The Christmas card from my college physics professor was the spark for this quilt for his wife. I knew she had some dementia problems but now they have moved from their home in Alexandria, VA to North Carolina to be near their daughter and her family. So I wanted to make her a quilt and had read that fidget quilts were good for those with Alzheimer's. After looking through stuff in my sewing room this is the quilt I made for her. It is machine pieced and quilted. It is 26 in square.
This area has a working button from an old pair of jeans waistband. The waistband loop was used to hold the strings of beads that can be "worried" or used as prayer beads. The red button is sewn on to the green velvet ribbon which covers a velcro strip. I placed a bracelet there that can be removed or simple fiddled with.
I took an old name badge holder and sewed it onto the center square (after all the quilting was done) which can be used to hold photos of her friends/family. I had a ribbon strip with the words "timeless treasures" that seemed appropriate for that area. A working zipper has been placed here as well.
I found three old wooden thread spools that I strung together on a piece of heavy cord. The cord is attached only at the ends so the spools can be moved back and forth. All the pockets on the quilt are working pockets and can hold items such as tissues or more photos or pieces of candy.
I attached a piece of silk ribbon to this block that can be untied and retied.
I know she isn't lucky to have Alzheimer's but she is lucky in the sense that she has a loving family. Again the buttons from the jeans work.
These pockets work. I sewed a strip of red velvet ribbon along the bottom here and sewed a cat button for another "texture/tactile" element.
