Updated 3/2017-- all links (except to my own posts) removed as many no longer active.
Back in June I wrote about the need for tactile quilts for blind or sight-impaired soldiers. The tactile sense training seems to help them train the brain to "see" in other ways. The reason is not fully understood, but is known as sensory substitution. This refers to the capacity of the brain to replace the functions of a lost sense by another sensory modality. The most commonly used form of sensory substitution is Braille reading which allows the blind to read by touch (somatosensory system).
Back in June I wrote about the need for tactile quilts for blind or sight-impaired soldiers. The tactile sense training seems to help them train the brain to "see" in other ways. The reason is not fully understood, but is known as sensory substitution. This refers to the capacity of the brain to replace the functions of a lost sense by another sensory modality. The most commonly used form of sensory substitution is Braille reading which allows the blind to read by touch (somatosensory system).
For the one I am working on now, I used cottons, washable fake fur (polyester zebra print), and old denim. There are four working pockets from the black denim jeans (trouser style). One pocket even has the button-flap. I hadn't intended for it to look "Christmasy" but it does. It is black and white, red, and green in color. The backing fabric is a flannel of the same colors. I am doing a simple "out-line" quilting stitch on my sewing machine. No hand quilting for these thick fabrics (the denim and fake fur). It does have a "nice touch". I hope to finish it over this weekend between family events.
I don't have a name for this pattern. I found this "picture puzzle" in the paper and adapted it.
Here is the flap pocket.
The finished quilt size is 52" X 62".
6 comments:
Happy Thanksgiving, Dr. Bates!!! We'll all be a bit, ummm ... heavier ... by Friday. ;o)
wow, what an interesting idea....i should do this....
I love where you put the pocket!
Thank you all.
This is brilliant R. What a wonderful idea. It has turned out beautifully visually as well.
Happy Thanksgiving.
A good friend, and a long-time recovery room nurse, is a phenomenal quilter, and her work is very representational and tactile. Her website is here, and the quilt at the top of her site is one she made for the head of my (former) clinic's surgery center, a mother goose if ever there was one (she [the recipient] also wrote a blurb on my book; you might notice the name.) Anyway, I don't know if she's ever shown her work specifically to the sight-impaired, but it seems it'd lend itself well. I'll tell her about your site, and this post.
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