Look Jane Look

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative sells little quilts and donates all profits to Alzheimer's research. Since this devastating disease affects more than one person near and dear to me, I decided to stop thinking about it and actually make the donation of a quilt. The guidelines for submitting quilts are quite strict: the quilt can be no larger than 9" x 12". That's not a lot of room to work with, but judging by the quilts that are for sale and auctioned every month, there are a lot of quilters who tap into their creativity to accept this little quilt challenge.

I've had a half-yard piece of Dick and Jane fabric for several years. In fact, I bought it at a shop in Racine while on a little excursion with my sisters, Jeannine and Jane. It seemed most appropriate that I use that fabric for this project. Jane, the youngest of us, has Early-onset Alzheimer's. This is the first quilt I will donate in the hope that someday soon there will be a research breakthrough that will keep someone else's sister - and her family - safe from the heartbreak of Alzheimer's.

I started with a stack of 2" squares cut from the print and several solids.


The squares were sewn into six random 9-patch blocks.

Each block was then divided
What were nine-patch blocks were then reassembled into new blocks to make the little quilt.
After layering with batting and backing, free motion quilting was added. My freehand quilt-writing echoes the script from the black and white Dick and Jane fabric. Finally, a little black and white pin dot binding does the finishing. My little quilt is now ready to send off. From what I've seen on the website, it may take a bit before "Look Jane Look" is actually available for sale. In the meantime, I've got more Dick and Jane fabric. Every inch of it will go to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative in honor of my sister, Jane.