Sorry to hear about your aunt. I, too, know many people with the disease. The toll it takes on the caregivers is probably the worst part of the disease. The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative was at the Annual Houston International Quilt Show this past November. I heard they raised some tremendous amount of money for Alzheimer's research. I was just facinated by the quilts themselves. Every day they had a different selection. I heard they brought over 900 quilts that were all donated by the artist for the cause. Its amazing what a grass roots organization can do. Quilters are such charitable people.

The Quilters for Alzheimer's

I have heard about this but I have not seen the show. It sounds fantastic and my Mom
would love it. She never made any-but my grandmother did. She gave my quilt to
me when I graduated from high school with every piece of fabric that she used in making
clothes for me and also for my Barbie doll.

Read a post two days ago about the Alzheimers Art Quilt Initiative, and visited Ami Simms web site. My grandmother and mother died of the disease. I finally found a way I can help with research for the cure! Thank you, Ami, and thank you to whoever posted the notice about this. Please, everyone must go to her site and help her raise money. It all goes toward research. If you are a quilter, you can make a mini quilt (9" x 12") to put in her once-a-month auction. If you want one of the beautiful quilts, you may bid on them. Everyone can help. I have spent the last two days making quilts. Visit the AAQI site! This is something Oprah needs to know about.

You are so so very welcome and thank you so much for visiting the Alzheimer's Quilt Initiative site and offering to make some quilts to help fund research to find a cure. I will look forward to seeing your quilts on the monthly auction. The Art Quilt Initiative Ami created is a wonderful project and one that I am glad I found as well. Listening and being able to network and talk to others that have or had loved ones with this disease helps me and makes me realize that I am not in this situation alone. Here is to all the quilts that will help us find a cure one quilt at a time.

Exciting news.............The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiatiave went non-profit this month. The 52 traveling quilts, Forgetting Piece by Piece, that brings awareness and gives an avenue for people to share their stories about their loved ones that have or had Alzheimer's is starting to get booked up for 2008. If you have not seen the quilts and their stories you should as one or more of them you will be sure to relate to and find some comfort. I will be happy to tell you where the quilts will be next or how to get the book. Thank you for your interest and your support on behalf or my Aunt Beebe who continues to suffer with Alzheimer's. The fabric she designed before she got ill is used in one of the quilts.

I've read this thread with great interest. I am primary caregiver for my MIL who has advanced Alzheimers. She still gets up to walk and can feed herself but otherwise I and help I have care for her. I am a quilter and without being able to sew and enjoy that I would have never made it through this. I'm also an RN so the medical part has not been hard. It's watching her deterioate day by day that just bugs the mess out of me. Until you are in this position you can not imagine. I thought I knew what we were getting into and golly was I wrong. I appreciate that quilts are being made and profits are for research. Thanks for all everyone does

Thank you for sharing your story about your Mother in Law. Sorry for my delay in sending you a reply. It is hard for anyone to understand what the care giver of a person that has Alzheimer's goes through. I wish I knew how to quilt so I could make a quilt or two for the Alzheimer's Quilt Initiative project my cousin started to raise awareness and fund research. I help her by updating her web site that pictures all the quilts that have been donated, which ones have been auction or sold and the ones waiting to be auctioned or sold. Seeing all the different quilts and reading the artisit's statements are so moving. Hope you get a chance to check out the site to see the quilts, get information about making a quilt plus seeing a couple of the 52 big quilts that are on tour. Again......thank you for your reply and sharing your story