One World One Heart 2011

And the winners are . . . .

SHAUNA HENRY - SHAUNA HENRY ART

and

LESLIE ANDERSON - MY LIFE AND TIMES

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who stopped by!


UPDATE! Now that we've hit 100 comments, I will add a SECOND scarf (my choice!) to the drawing. There will be TWO lucky winners!! Way to go!

OWOH LIST OF BLOGGERS

One World One Heart is a worldwide event for bloggers only. It gives all those who blog a chance to meet and mingle and form connections with those they may not have otherwise met from all over the world. In the past 4 years this event has grown to over 1,000 participants with lasting friendships (and even one love connection) formed along the way. Think of it as a GIGANTIC open house allowing you to travel without ever leaving your home........going from blog to blog(in various countries) seeing the wonder each one has created and meeting all the fabulous people behind those blogs. As a bonus each blogger participant will offer up a "door prize or prizes"....just for dropping by, saying hello and seeing their world. It's really that easy.


My give-away is pictured below, it's a silk/rayon velvet scarf hand dyed by me. The scarf measures 48" x 10" and is soft and dreamy!


The scarf has color changes throughtout. Last year I got so many comments that I ended up giving away THREE scarves, one for every 100 comments . . . . maybe we can do the same this year!! And to top it off, I won some really great prizes last year from other bloggers.

The fine print: You MUST have an active blog. You MUST leave a comment on this blog entry - and that post has to include a way I can contact you if you win. You can leave your email or you can leave your blog address (but make sure your email or contact me info is current on your blog!).

THE END - yes, all good things must end - is on February 17th - the day the winners will be posted. So the cut off for comments on my blog will be midnight on the 16th. I'll use a random number generator to pick the winners.

Please, if you like fiber art, click to "follow" this blog and come back to visit now and then! I usually post about art and I try to give some steps for each piece I post so that you can get inspiration. There's even a tutorial about snow dyeing (we're expecting a blizzard this week!) so if you're in a snow belt, check it out!

My Latest Priority Quilt

Finally finished another PQ for The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative! This one was made up of things that were laying around on my cutting table and in my sewing room. I just walked around and grabbed what caught my eye and this is the result.


I took a piece of my hand dyed fabric and used that as the foundation, the stripes are from one fabric, and the leaves from another. I really liked the one strong red leaf - it reminded me of the "stand-out" in a crowd. Since losing my Dad to Alzheimer's related issues in December, red things catch my eye as his favorite color was red. He even had a red and white bathroom in one of their houses! This quilt is dedicated to Dad - he was always a bright spot in a crowd. This quilt was a challenge to myself to do something totally creative. It was “born” from bits and pieces of that were lying around my sewing area just begging to be used! I may have to do more things like this - it is a good way to use up odds and ends and be creative at the same time. Even the thread I used was the first spool that I touched when I went looking for thread to quilt it - I auditioned others, but this one was the ONE!

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative is the featured charity TODAY (Friday, January 28)

My Dad passed away December 14, 2010 after a 6 year battle with Alzheimer's. My sister Diane and I have been involved with the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative for the past 5 1/2 years, and I can't think of a more grass roots, completely volunteer organization that has touched my life more. PLEASE, go check out this site TODAY!! The Philanthroper

Here is Ami's story:

“My mom had Alzheimer’s...watching somebody you love disappear, one skill at a time, is really hard. I got really angry and really frustrated at the disease and I wanted to do something, but I didn’t have the skills to sit in a lab somewhere and cure it.
“But I’m a quilter.”

That’s Ami Simms, she’s a professional quilter and the founder of Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI). Before you assume that quilts have nothing to do with a neurodegenerative disease, know that since 2006, working solely with unpaid volunteers operating out of their homes, the AAQI has raised over $500,000 for Alzheimer’s research.

“I thought we could raise some money making small sized quilts we could sell,” Simms explains, which is the basic principle behind the AAQI's chief fundraising outlet, the Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilt Project.

Volunteers sew quilts as large as 9”x12”—not your typical big bed quilt, but a small square that can be fit in a Priority Mail envelope and mailed to the AAQI’s central operations. Then through online and traveling sales, these quilts commonly sell anywhere from $25 to $125 with all profits going toward the study of Alzheimer’s.

Researchers can submit grant applications on the AAQI’s site, which are reviewed and awarded by an internal scientific advisory board. But these grants come with a stipulation—they can only fund the direct costs of research. Or as Simms puts it, “We’re gonna buy test tubes; we’re gonna pay researchers' salaries.”

The AAQI has awarded several grants, but their recent contribution of $30,000 to a University of Michigan study has already garnered some promising findings regarding the “cleansing” of the disease's trademark amyloid plaques.

Indeed, it's a bit odd to donate funds to any group that ultimately only exists to raise funds for another group, but if the AAQI has proven anything, it's that their stitched niche is highly effective and stunningly equitable. They amplify their resources while operating with an essentially nonexistent overhead.

“With quilting, some people think of little old ladies,” Simms explains. “But quilters are cutting edge. And there’s a boatload of us. “