OVER 2000 AAQI QUILTS AT HOUSTON IQF!!

This is just a smattering of the over 2000 quilts we will have in Houston for IQF!! Please stop by and see us: We're right at the top of Row S, (hard right as soon as you enter the exhibit area from the front of the George R Brown) October 31 to November 4th. Follow your ears . . . there's usually a lot of hootin' & hollerin' going on!!

Watch the video and you'll see just a small number and taste of what we have in store for you!! AAQI quilts headed for Houston!

We're also looking for volunteers to help staff the booth for a short while each day. For more information and how to sign up, go here: Houston Helpers & The AAQI Text Brigade

This picture is from our booth in 2011 - it's 50% BIGGER for 2012!!

AAQI: INCREDIBLE NEWS!!

(Burton, Michigan) September 26, 2012: The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) has received its 12,000th donated quilt. Made by multi-award winning quilter and teacher Charlotte Warr Andersen of Salt Lake City, Utah, this 9" x 12" quilt represents another milestone for the all-volunteer charity dedicated to raising awareness and funding research through art. "Outside Juneau, AK 2012" is based on a photograph Charlotte took on a trip to Alaska. Charlotte's quilt will be part of the AAQI's October online auction at http://www.alzquilts.org/quiltauction.html Charlotte is most recognized for her realistic applique portraits. She has purchased four Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts made by supporters of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. They hang in her sewing room. The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (www.alzquilts.org) is a national, grassroots organization whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research through art. It auctions and sells donated quilts through the Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt project and sponsors a touring exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer's called "Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope." The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative has raised more than $763,000 since January 2006. Ami Simms of Flint, Michigan is the founder and executive director of the AAQI, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation operated entirely by volunteers. She is a quilter. Her mother had Alzheimer's. For more information on 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.
Contact: Ami Simms
Founder and Executive Director
Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative
1200 Creekwood Trail
Burton, MI 48509
(810) 637-5586
www.alzquilts.org CLICK the image to see it larger.
RIGHT CLICK the image and select "save target/link as" to download it to your computer. Please credit photo: "Alzheimer's Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. Quilt title: "Outside Juneau, AK 2012"
Quilt maker: Charlotte Warr Andersen (Salt Lake City, UT)

AAQI is in Women's Day Magazine!!

Great news! The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (and Ami Simms) are in the October issue of Woman's Day magazine! Page 14. I'm so excited! Think of all the new people we can reach! May they all buy a quilt (or two)!! Please share this if you have room in your blog. Hooray for the AAQI! Plus, the September online quilt auction starts September 1st: See the quilts here!

AAQI Quilt Auction Starts Tomorrow!

The May Online Quilt Auction
Starts Tuesday!
Please bid generously.
All profits fund Alzheimer's research.

10,000 DONATED QUILTS FOR AAQI!!

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative is about to receive its 10,000th donated quilt!! The Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt project, these awesome little quilts you bid on or buy outright, began on January 1, 2006. We are about to receive a milestone quilt in just a few days. Check out our home page for the countdown. (We're currently at 9,954 registered quilts!) Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative

Why is this such a big deal? Because the profits the AAQI earns from the sales of these little quilts funds Alzheimer's research. We are trying to find a cure for this vile disease. The more quilts, the more research. To date we've raised more than $713,000 for research. Show Me The Money

And what have we done with the money? The AAQI pays for scientific research. We have just funded our 11th research grant. We just awarded $60,000 to Temple University! AAQI Awards 11th Research Grant

I've nominated Ami for a segment of "Making A Difference" on the NBC Evening News with Brian Williams. Comments would be greatly appreciated. The nomination is the last one on page 4 when you click here: Beth Hartford on Newsvine. There is a tiny "reply" button in the lower right hand corner of the post. Perhaps the 10,000th quilt will get their attention. Fingers crossed. Your comments will help.



AND the April online quilt auction is in full bloom this morning! You can see the 27 quilts we are offering this month here: AAQI April Auction Quilts and they are a gorgeous group! You can see them all in a video here:

Thank you for sharing any or all of this news in an upcoming blog, on your website, on FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or anywhere else.

I so appreciate you helping the AAQI get the message out to quilters everywhere.

This One is the Right Size for AAQI!

I have been making (and buying) little quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative for quite a few years. Lately, I've been using vintage embroideries that can be had for very little money. This is the other half of the dresser scarf that I used for a quilt in my last post. This end was badly stained with spots that looked like rust, but I wanted to save it. In the center along the edge of the dresser scarf, there were two more little embroideries that I cut out and appliqued on either side of the big flower tree, thus covering the ugly stain. Now, it might not necessarily make "sense" pictorally, but at least I saved the vintage embroidery.

I couldn't add any borders to this one to keep it under the limit for a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt, so I added the little yellow piping and a floral binding to give it a little "zing". I'm calling this one "Spring Revisited", it's such happy colors and has been saved from obscurity. It's #9670, my 18th little quilt for AAQI.

There are many quilts currently for sale on the AAQI Quilts for Sale page. You can even search for a particular quilt artist if you like their work - how cool is that? The prices are extremely reasonable, from as low as $16 on up. Since AAQI is an all volunteer organization, all profits go to fund Alzheimer's research.

This Was Almost A Priority Quilt . . .

But it got just a little too big and I didn't have the heart to chop off the borders. It measures 13" x 11 inches, and the absolute maximum size for a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative is 12" x 9". Since it's my mother-in-laws birthday tomorrow, I'm just going to finish this up and send it off to Arkansas where spring is already underway. I hope she likes it!

I should tell you that the embroidered center of this quilt was a vintage dresser scarf that I purchased along the way for "peanuts" and have re-purposed here, and the teeny, tiny yellow piping is a piece of my hand dyed fabric. Wowza!

Guess I need to start another quilt for AAQI!

The "Naturals" Triad

I got these ironed yesterday, love the textures and color variations in each piece. I can't wait to start the "Earthy" triad - going to do that right now!!

Playing With Dye (Part 2)

I finished rinsing out and ironing the first triad called "brights".

They are all stacked up for now, waiting for the next step. There are 66 squares in all, each is 5"x5".

I also got the next triad (called "naturals") into their dye cups. After they batch for 24 hours (tomorrow at about noon), I'll begin rinsing them out. Can't wait to see what's next!

Playing With Dye

Even with all my volunteer work for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, I found some time to take an online dye class from Candy at Candied Fabric Classes. Even though I have been a hand dyer for almost 15 years, I never learned to dye fabrics by weight. This class teaches that method. Candy has written excellent instructions and provided them in a PDF format so we can print them out and have them close by while working on the class projects.

Here are the supplies for the first triad of colors to make swatches.

The 66 fabric swatches are 5" square and each has it's own dye formula to follow.

Here are 11 of the cups after adding dye and fabric to them.

Here is the entire stack of 66 cups, they will batch for at least 24 hours and then I can rinse them out.

"Heartbreak to Hope" in Hampton, VA

"Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope" continues its five-year journey across the United States with a stop at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXII, February 23-26, 2012. The exhibit will hang at the Hampton Roads Convention Center (Greater Chesapeake Bay / Williamsburg Area). Show hours are 10 am to 6 pm Thursday - Saturday; 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday. "Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope" is an exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer's sponsored by the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI). Fifty-four small format art quilts (9" x 12") illustrate the disease from a variety of perspectives. They hang among 182 "Name Quilts," each 6 inches wide and 7 feet tall, which carry the names of more than 10,000 individuals who have/had Alzheimer's or a related dementia. The names of loved ones, written on fabric patches by family members and friends, honor the 5.4 million Americans in the United States struggling with Alzheimer's disease.

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"Alzheimer's Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope"
Click here to learn more about this extraordinary exhibit
and how you can bring it to your community.