"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.

Record sales of $62,000 at IQF Houston

No wonder it took me a week to recover!! The numbers are in! The AAQI sold 1,141 Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts during International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX, raising the most money ever during the four and a half day quilt show. This was the sixth year the AAQI was invited to display and sell Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts by IQF founder and director Karey Bresenhan. Brooke and John Flynn, from Billings, Montana, again sponsored the booth. Thank you, quilt makers, quilt buyers, sponsors, and volunteers. Click here to see a list of all the quilts that sold at IQF Houston. Click here to see more than 500 quilts for sale. They make great gifts.

Another Addition to My PQ Collection!

This is the second quilt that I purchased in Houston at the International Quilt Festival this year.  It was made by Ellen White of St. Augustine, FL and the artist statement reads:  "I bought the hand dyed, fused fabric shapes from Frieda Anderson some time ago.  As I was looking for something to inspire me to make my quilt this month, the cut-out circles reminded me of all the lost items and memories that disappeared as Alzheimer's took over my Mom's brain."  Ellen lost her mom 5 years ago.  I lost my dad nearly a year ago (it doesn't seem possible that it's been that long already!) and like Ellen, I miss him every day.

This quilt kept poking me from across the room.  Not in a literal sense, but every time I looked up from the check out table it caught my eye.  I decided to let fate have her way and since it was still there at the end of the day I decided it was meant to come home with me.  Thanks Ellen, for making this quilt for AAQI -  I just love all the bright colors and the fun way you used Frieda's fabrics!

If you are so moved and would like to make a quilt for us, all the instructions can be found here: How to make a Priority Quilt 

AAQI Takes Over Houston IQF!

This is a quilt by Fannie Narte that I purchased in Houston this year. It leapt off the walls into my arms and I knew it had to come home with me. It's called "Broken Wings" and the artist statement reads as follows: "This is a hand painted quilt with two borders made from commercial cotton fabrics. It's embellished with beads, hand embroidery and it is machine quilted. If you study the design of this quilt, you will see images of yellow butterflies with broken wings. If you drop a glass cup onto a cement floor, chances are that it will break into many pieces. When someone experiences life-altering changes, a good one-word description of how that person may feel is "broken." I think that an Alzheimer's patient and every family member of that Alzheimer's patient may feel broken. What was once whole and is now shattered into pieces is "broken." "Broken Wings" was inspired by these feelings."

Fannie was able to come spend the day in the booth with us at IQF on Saturday which was a wonderful thing for all of us.  She's such a sweet gentle soul just filled to the brim with inspiration!

I absolutely LOVE the quilt and will proudly add it to my ever growing collection of Priority Quilts. Now to get them all on the walls of my studio one day!

I consider being in Houston with this amazing group of women each fall to be one of the highlights of my year. It's the most difficult thing I do and at the same time, it's the most fulfilling thing that I do. This year I was struck by the number of times the exact right buyer found the exact right quilt for the exact right reason. There is a higher power at work here, and I'm so glad it can flow through our hands and hearts and into yours.  I am proud to be a part of this organization.

The following is a press release from AAQI and it gives the results from the celebrity quilt auction this year.  What fabulous quilts - I had the awesome job of hanging them on the display each day when we set up the booth.  It was great to see them so up close and personal!

(Burton, Michigan) -- November 29, 2011: The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative’s (AAQI) third annual celebrity quilt auction raised a record breaking $14,025 for the nonprofit. This year’s theme was the "Stanley Cup Quilt-Off." Twelve quilters in two teams competed for bragging rights, the highest selling quilt earning its maker the MVP award. The Feed Dogs team members were Alex Anderson, Hollis Chatelain, John Flynn, Becky Goldsmith, Renae Haddadin, and Sue Nickels. The Rotary Blades members were Caryl Bryer Fallert, Pat Holly, Libby Lehman, Judy Mathieson, Mary Sorensen, and Ricky Tims. Hollis Chatelain raised $2,570 with her quilt "Hollow," (shown above) a 16" x 16" thread-painted, machine quilted image of a woman's face which earned her the coveted MVP award. This is the third year in a row her quilt earned top dollar in the charity auction. A Viewer's Choice component to the "Stanley Cup Quilt-Off" was also offered at International Quilt Festival in Houston and online. Each $1.00 donation was counted as one vote, raising an additional $2,277.26 overall. Profits from sales of earrings made with images of each of the 12 auction quilts brought in $1,025, bringing the total for the event to $17,327.26. High and low resolution images of the twelve quilts are available at: http://www.alzquilts.org/scphotos.html . The Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative is a national, grassroots organization whose mission is to raise awareness and fund research. "Alzheimer’s Illustrated: From Heartbreak to Hope" (a nationally touring exhibit of quilts about Alzheimer's) and the Priority: Alzheimer’s Quilt project are two of its efforts. The AAQI has raised more than $679,000 for Alzheimer’s research since January 2006. Ami Simms of Flint, Michigan is the founder and executive director of AAQI, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Her mother had Alzheimer’s.

AAQI Sends 1500 Quilts to Houston!

We asked for 1,500 quilts and WE GOT THEM---thanks to all our wonderful quilter volunteers! Check it out! We will be selling your quilts at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, TX, Nov 2-6. You'll find us in the Exhibit Hall, Row T, up at the front of the room.

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative is in a position to break all previous sales records in its history, thanks to your efforts.

Now all we have to do is SELL THOSE QUILTS! We need your help to do that. Share the video. Send it everywhere you can think of. For those of you who have quilts going to Houston here are ALL the quilts that will be offered for sale in Houston: http://www.alzquilts.org/houston.html Follow the AAQI FaceBook page for numbers of quilts sold and videos (maybe) from the show floor starting November 2. If you're going to be at Festival, please stop by and say hello!!

To Honor Our Loved Ones

Sewing With Nancy Link to Nancy's Corner

Here's the link to the segment that I did on Nancy Zieman's Sewing with Nancy for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative: http://video.wpt2.org/video/2096722168/ I look pretty calm, cool and collected . . . totally amazing!!