Sunday, December 27, 2009

Finished Sensory and Memory Quilt (for my Dad's Christmas Gift)


Finished Quilt

Originally uploaded by Pictures by Ann

I made this quilt for my dad who has Alzheimer's Disease. It is a sensory and memory quilt.

The fabrics have different textures, and the pictures are ones that he picked out that are meaningful to him. The back is a very soft fleece.

Gave it to my father today (December 27th). Was a couple days late because of the big snowstorm. Anyway...he opened the box and looked at the quilt, and immediately started recalling memories and sharing stories about some of the pictures.

He cried when he looked at other pictures. "I've had a good life," he said.

There are more details about the quilt at my Flickr site here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/picturesbyann/4207842423/

5 comments:

Banana Bottoms Cloth Diapers said...

What a thoughtful and creative idea - I love this. Wonderful.

Kristen
Banana Bottoms

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Thanks, Kristen. It was a pleasure to make. I just got off the phone with my dad (on January 6th) and he again mentioned how much he likes the quilt.

I asked, "Do you look at the pictures on the quilt?"

"Oh, yes," he said, "I'll say, 'Hi, Mom'...and enjoy looking at all the pictures."

Since his mother died in 1966, he has missed her greatly. He never had a chance to say "goodbye" to her...and I think it has always been hard on him.

This quilt seems to provide some comfort to him in having his mom's image close to him each day.

Vickie @ In My Head Studios said...

Oh, I'm totally going to cry. This is so lovely and thoughtful. I'm sure it means the world to him.

Michellerobin1979 said...

I am having a hard time typing this because my eyes are filled with tears. I think any one who has been touched in life by Alzheimer's truly understands how beautiful this project is! Alzheimer's runs ramped in my fathers family, I wish I knew how to quilt and I wish that it wasn't so far into my grandmothers disease that I saw this post. I might just start one of these (as poor as my quilt would be) in honor of life and family so tattered by this disease, thank you for your constant inspiration!

Unknown said...

Beautiful. :)