Second AAQI Quilt done!

Ta-dah!  My second AAQI (Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative) quilt is done and going off in the mail tomorrow!  Here it is!  This one is called "Asian Dreams" and I worked on it throughout the long hours after the earthquake in Sendai and the ensuing tsunami, while all of us at CQI were waiting to get news of our dear friend in Sendai.  So, this little quilt is dedicated to Hideko and everyone in Sendai and Japan as a whole who are recovering from the devastation. 

The block itself was made by a crazy quilting friend and was delivered wrapped around my Christmas cracker in a CQI exchange a couple years ago.  So, all I needed to do was the embellishing, embroidery and finishing.  All the seams are done with Japanese silk buttonhole thread.  The large metal face, the coins, the butterfly and the fan are all "found objects".  The butterfly is a broken jewelry pin, the face was a bookmark and the fan was an earring.  I used needle weaving to attach the coins which worked quite well.  Two seams are covered with gold ribbon couched down.  The fan had small holes which allowed me to attach it with stitches and then I used the same thread to create a little tassel for it.  The beautifully dyed lace flower motifs came from another CQI swap. 
The stitching all went well and helped to pass the hours before we heard Hideko and her family had come through the earthquake safe and sound.  Thank Goodness! 

One last picture - since finishing is not my forte, I am quite proud of the fact I managed to finish this off pretty well with a teensy batik binding, an Asian style cotton print on the back and the little fabric triangles for hanging.  The label was from a fat quarter, Moda I think, and I used wonder under to fuse it to the back of the quilt and used permanent ink to add the pertinent information, including the registration number. 

Did you know that AAQI, the best little grass roots fundraising organization for Alzheimers, has raised over half a million dollars for research now with these little quilts?  A lot of people doing a little bit can accomplish a lot!