I took AAQI Name Quilt No. 70 to work earlier this week and asked my co-workers to help inscribe the list 55 names. [each photo will enlarge when clicked]
In a firm of 12 attorneys and 10 staff, eight of us had immediate family members whose names appear in these photos (including one family with twins and one of their sisters).
I kept the flimsy at my desk along with the list and all day people stopped by to add a name or two.
For those who have not yet had a close encounter with Alzheimer's, it was an eye-opening experience to see the two-page list of names.
And even more sobering when I showed them the information from the AAQI website about the exhibit.
"You mean there are 182 of these lists?!?"
At which point, I shared more information from the AAQI website.
By the end of the day, every name had been written on one of the 2" x 6" purple patches.
I chose to quilt No. 70 using a subdued vertical version of my liberated ripple quilting.
I used a double needle, one eye threaded with lavender quilting thread and the other with Superior metallic (holographic) no. 208.
As I've shared here before, I've stitched hundreds of these patches together for two full size purple patch quilts previously donated to AAQI, but having the names slide beneath my fingertips never fails to bring a lump to my throat.
On Friday, I took the quilt back to the office where I used blue painter's tape to secure it to the wall across from my desk. Reactions ranged from respectful silence to one person who stood and read each name out loud before moving on.Name Quilt No. 70 will now travel to another AAQI volunteer for binding on its way to joining the other 181 name quilts of From Heartbreak to Hope. It was an honor to include the names entrusted to me.
Quiltdivajulie
17 comments:
I know it's a heartbreaking job to put these quilts together, but an important one nonetheless. Thank you!
What a wonderful thing you've done. This disease is such an awful one to watch progress and remembering these people, like my mother-in-law, is so wonderful, to give a name and a face of a lovely woman who was lost to us well before she passed. Thank you so much for including her name and doing this. God bless you!!
One more comment, I just showed my husband - Mabel was his mom and whomever signed her name on the quilt writes a lot like she did, that made it even more special!!
Thank you so much for adding my mom's name. It means a lot to me.
Thank you for including Anita's name!
Thank you for adding my late MIL's name. I will show it to her daughters. Again,thank you!
Thanks so much for including my aunt. it is a very moving quilt in pictures -- too bad I can't see it in real. thanks for doing this and sharing the results.
Thank you.
Thank you. I see my father's name. I've been thinking alot about him lately. It was just a year ago this month that he took a turn of no return. AND I see DH's grandmother's name. Reading the names humble me. Thanks again.
WOW! I knew nothing about this project until your post. So very moving. Thank you for doing this and sharing it with all of us.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart - what a wonderful thing to see as I drink my morning coffee... My grandmother Annie, my Aunt Lora, and my dear MiL, Rosetta, who has had a rough week medically... And as Tammy said, whomever inked their names was led by God to write very similarly to how they wrote or write. What a wonderful inspiration to have different people ink the names - thank you again.
Oh My Goodness!!! This is just an amazingly beautiful creation, Julie. And I loved the subdued vertical liberated ripple quilting (liberated). I'm so moved by this I just don't know what to say. I mean, it's beautiful and speaks of so much. Gosh. It's really something to see the work that comes from your inner-self.
Thank you for including my mother's name too. I miss her and am pleased that she is honored in this way, and by those who are looking at this tribute that you have so finely crafted. God bless you.
thank you for including my grandfather. you've done a wonderful job, just rather depressing how easily you gathered names...
(((Julie)))) thank you so much for asking for names and working them into such a beautiful tribute. I sat here and read all the names, starting with my very own MIL at the top of your post, and had a good cry, and missed her a lot. You have earned an extra set of wings for this.
We may forget but we pray that we are not forgotten, Thank you and my DIL for making sure that doesn't happen. Rosetta F.
I hope these name quilts will have a huge impact on all who see them. And I hope a LOT of people see them.
Post a Comment