

The following information from Ami Simms arrived in my inbox today.

The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative will most likely reach the $1,000,000 mark in money raised for Alzheimer’s research some time in 2013!
The work of your hands and the compassion in your hearts has brought us to this milestone. I will be forever grateful to each and every one of you for your support and dedication.

Ami and her mother, Beebe, in 2006 shortly after the AAQI began.

What began as one person’s response to sorrow and frustration has grown into a national charity embraced by a large portion of the quilting community. More than 13,000 quilts have been donated, turning sweat equity into over $883,000 for research so far. For many donors these quilts were healing works of art which helped them grieve as they stitched for the greater good. Hundreds of thousands of people have seen the AAQI’s two traveling quilt exhibits about Alzheimer’s. Through this artistry came the realization for many that they were not alone on this journey of heartbreak; others understood, perhaps for the first time, what a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s really means. Together quilters have funded 11 research studies at six universities and a medical school. Three more studies will be funded this month and hopefully more throughout 2013. Because of the AAQI, scientists know a little bit more about Alzheimer’s than they did before. Hopefully this understanding will bring us all closer to a cure.

When I created the AAQI back in 2006, I never expected it to become so successful! I also never imaged how much work it would take to keep it going. As the AAQI blossomed, board members and core volunteers have had to increase our hours and pace to keep up. While I find enormous satisfaction in nurturing the AAQI, I much prefer sewing to administrating. I miss just being a full-time quilter.

For this reason, 2013 will be the last year of fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative. I hope you will help the AAQI reach our goal of One Million Dollars for research and then at the end of 2013 celebrate with everyone who made this tremendous achievement possible. Please review the important dates below:

February 15, 2013: All bookings for the traveling exhibit “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” must be finalized.

March 1, 2013: First online auction of quilts from “Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope” traveling exhibit. Twenty-six Name Quilts will be auctioned during the first 10 days of March, April, May, June, July, August, and September. Payment will be required at the conclusion of each auction with shipping in October 2013 after the exhibit retires. The 54 Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts from the traveling exhibit will be auctioned during the first 10 days of October and December.

July 2013: Last month to participate in the Quilt-A-Month Club.

August 1, 2013: Last day to register Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts. Quilts delivered to scanners after August 20 will be refused.

October 29 – November 3, 2013: International Quilt Festival. We hope to be invited back one last time to sell quilts in Houston, TX.

November 1-10, 2013: Celebrity Invitational Quilt Online Auction

December 30, 2013: Last day Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilts can be purchased online.

December 31, 2013: Quilts For Sale and Donation pages will be removed from the AAQI website and all solicitations will cease.

2014-2015: The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative will monitor research grants awarded in 2013. The AQQI web page will be left intact for at least six months. Any funds not needed to sustain the AAQI’s final expenses will be donated to research. Remaining assets will be disposed of according to IRS regulations after which time the corporation will be dissolved.

There is still much work to this year as we sprint to the finish line. I hope everyone who reads this will join in, either as a seasoned veteran or a first time quilt donor or quilt buyer. We will continue to make a difference until the very last quilt is sold. Let’s make 2013 the best year ever!

I hope that you will find some way to help make the goal a possibility, whether by donating a quilt or quilts, bidding on an auction, spreading the word, or purchasing a quilt.

Until next time, wishing you peace and all good.

Christmas 2012

Now that Christmas is over and the gifts have been delivered, I can share what I was working on this last month. (There would have been more, but a nasty cold visited our household after Thanksgiving.)

There was the playmat for my grandson, who is very much "into" cars and trucks. His twin sister also enjoys playing with them, and they share amazingly well for their age. It is backed with a bright number fabric, since he also enjoys counting and can recognize some numbers. Additionally, it has a tie, so the playmat can be rolled up for storage or to carry along on adventures!

Then, there were the table runner and hot pads for my DIL, who is a marvelous cook. I made them with Insul~Bright batting (which you can find out about here: http://www.warmcompany.com/ibpage.html), so they should stand up to the heat. I also tried some new free motion quilting techniques on them, and was pleased with how the quilting turned out.

In each case, I used preprinted panels, which I knew as soon as I saw them were meant for the recipients.

I hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year) and that 2013 proves to be an awesome year! May you be blessed with peace and all good.

Holiday Preparations

It hit me Saturday morning that I have only four weeks until my larger family Christmas party. Now, ordinarily, that wouldn't be a problem, but I am woefully behind on my preparations. For several reasons, my normal engagement in the process did not kick in at its usual time. Since I still give gifts to many of the family members who will be there, I will have to do some quick work to get ready.

We are quite fortunate in our ability to get together for this holiday celebration each year. The family has been doing this since my grandmother was alive and all my uncles and their families living close enough would come to celebrate. Now it is my generation that is continuing the tradition. Our children, grandchildren, and even some great-grandchildren join us as they can. It makes for one very large party, even though some of the children are not able to attend, since they live too far away.

As a result of the time constraints, I may not be blogging for a while. I will return as soon as possible, however. In the meantime, I wish you a happy holiday season, however (and whatever) you celebrate.

Focus

If you have been following my blog, you know that I have had some issues recently that are guaranteed to make a person think about their priorities and goals. None of us knows how long we will be able to do the things that might make a difference in our lives or in the world. For many years, I have been trying to discern what it is best for me to do.

Among other things, I have been trying to decide on a path for my artwork. After reading this book, I finally was able to narrow my art focus to two areas.

We Make Dolls 

 



My plan is to create dolls representing people from around the world and small wall hangings addressing environmental and social issues. It has been a number of years since I made dolls on a regular basis, but the example of artists like Mimi Kirchner reminds me of the joy I felt in creating them. In addition, the size of the priority quilt I made for AAQI or slightly larger feels much more "right" to me for my art.

It has been a long road to get to this point, and I know that it will take time to get production under way, but I feel I have finally made the breakthrough I needed. I am looking forward to sharing the results with you in future posts.

Until next time, I wish you peace & all good.

AAQI at Houston

I got an e-mail from Ami Simms recently with the following information about the Alzheimer Quilts exhibit and sale at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. I would like to share it with any of you who might be able to make it to the show.

 

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative is offering more than 2,100 Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts for sale at International Quilt Festival in Houston. Please head over to the front of the Exhibit Hall, Row S and buy a few quilts (Oct 31-Nov 4). All profits fund Alzheimer's research.

See the quilts: http://www.alzquilts.org/houston2012.html

If you would like to help sell quilts, rope people into the booth (it is Texas after all) or generally lend a hand, they need you. Sign up for a 2-3 hour time slots (and get free admission on the days you volunteer) or join their Text Brigade and help "as needed." Learn more and sign up here:

http://aaqiupdate.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/houston-helpers-the-aaqi-text-brigade/

 

Win this quilt! The AAQI is launching a newsletter to keep supporters informed. One lucky subscriber will win a beautiful little quilt made by Martha Wolfersberger. Sign up here for a chance to win and keep tabs of what the AAQI is up to. The newsletter is free. http://www.alzquilts.org/newsletter.html

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative® (www.AlzQuilts.org ) is a national, grassroots charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. The AAQI auctions and sells donated quilts, and sponsors a nationally touring exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer's. The AAQI has raised more than $773,000 since January 2006.

Ami Simms of Flint, Michigan is the founder and executive director of the AAQI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operated entirely by volunteers. She is a quilter. Her mother had Alzheimer's.

Quilt Show

The local quilt guild had their biannual show the last weekend in September. The show generally has about 400 entries. While I really don't feel I "saw" many of the quilts because of the timing, I did go and took pictures. I'd like to share a few of my favorites with you. Attribution information is on the tag on each quilt.

 

 

You can find out more about the guild here: Kankakee Quiltmakers Guild

I hope you enjoy these talented quilters' work.

Blessing & Loss

I realize I have been incognito for a while. Shortly after my last post, one of my brothers went into hospice after fighting cancer for two years. He passed away on September 25, 2012. We were blessed to have had him in our lives for 61 years.

The weekend of his funeral was also the weekend of the local quilt show. Since I ordinarily enter a quilt in this show and did not this year, I felt as if my decision was guided by a greater hand. Many other things happened as if precisely timed, which leaves me thinking of God's hand in things.

While my brother was a man of strong convictions who could be extremely stubborn at times, he also quietly impacted a lot of people's lives. The church was packed for his funeral and the procession to the cemetery was around 50 cars long. While a large number of cars carried family members, it struck me how many people respected and loved him. I can only hope that I can emulate him in the time remaining to me.

Wishing you peace.