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.



Disappearing Nine Patch for ALS Challenge

I've been lax lately and apologize for not getting you fun and frivolous or exquisite and breathtaking or informative and awe inspiring blogs lately. My brain has been in a fog and as you all know I've become a caretaker.

My husband, a longsuffering patient man is heading for saint hood. No, he isn't dying!  At the moment he has regained most of his strength and has returned to work so now I'm more of a chauffer than caretaker. Hasn't quite got the strength back to do his own driving. Which is really difficult for both of us since 1. He doesn't have his hands on the wheel and is in control. 2. He sits in the back and mumbles directions or says things like 'there's a car mumble mumble'.... I freak out and yell, "What! Where?" And he replies, "There's one of those crazy cars that look like a box on wheels and is painted that glow in the dark green...."  And did I mention 3. He's not driving, I am.

Okay, maybe watchdog is a good term for what I do these days. Poor man. I am always watching for signs of problems. Remember that first day when you were totally responsible for your newborn baby and you would watch to see if it was breathing or poke him to make him move while he was sleeping? Yep, it is kind of like that. Keeping this man healthy is like herding baby chicks. They run in all directions darting out of control at a whim and sometimes the whole group switches direction like a little military unit and takes off for parts unknown. That's my husband's health. One day he's strong, standing and taking a few steps. Another day he doesn't even want to eat. His legs swell no matter what we do and his breathing always scares pulmonologists. This weekend we realize how quickly his health can turn. Just an hour or two watching a friend repair our water heater exhausted and dehydrated him. Of course he was sitting in the Florida heat in a stuffy garage without a bottle of water and too much pride or too little sense to ask for one. So he's recovering. More than you wanted to know.

Well, to keep my mind off of health issues (while I watch him every second) I began making a little quilt for Kathy Thompson's ALS Quilt Challenge: Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge. I'm running out of time. I think she's ending it in July. None of the terms I use for other people's quilts apply to this one. Not exquisite, awe inspiring, but definitely utilitarian and cheerful.

Most of all cheerful was what I was going for. I see first hand every day what a struggle it is to make his fingers move to button a button. I see the way he gracefully accepts that he needs help pulling up his pants and getting his shoes on. He's given up cooking, slicing and dicing. He doesn't have the strength to control the knife. He sits in a wheelchair or a lift chair and it is a rare time when he is standing and looking down on me when I am not beside him propping him up. He knows it will only get worse. There are simple things he can no longer do and breathe -- he cannot lean back or lay down without a breathing machine. Things we just take for granted. There is no cure. There is nothing to ease the muscle cramps and  random flashes of pain. There is a terrible future. He knows there is 100 percent mortality from this disease. And so does everyone who gets this diagnosis. So, I wanted a workhorse quilt that would deliver comfort and cheer. The hope aspect of this quilt is included in the prayers said over it while it was being constructed.

Anyway, now I need to figure out how to quilt it -- suggestions are welcome. And then bind it and ship it off to Kathy to give to someone who is quickly dying from this disease.

An elaborate quilt that would take months or a year to make would never do because most people die within a year to six years of diagnosis. That would be a lifetime! They go from a weakened grip or stumble in February to totally immobile, unable to speak or swallow by November and dead by December. Some last longer. But the decline for most is so rapid that Medicare has an expedited service for ALS patients. By the time normal red tape is cut through, they no longer need that service but have moved on to the next plateau. And our military, our fighting men and women have such a higher rate of developing this disease. No one knows why. But it is a fact.

My husband has a rare slow progressing form of ALS and it is inherited. He's lost several cousins, aunts, uncles and yes even a brother to this disease. We were assured at the time of his brother's death and our marriage that it wasn't a problem. Have kids, live your life.... We did. Now our two sons have a 50-50 chance of getting this disease. So we have a really strong reason to want a cure NOW!

If anyone is so moved to make a quilt for the challenge. Thank you. And if you want to donate funds to aid research, I beg of you. Please contact the ALS Association in your region and give so that we can find a cure. Since this is a neuromuscular disease, a cure for ALS could open the doors to cures for Parkinsons Disease, Muscular Dystrophy, and Alzheimers Disease just to name a few. By the way Ami's auction is going on right now -- until the 10th. She has some lovely quilts to auction to benefit Alzheimer Disease research. I've written a blog about my own brush with Alzheimer's as a remembrance to my father. It seems to have been well received. If you haven't read it, click on this link.

Well, I didn't mean to end this as a plea for funds for the ALS Association or Alzheimer's. It was just meant to introduce you to my lowly little quilt. And I wanted to promise that I will do better at posting to the blog. Thanks for all of your support and kind words and prayers and friendship.... If the disease continues unabated, it is only going to get worse. But that's a place I don't want to visit right now.

First Charity of 2010: Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS

You probably know of my interest in finding a cure for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. My husband and many members of his family are victims of this neuromuscular disease. We are not alone in this struggle that always, ALWAYS, ends in death. There is no treatment. There is no cure.

THERE IS NO TREATMENT.

THERE IS NO CURE.

Kathy Thompson, CEO of Quilters Dream Batting Company, is fighting for a cure for her son who was striken shortly after the birth of his own son. Kathy has connections, a network, and money. Her project is making a difference. But even with all the tools she has in her arsenal, she cannot succeed alone. So I hope you will all consider getting involved with this project.

I think many of you have voiced how much you like the batting, well, now's a chance to use it (or any batting of your choice) to make a quilt to raise funds for ALS research or provide comfort for an ALS patient.

Barbara Bierangel from Kailua Kona, Hawaii donated this intricate quilt in memory of her father, Henry Luhning of Minnesota, who passed away from ALS. She writes that "it was a learning experience for the family to see this man who was always so able bodied lose his ability. His love of fishing was kept alive because a couple of younger men would take him out fishing even though they had to carry him into the boat." Barbara sends her warmest hugs along with this wonderful quilt.

Here's how Kathy describes the project:

Please give the gift of a quilt to warm the life, the heart and the lap of an ALS patient, and help raise awareness and research money for ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease. To be a part of the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge - Simply fill out your entry form and donate your quilts today.

Your donated quilts will be given to an ALS patient or used to raise awareness and research money for ALS by being photographed, displayed, auctioned, or raffled.

In addition to contributing your quilt to a wonderful cause - ALL donated quilts are eligible to win exciting and wonderful prizes. Our list of generous sponsors, categories and great prizes is growing!

Hopes and Dreams is a non-juried quilt challenge. All donated quilts will be entered into general prize drawings plus there are incredible prizes recognizing the most generous quilter, quilt shop, professional quilter and guild. Special prize categories for theme quilts and 'most popular' quilts.

For the comfort of the patient, we request that quilted or tied quilts be a minimum of 35" x 44". Lap and Bed size quilts of all sizes are welcomed. We look forward to you joining us in this unique quilting event - the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS.

Kathy also writes a letter describing her personal affiliation with ALS:

Two years ago, at the age of 32, my wonderful son, Josh, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). In two years, the disease has taken Josh from a strong, happy, athletic young husband and new father to being completely paralyzed – unable to eat, speak, or move. He is on life support. To say his diagnosis and this experience have been devastating is a true understatement. It was shocking to learn that a disease that was discovered well over 100 years ago has absolutely no treatment or help available. Scientists still do not know the cause and do not understand the cascade of damage.


At first we thought ALS was rare, but it is the most common neurological disorder. Every 90 minutes an America is diagnosed with ALS, and every 90 minutes an American dies of ALS. Complete paralysis (referred to as a “Glass Coffin”) and death are so rapid that the there is very little interest in research for ALS – as it is not deemed profitable. Most ALS patients become paralyzed and die within 6 months to 5 years of being diagnosed. For an unknown reason, more and more young people are getting ALS. The US military has also been particularly hard hit and ALS is now considered part of the Gulf War Syndrome. Today there is an estimate 35,000 to 50,000+ Americans living and dying from ALS.

Still reeling from the shock and desperation of my son’s diagnosis and the terrible losses and heartbreak that he has experienced, our family decided that the best way we can honor Josh and other devastated families is to help raise awareness, help raise money for research, and reach out to help underserved ALS patients.

Sponsoring a quilt donation program and quilt contest is something I feel very strongly about. When I contacted the Virginia director of the ALS Association, she was thrilled (coincidentally she is an avid quilter!) We are hopeful that the “Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge” will soon be an important annual event in an effort to help raise awareness, warm the hearts and laps of suffering and forgotten ALS patients, and raise research money along the way.


Sincerely,


Kathy Thompson (Josh’s Mom)

(The pink and diamond quilt shown above was made by Nancy Hinds. The first quilt shown here was donated from Terry Albers of Hedgehog Quilts, Greenbay, WI. Hedgehog Quilts also sent patterns of this quilt for a lucky prize winner.)

For more about Josh and their fight for a cure, there is a New York Times article that fills in alot of the information. Also, Kathy has also successfully raised $$$ for ALS research through the annual Walk to Defeat ALS. She's a natural at this fundraising business, but she can't do it alone.