Liberated Quilting Challenge for AAQI

Happiest of New Years, everyone, and welcome to my newest project!

I am a contributing member of two Liberating Quilting rings...the blogging world of Liberated Quilting and the Liberated Quilters Message Board. I am also a contributing member and supporter of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

I am excited to now be a co-moderator on both the Liberated Quilting blog and the Liberated Quilters Message board and am happy to announce that I'm running the new Liberated Challenge to get us into high gear for the New Year!

We are welcoming members of both of the liberated quilting groups (who are automatically enrolled) and throwing a quilting glove into the ring and challenging everyone (including all of you who can join in!) to a dual, and dueling, Liberated Challenge.

As members of our new Liberated Challenge we will all work on creating small 'art' quilts for donation to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. We are seeking creative input....in other words, very small quilts.... from liberated quilters everywhere.

And if you don't think you qualify...you already do...if you quilt, and are willing to be creative and make a really fun, but quite small quilt...for a charitable donation.

The only rules of the Liberated Challenge are those already set in motion by Ami Simms, the director of the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. They are quite simple...each quilt must be able to fit into a "Priority Mail" envelope (available completely for free from your local post office) and they can be no larger than 9" x 12".....however, they can be smaller, and they can also be a standard 4" x 6" fabric postcard. (shown above is the larger size!)

You are encouraged to write about and show your quilt's process on your blog, or to discuss its progress on the message board, and to actively encourage other quilters to participate! I am even willing to act as a Temporary Quilt Registration Goddess for anyone without Internet access, or for those needing additional help with problems or questions.

To enter this fabulous Liberated Challenge...we need to add you (even if you think you can make one little postcard!) to maintain some kind of organizational framework and we are using that of the Yahoo group to record your name and email address. Simply go to to Liberated Quilters Message Board, add your name to the list and receive a membership listing.

All quilts and quilted postcards will be showcased on individual pages at the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative website, as well as on the Message Boards, our individual blogs, and links to you, here. It's a wonderful win-win networking and charitable quilt donation combination!

Please join in this project!

All I am asking is that you take the time to create an original (any style, any kind of piecing, fusing, cross-stitch, applique, anything that takes you out of the box and gives you a new direction for quilting) 4"x 6" fabric postcard or a slightly larger quilt of up to but not exceeding 9" x 12".

I want you to experiment and have fun..... but there are no rules as far as theme or style or quilting techniques used. Make something you love, that someone else would want to buy, and just plain have fun with it!!!

Check out the links below to see why I support the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, and to view some of the thousands of quilts that have been donated in the past.

Michele Bilyeu

shown above:
my small art quilt design table and bulletin board

personal note:
I am spending the month of January in Alaska, caretaking my mother who has now entered late stage Alzheimers. I am bringing my laptop and we have do have a phone-line ;) And I will be in daily contact with this challenge (and many more ;)

Read From The Heart of a Quilter and learn why I am willing to work this hard in support of AAQI and this project.... only make the number of members of my immediate family with Alzhimer's or related Dementias...now 12 instead of the 9 that I wrote about in 2007.

Three more members of my family not only faced Alzheimer's challenges, but two more have also died from it.

LINKS:
Liberated Quilting Challenge
Liberated Quilting Blog Liberated Quilters Blog Ring
Liberated Quilters Message Board: Yahoo Message Board...where you sign up and join in the fun
Make A PRIORITY: ALZHEIMER'S QUILT Donation Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI)
Look At Previous or Current AAQI Quilts get ideas, see how easy it can be
27 Ways You Can Help can't make a postcard for us? how about doing one of these?