My own $1,000 Promise, both to myself, and to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, was to design and create small format art quilts for donation to AAQI.....with the goal of raising money for Alzheimer's Disease research funding.
Michele Bilyeu
Statement: As a member of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, I was asked by Ami Simms to send a 2" x 6" strip of purple fabric with the name of someone I loved on the back. The name of someone who has, or has had, Alzheimer's Disease, or a related dementia. As I began to write their names on the back, it was like I could hear an honorary roll call being read out loud with each and every name. At first I had a lump in my throat, and then a pain in my heart and suddenly I began to feel tears as they streamed down my face.
Nine names, nine purple strips, nine lives touched and destroyed by the hurricane force of this horrible disease. Nine people in my family alone, in my memory, in my own relating generation, in my DNA, in my own heart. Since that day, six more names have been added to that fate-filled list, including my own mother who now has advanced Alzheimer's, and my father who just passed away with his own early dementia. Now, there are not nine, but 15 members of my immediate family whose purple ribbons are waving in the ribbons of love in my heart.. and out of that 15....only my mother is still alive, and still facing the challenges of a changed, and ravaged life.
And just as these purple banners wave across the hearts of all of those who view the "Alzheimer's Forgetting Piece by Piece" quilts, and will wave again in the "From Heartbreak to Hope" traveling exhibit in 2011, they wave, too, in all of our lives. My life and the life of my family has been forever changed, and I am so grateful to have this wonderful organization supporting research into Alzheimer's. AAQI has given me the gift of knowing I can make a difference...in my life, and in the lives of all who face the challenges of Alzheimer's Disease.
To date, I have created and donated a total of 49 art quilts. The amount each quilt or small quilted postcard earned is indicated by its dollar amount. Two are in the current traveling exhibit and two have not yet been listed for sale.
Michele Bilyeu
Statement: As a member of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, I was asked by Ami Simms to send a 2" x 6" strip of purple fabric with the name of someone I loved on the back. The name of someone who has, or has had, Alzheimer's Disease, or a related dementia. As I began to write their names on the back, it was like I could hear an honorary roll call being read out loud with each and every name. At first I had a lump in my throat, and then a pain in my heart and suddenly I began to feel tears as they streamed down my face.
Nine names, nine purple strips, nine lives touched and destroyed by the hurricane force of this horrible disease. Nine people in my family alone, in my memory, in my own relating generation, in my DNA, in my own heart. Since that day, six more names have been added to that fate-filled list, including my own mother who now has advanced Alzheimer's, and my father who just passed away with his own early dementia. Now, there are not nine, but 15 members of my immediate family whose purple ribbons are waving in the ribbons of love in my heart.. and out of that 15....only my mother is still alive, and still facing the challenges of a changed, and ravaged life.
And just as these purple banners wave across the hearts of all of those who view the "Alzheimer's Forgetting Piece by Piece" quilts, and will wave again in the "From Heartbreak to Hope" traveling exhibit in 2011, they wave, too, in all of our lives. My life and the life of my family has been forever changed, and I am so grateful to have this wonderful organization supporting research into Alzheimer's. AAQI has given me the gift of knowing I can make a difference...in my life, and in the lives of all who face the challenges of Alzheimer's Disease.
To date, I have created and donated a total of 49 art quilts. The amount each quilt or small quilted postcard earned is indicated by its dollar amount. Two are in the current traveling exhibit and two have not yet been listed for sale.
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PLUS: My two newest donations, not as yet listed for sale:
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12,230 - Well, Hello Kitty! | ||
| Michele Bilyeu Salem, OR USA Width: 8.25" Length: 11.25" Materials/Techniques ... as she looks at them with delight....and perhaps a bit of smile. Contact Michele Dedication: With love for those who love all things Asian, kittens ... | |||
12,614 - Imperfectly Perfect in Every Way!
Michele Bilyeu Salem, OR USA Width: 8.5" Length: 11.5" Designer: Original design form flying geese with the large bauble effect of glass beads. Contact Michele Dedication:For my beloved mother who loved all things Asian, as ...
Michele Bilyeu blogs With Heart and Hands as she shares a quilting journey through her life in Salem, Oregon and Douglas, Alaska. Sharing thousands of links to Free Quilt and Quilt Block Patterns and encouraging others to join in the Liberated Quilting Challenge and make or donate small art quilts to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) Help us change the world, one little quilt at a time!
