Quilt Exhibit and Sales Support ALS Research

Handmade Quilts For Sale to support ALS research through a FREE quilt exhibit sponsored by Hopes and Dreams Quilts 4 a Cure!


The quilt exhibit is held in conjunction with the JT Walk and Beach Party to raise funds for Hopes & Dream Quilts 4 a Cure. Kathy Thompson, CEO of Quilters Dream Batting, knows the heartbreak and frustration of the ALS disease. Her son Josh was cut down in the prime of his life. This handsome young father of two who was a fantastic surfer was reduced to breathing through a ventilator. He couldn't even scratch his own nose. His mom and wife and everyone who loves them jumped in to find a treatment and a cure. The resulting fundraisers have been record setting. Don't tell any mother that she can't protect or help her child. No matter what age they are!

Kathy and her company have put together one of the most dynamic quilt challenges, now in its third year, I believe. My how time flies. In addition, she has added this exhibit to be held:

Sunday October 9

10am - 6pm

Hilton 2nd Floor Ballroom

31st Street and Atlantic Ave. Virginia Beach, VA

Open to the Public

View quilts from around the world donated to help raise money to find a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

Children's and Babies Quilts....Modern Quilts....Art Quilts...Traditional Quilts...Holiday Quilts

Quilts of all shapes, sizes & colors!

All proceeds from the sale of quilts goes directly to the ALS Association research initiiatives.


Remember...Quilts make wonderful gifts & purchase of our quilts is Tax Deductible. Quilts will also be available for sale October 8- 27at the Richard Stravitz Gallery 1217 Laskin Rd, Virginia Beach 23451.

Please help us find a cure for

Josh & all ALS patients.

Thank you,
Josh's Mom - Kathy Thompson & Josh's Grandmother - 'Mimi' Kelly
Founders of the Hopes & Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS
http://www.quiltersdreambatting.com/
Toll Free 888-268-8664

Quilts are also accepted for the ongoing quilt challenge to be used in other fundraisers and to give to ALS patients.

As many of you know my husband, Derrol, has ALS. He has a slower progressing form of the disease than Josh, but it is creeping through his body. And like Josh, there is no treatment. There is no cure. 100 percent of ALS patients -- die.

Derrol on his way to work in his Invacare power chair and
his van and hydraulic lift. Thank God his
employer is willing to work with him and his job is
such that he can do it with a few assistive devices.  

His power chair is now his legs and I pitch in whenever his hands or body refuses to do what needs done. The ALS Association and MDA have both been so supportive and helpful. I don't know what we would have done without their patient support. They also fund research on a worldwide scale and big advances have been made, but still, no cure. 

We pray for a treatment or a cure or both!

I can't imagine life without my Derrol, and I don't want to! I know alot of you have lost loved ones --sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives to all manner of diseases.

ALS is a neuromuscular disease that has close ties to some other nasties that we'd like to eradicate -- Alzheimer's Disease; Parkinson's Disease; Muscular Dystrophy.... It is likened to being buried alive in a coffin -- his body is the coffin.

I hope you'll help us try to stop the dying.



The Alliance for American Quilts—Anniversaries and Auctions!

Heads Up! Time is short!

The Alliance for American Quilts Crazy Quilts Auction starting date: MONDAY, OCTOBER 26th!!! Check your calendar! One quilt to be auctioned is shown in the photo to the left, Crazy for Pink made by Joan Kniffen.

AAQ's executive director, Amy E. Milne has taken a break from her busy schedule to tell us about a couple topics every quilter should care about. -- Dawn

As executive director of the Alliance for American Quilts, this is my favorite time of year—the warm buzz of Market and Festival in Houston is still in the air and it’s time for our annual small quilt auction.

During Festival this year the AAQ held a reception to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories project. It’s never more evident how important this oral history project is than when quilters are gathered together sharing and reflecting.

Through the Q.S.O.S. project, the diverse team of partners that is the AAQ ensures that these stories are documented, shared and preserved for future generations. We now have over 1,000 stories from today’s quilters presented on our website and archived by the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Pictured here: Q.S.O.S. volunteer leader extraordinaire Karen Musgrave with AAQ President Meg Cox.

You can be a part of the Q.S.O.S. project in many ways.

1. Visit the AAQ website (www.AllianceforAmericanQuilts.org) and explore the Q.S.O.S. collection, print a few out to tuck in your bag or leave by the tub. You’ll find inspiration from quilters of all ages, experience levels and backgrounds.

2. Take a look at the Q.S.O.S. manual (www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/manual.php) on our website and consider becoming a volunteer interviewer.

3. Present the project to your guild or community leadership to see if they would undertake or underwrite their own Q.S.O.S. project.

Crazy for Quilts

The other exciting AAQ event at Houston was the exhibition of 85 small quilts, the Crazy for Quilts contest entries, including Joan Kniffen’s Crazy for Pink, the first photo in this blog. Our exhibit had great placement, just behind the German Fabric Forest exhibit.
 
The 16”x16” quilts are entries into the AAQ’s annual contest, this year celebrating the spirit of the crazy quilt. Entrants were encouraged to draw inspiration from one or more aspect of the crazy quilt: design, color, fabric, surface embellishment, history or any other aspect of this style. The response includes a full range of “crazy”-from traditional approaches to art quilts.

Seeing our contest quilts on exhibit at Festival is always thrilling—the hard work and generosity of the artists who entered and donated their quilts shines through to me, and the show-going public delight in the artistry and diversity of these quilts. Whether you’re a crazy quilter or not, I know you’ll appreciate the creativity, skill and stories embedded in these quilts, and you’ll soon have the opportunity to own one of them.

The eBay auction of the Crazy for Quilts entries begins on Monday, October 26 and continues through November 16.

The quilts will be offered in three 7-day auctions, all of which start and end on Monday’s at 9 pm Eastern. Visit the AAQ website for instructions for bidding and a full gallery of the quilts, including Michele Muska’s, Ciao Bella, Limoncello, above right. All proceeds support the AAQ, whose projects include Q.S.O.S., the Quilt Index, Quilt Treasures and Boxes Under the Bed.

Bio:  Amy E. Milne, Executive Director, has worked as a nonprofit administrator, an educator and an artist for the past 17 years. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from North Carolina State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan.

Amy joined The Alliance after serving 5 years as Executive Director of SeeSaw Studio in Durham, N.C. Amy works closely with its Board of Directors, board committees, members, partners and supporters to carry out the planning and implementation of AAQ projects.

Amy travels to national quilt shows and meetings that allow her the opportunity to network and meet with members of The Alliance's virtual community and to share our mission with new audiences.

Update from Hearts for Anna

I want to thank you -- no pun intended -- from the bottom of my heart for contributing to a most successful "Hearts for Anna" event.

I don't know if you tracked the event, but we were nearly sold out of all artist-donated pieces within the first 2 hours. Ultimately, we sold every piece, and then added additional pieces from artfulhome.com which we called the "gallery" and from which we donated all of our profit.

Between the event pieces, the gallery pieces, and 5% of all our sales throughout the event, today we sent a check to Anna for more than $14,000!

Regardless of where you stand within the healthcare debate that is raging right now, you helped an artist who is struggling through the obstacles of our current healthcare system while she battles for her life.

You didn't have to do it, but you did.

You didn't have to care, but you did.

You didn't have to give your time, energy, and materials, but you did.

Thank you so very much.

My best wishes to you,

Lisa Bayne

NOTE: Lisa Bayne was the driving force behind this Artful Home fundraiser to benefit fabric artist Anna Millea. She deserves a hearty thank you and pat on the back for a job well done!

Lisa added in an email: "In addition, we were thrilled that our site did not crash, as traffic to the site quadrupled from normal, with much of it happening in the first hour!" That gives you an idea of how many of you stepped up to help.

Let me add my thanks to all of you who stepped up and made a difference -- a $14,000 difference! And in addition, you reassured Anna that we find her, AND her life, AND her health valuable!

We love you Anna -- now get well soon! -- Dawn

Update: Hearts for Anna

NOTE: The glitches are fixed on the Artful Home site. -- Dawn

The deadline draws near for participation in the fundraiser for Anna Millea who faces a barrage of chemo in her second round with cancer. She shouldn't have to face this alone nor without insurance.


Alone she is not with all of her friends and fellow artists.


Insurance we can't do much about right now, but I hope everyone will find a way to contribute and save this one woman's life. Below you can find out what you can do. -- Dawn





With just under two weeks until the online deadline for “Hearts for Anna” submissions, the first pieces are rolling in to Artful Home. I have to admit that I’m not the only one around our office who gets rather teary as we see all these beautiful works! We have open offices, so it is easy to hear the squeals of delight when yet another package arrives.

The work is, indeed, in every medium. This lovely fiber piece, “Morning Song” by Virginia Spiegel , is a beautiful miniature example of the artist’s hand. The lyrical quality combined with the strong graphic composition is a signature of Virginia’s, and is very moving.

In a completely different medium, but with very similar sentiment are “Encased Heart” by Nina Cambron and “Red Heart Paperweight” by acclaimed glass artist, Mark Rosenbaum. On our website, Nina is known for her painterly fused glass art clocks. In miniature, she captures the same beauty and exuberance in glass that has real textile sensibilities. Mark’s New Orleans locale clearly influences the spirit in his work.

There is still plenty of time to consider contributing a piece to this event, as the deadline for images is August 7. “Hearts for Anna” takes place online August 12-16, with all proceeds going to artist, Anna Millea, to help with her medical bills as she fights breast cancer alone, having been deemed uninsurable. More details here.

Check out a previous blog concerning the fundraiser for Anna.

T-shirt memorial

This past Saturday my husband and I participated in a Walk to Defeat ALS at a local park here in Central Florida. The weather was perfect and more than 400 people came together to raise money and awareness for this horrid neuro-muscular disease that continues unabated. No treatment or cure. But it does have a nickname: Lou Gehrig's Disease.

A rainbow of t-shirts glowed in the Florida sun and shouted their message to anyone who looked. Most had a prominent photo of a loved one who had died from ALS or was dying. There is no recovery from this disease. Usually people die within six years of diagnosis.

I walked and pushed Derrol in his wheelchair around the track. He and I feel lucky. He is my poster-child for ALS and he is alive and kicking and fighting for a cure or at least a treatment. Heck, we'd settle for just understanding what causes the disease. So far his face does not reside on any t-shirts.

We saw much love expressed in the t-shirts worn that day by adults, children, even dogs. Messages such as Kevin's Warriors, Adele's Allies, Walter's Warriors, and the poignant "We Walk for Mike."

Most of the people walking on Saturday are gathering money to spend on research. Research that will not help their loved ones. Our situation is a bit different. Not only does Derrol have a rare disease. He has a rare form of it -- the inherited form: Familial Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. That means that our children have a 50-50 chance of inheriting it. Derrol watched his brother stumble, wear braces and die all by the age of 18. More than a dozen other members of the extended family have died of ALS and many more wonder if they will be next. So when we walked around that track the steps were made for brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews as well as for our sons and grandchild.

I will never forget those t-shirts. The art on them tells a bittersweet story of someone loved, but also of someone taken before their time.

One of Kevin's Warriors was his son. He and I and a few others were discussing the research we had heard about -- stem cell studies, new medicines combined to stop the progression look promising. And then I saw the young man's face. He wanted to be positive and supportive and cheer on the researcher's, but the truth was obvious. No matter if the funds raised Saturday brought a cure next week -- Kevin's father would still have spent the last five years of his life struggling against a disease that robbed him of everything except his comprehension of what was happening to him. And then it took his life.

These walks are held in every state. If anyone wants to participate in such a fundraiser -- check the ALS Association website for a chapter near you. Design your own t-shirts. Let your art speak for those who have been silenced like Adele, Kevin, Walter, Derrol's brother Tommy.

Of course t-shirt art isn't confined to ALS -- this kind of art, sadly, reflects almost every disease on the planet. ALS is just the disease that is closest to my heart because it has attacked the man I love. I write about our relationship and hardship in Notre Dame Magazine: Faithfully Departing.

I have met such lovely, warm-hearted, talented fabric artists in the years that I have been writing about quilts and quilters. I've thought of trying to find a way to raise funds to fight this disease within the quilt world. But I'm not much at organizing things, only writing about them. If anyone has suggestions on how to start such a project, or anyone interested in being involved, please let me know. I wonder if there is room in the quilting community for one more worthwhile fundraising cause.

Art for Autism

Autism is a brain development disorder that affects social interaction, communication and behavior and occurs in children age three and younger. The rate of autism has risen dramatically, but research has not come up with a cause or a cure.

Artist Claudine Intner offers her art in an effort to raise funds for autism research.

She explained, "During the month of October, I am having an online exhibition and fundraiser for autism. The project, called Art Now for Autism, includes the work of 26 artists including fiber, photography, mixed media, painting, etc. Money raised will go to Autism Speaks. We have raised $2,185 so far!"

The online exhibit is fun, inspiring, and the cause is worthwhile. Plus it is an opportunity to pick up a fine piece of art.