parkinson's quilt project

My Aunt Nancy {of beautiful ocean quilt fame} and I have been collaborating on something special.  This is my portion.  I actually made two - one to send away to be showcased, and one for my Aunt Marge to keep.

Her photo was printed on fabric you can run through the printer, and then mounted on purple fabric and edged in yellow thread because those are the colors of the university she taught at.  The fabric used for parts of the brain are symbolic of things important to her.

My Aunt Nancy took the square that I made and added a border of prints and signature squares.  She gathered signatures from family & friends, as well as a paw print from her dog.  She then resized and combined the names as needed, printed them on fabric, and added print fabrics in between the names.  When she could she tried to pick special print fabrics that matched up with interests of the people who signed the squares.
Here is the finished quilt square:

{if you're paying close attention you may notice a few little differences.  The one on top was sent to her to keep, the one in the bottom is the one already sent off to the Quilt Project people.  I didn't photograph it myself because I was in such a hurry to get it sent on to my aunt for her to add her part.  Deadlines...ugh.}

My Aunt Nancy wrote this up about her when she submitted it to the PDF Quilt project:
"This quilt square is submitted to honor Marjorie E. Anderson, Ph.D., for her research on the basal ganglia, the portion of the brain which affects movement and is associated with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Anderson was a professor of neurophysiology from 1971-2007 at the University of Washington in Seattle, and her research contributed to the deep brain stimulation procedures now being used to control the tremors often associated with Parkinson’s disease. Ironically, in 2003, Dr. Anderson was also diagnosed with this disease. The signatures of Dr. Anderson’s family, friends, and colleagues surround the center square to pay tribute to her research which benefits all those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and to show their support as she now lives with this disease. The fabrics chosen to represent the brain not only illustrate Dr. Anderson’s history and personal interests, but also are located in the portion of the brain associated with that activity."


If you'd like to learn more about the Parkinson's Quilt Project go to Facebook or their web site.