mini quilts for the alzheimer's art quilt initiative

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) is one of my favorite charities to support. The work they do to raise money for Alzheimer's research is amazing, and I have my own growing collection of quilts that I've purchased from their site over the past year and a half. I've been wanting to donate quilts to AAQI for quite some time, and last month I finally did.

I made two mini quilts---each one is about 9" x 11"---from scraps in my stash. For each quilt, I hand-stitched monochromatic hexagons together, and then machine appliqued them to the background. I did dense straight-line quilting on each and machine bound them (my first time!). 

Both quilts are now for sale on the AAQI web site, here and here, and all proceeds from their sale go toward Alzheimer's research. If you have the chance, I definitely recommend taking the time to browse the Quilts for Sale page, as there are a lot of really beautiful quilts on there, made by many talented quilters.

P.S. Happy Father's Day to my dad, to whom both of these quilts are dedicated.

walk to end alzheimer's + cross-stitch buttons

For the second year in a row, my husband and I will be doing the Walk to End Alzheimer's. This is a huge event, which happens in cities and towns all over the US; this year, we'll be walking on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

The event raises money for the Alzheimer's Association, an organization that offers support to those affected by Alzheimer's, sponsors research, and promotes brain health. My own father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year, at the age of 58, so this is a cause that is very, very important to me.

As part of our participation, my husband and I hope to raise at least $3,000 for the Association, and we could use your support. For any blog readers that make a donation of $5 or more---Just $5! The price of a fancy coffee drink!---I will send them a cross-stitch pinback button as a token of my appreciation. Here's how it'll work:

1. Check out our team page or my personal page and make a donation of $5 or more (every little bit helps!) before the walk on Saturday, October 27.

2. Come back here and leave a comment on this post telling me that you've made a donation to the walk and what letter you'd like stitched on your button (You get to choose the letter, but the color combo will be a surprise!).

3. I'll verify with the Alzheimer's Association that you've made a donation and send your button on its merry way! I'll use the mailing address that you gave to the Association when you made the donation, unless you tell me otherwise.

Questions? Let me know! And thank you so, so much for your support!