42x41in, quilter’s cotton (machine-pieced) & hand-tied (pearle cotton/floss), created in 2023, NFS

This quilt is meant to represent the dementia my grandfather experienced prior to his death in 2001. Although some memory decline is to be expected with aging, dementia symptoms take a large toll on one’s identity, emotional states, and ability to function independently in the world. It also impacts the family more than is spoken of, often minimized or dismissed as “just getting old.” If you are, or are a caregiver of, someone experiencing dementia, please see out care and resources. Dementia isn’t a diagnosis, it’s a symptom (learn more below).

What to look for: The improv/abstract strip-piecing is meant to represent a series of events turned to memories and how memory changes and fades over time. The ties (floss threads) holding the quilt together are meant to represent a historical way of quilting fabrics together, as well as a representation of telomeres (the protective ends of our chromosomes that get shorter with age and stress).

Learn more:  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dementia/symptoms-causes/syc-20352013

Book recommendation(s): These books are not meant to replace medical intervention and/or skilled therapy.

The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide... https://a.co/d/e2AiiMe

The Dementia Caregiver's Survival Guide: An 11-Step Plan to Understand the Disease and How To Cope with Financial Challenges, Patient Aggression, and Depression Without Guilt, Overwhelm, or Burnout https://a.co/d/9fOWykI

Navigating the Dementia Journey: A Compassionate Guide to Understanding, Supporting, and Living With Dementia https://a.co/d/dJ6I0jp

The Memory Box: A Book About Grief Hardcover – Picture Book https://a.co/d/7WITG3y