Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative--It's Now or Never

I know many of us have been affected by Alzheimer's. My mother suffered with the disease and died in 2010; I miss her every day. The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative was created by quilter, Ami Simms, to provide money for Alzheimer's research. If you are at all interested in helping to bring this devastating disease to an end, read the article below and either make a quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative or buy a quilt from the AAQI. This is the last year you will have a chance to do either.

Dr. Michelle Ehrlich and Paula Nadelstern at Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Dr. Michelle Ehrlich and Paula Nadelstern at Mount Sinai School of Medicine

(Burton, Michigan) -- May 21, 2013: The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) has awarded a $60,000 grant to Mount Sinai School of Medicine to study a drug which may decrease the production of amyloid in the brain and increase the "birth" of new brain cells. The drug is currently being tested in humans for other conditions. Should the AAQI-funded study show promising results in mice, it is hoped the drug can be tested in Alzheimer's patients.

The research will be carried out by Dr. Michelle E. Ehrlich, professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Genetics and Genomic Sciences at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

This is the 15th grant the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative has awarded since it began in 2006 and the 4th grant award this year. These grants are made possible, in large part, by the money raised from the sale of donated quilts. To support the AAQI's mission by purchasing a quilt, visit www.alzquilts.org/quiltsforsale.html

A small wall quilt stitched by AAQI Board member Kathy Kennedy-Dennis of Houston, TX was presented to Dr. Erlich on behalf of the Alzheimeimer's Art Quilt Initiative by quilter Paula Nadelstern of New York, NY. Please see AAQI Update Blog for more details about the quilt presentation.

The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative is a national charity whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. The AAQI has raised more than $916,000 for Alzheimer’s research since January 2006. Ami Simms of Flint, Michigan is the founder and executive director of the AAQI, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Her mother had Alzheimer’s. This is the last year the AAQI will be fundraising.

For more information about the AAQI or to make a donation, contact Ami Simms at 810-637-5586 (9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Eastern), ami@alzquilts.org or www.alzquilts.org.

Please help to spread the word about this worthy cause.

 

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Baby Quilt Update

I have been working like a madwoman to get a baby quilt made for my new granddaughter due to greet us the end of July. I wanted to make a quilt of my own design, so the first obstacle was to decide exactly what I wanted to do. I decided on a night sky with wonky stars (Gwen Marston style). I have a grandson that (thankfully) lives close to us. We have a "thing" that we always say to each other, "I love you up to the sky and back always and forever no matter what." That saying pretty well sums up how I feel about the grandchildren, so I wanted that little saying to be on the quilt.

I finished the quilt top yesterday. Here is what it looks like.

I found some letter stencils I liked at Michael's and used them to draw the letters (in reverse) on the paper side of a fusible web. I machine appliquéd them to the quilt top using a very small zigzag (1.8, .8 setting on my Janome). I'm happy with the way it turned out. I'm planning on using a variegated blue thread to quilt it with a meandering star design, and I'm thinking of using Hobbs Heirloom quilt batting. (I like the way it shrinks up when washed.) I think the baby's name (evidently a big secret or not known at the current time) will be either embroidered or appliquéd to the bottom of the quilt.

The next day I finished the quilt--machine quilted (for wear) and bound.

If you look closely (or zoom in) you can see the quilting. I did use the variegated blue thread to quilt it and used the Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting.

I sure hope this quilt is used and loved. My favorite story about a well-loved quilt is here. The story is in the second paragraph, but the other quilts you'll see throughout the story are really cute too.

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