Friday, January 15, 2010

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative


Many of you know that I have done a few little quilts for The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. It's a great cause and I like that they are very transparent with the money they raise. 2 of my quilts were in the auction that ended on the 10th. I received a wonderful touching email from Sue, who bid and won one of my quilts. She gave me permission to reprint that here:


Dear Lori,

I am the winning bidder on your AAQI quilt.

I just wanted to say a very big thanks for making this quilt which I know I am going to love when it arrives from the USA.
I am a quilter and former quilt shop owner . My husband Dick has suffered with early onset Dementia since the age of 52 and now at the age of 64 has been in a nursing home for the past 2 years.

It is a wonderful thing that people are acknowledging what a devastating illness Alzheimer's is. I have been robbed of my husband and those dreams we had for our retirement.

I am going to Paducah in the spring and hope to buy wool for some projects. It is not something that is popular or readily available here in the UK. Quilting has kept me sane when the rest of my life was falling apart.


A small quilt (9"x12") donated to AAQI is a big thing! Will you commit to making one quilt this year? Ami wants to bring 1000 to sell to Houston this year and needs more quilts! She is also looking for themed quilts to travel the country to raise awareness of Alzheimer's. You don't have to wait for an auction to purchase a quilt and support this cause. You can find many right now for sale. If you need more information the AAQI website is loaded.

We can find a cure for this devastating disease and give people like Sue and her husband hope for the future when they get the diagnosis of Alzheimer's.

HBO did a series called The Alzheimer's Project. If you are at all interested in personal stories and the science of Alzheimer's I would highly recommend it. It is available through Netflix and many libraries.

11 comments:

  1. Lori, Thanks for sharing Sue's letter. It has moved me to commit to donating a quilt for the auction. My best friend's mother will likely be receiving this diagnosis soon. Both grandparents suffered from the disease and her mom is showing signs now.

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  2. The HBO series was heartbreaking. I couldn't watch it without tearing up. My grandmother had Alzheimer's and finally passed away last year after living in a nursing home for several years. I would be happy to make a small quilt for AAQI...will have to go check it out.

    Monica
    http://diaryofaquiltmaven.blogspot.com

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  3. What a warm, sincere gift from you to offer up a quilt to this wonderful cause.

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  4. What a wonderful letter - it must be a nice feeling to know your quilt is an inspiration. Although I have not been touched by this devastating disease, I feel for those that have.

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  5. Heartwarming letter, Lori. I'm going to check into donating a quilt for the auction. Thank you so much for sharing!

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  6. What a wonderful post Lori. So many lives are touched by this dreadful disease. Thanks for sharing the lovely letter.

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  7. Lori, Thank you so much for sharing letter from Sue. It brought tears in my eyes.
    Your quilt auction story is very inspiring. Once again,Thank you.

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  8. It is great that you contributed, and even more sweet that the purchaser took the time to write such a sweet letter.

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  9. It's a terrible disease. I'm watching a dear friend with it disappear in front of me. Yes, I'd love to make a quilt for AAQI.

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  10. And two years later, Diane is finally stumbling on to this post - sorry I wasn't quicker - LOL! I just wanted to let you know that the battle forges on! We've topped the $700M mark and have more quilts in-house right now than we ever have at this time of the year, so we're gearing up for another terrific year. There are more than 100 quilts on the For Sale page right now!

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