Sunday, February 26, 2012

Alzheimer's Quilts at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Fest

I showed a photo before leaving for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival that depicted the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative exhibit.  Many visitors to the show found this display to be very emotional.  Hardly any families are spared the tragedy of a loved one becoming afflicted with this disease that robs one of their memory and personality.

The names of victims written on purple strips are made into vertical quilts that are quilted beautifully and sometimes embellished.


So much love went into the small quilts that poignantly depict various aspects of Alzheimer's.  It seems I did not record all the quiltmakers' names, but will show some of these quilts that I photographed and the stories that go with them.































The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Iniative was begun by quilter, author, and teacher Ami Sims, who lost her mother to Alzheimer's.  You can read about this fund-raising project on the website, and can bid on the donated quilts on E-BayHere are instructions for making and donating a quilt for the cause.

2 comments:

Michele Bilyeu said...

How very lovely of you to document your visit with some photos! As an AAQI quilter, I so appreciate your visiting the exhibit, and blogging about your experience! We are all so grateful to Ami for her amazing work and for getting these quilts and our stories out in the world but it takes people like you who share and care to further this cause! Bless you!!

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for sharing information about the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative! I lost my Dad to Alzheimer’s in December of 2010 and have been committed to raising money for research through AAQI since he was diagnosed in 2006. I am a quilter and I love that the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative is a grass roots organization that is totally staffed by volunteers so that every available dollar can be used to fund research. One of the quilts you picture, "Gone" was made by my sister Diane. I also quilted two of the quilts in the exhibit. I'm so glad you were able to see the exhibit - it's very moving.