Pieced in love: Quilt to benefit the Mental Health Association in Morgan County

July 24--Passed from hand to hand, the sections of purple and white fabric cut, pieced, quilted and bound with donated materials, traveled across Decatur and, in the process, united a community.

On display at the Decatur Public Library, the Purple Ribbon Square quilt symbolizes the impact of one person connecting with another. The Mental Health Association in Morgan County has possession of the quilt, but not for long. The association is taking bids on the quilt until Monday.

"The quilt ended with us, but so many people have had their hands in its creation. They gave of their time and talents and we are so grateful. This quilt has quite a story," said Angie Speegle, with the Mental Health Association.

The 30 squares of the quilt -- each with 67 pieces -- formed beneath the hands of Donna Nix's mother, who started quilting and fell in love with the hobby at the age of 70. After a stroke robbed her mother of the ability to quilt, Nix donated the material to Ivy Veinot, a member of Decatur'sQuilt Lovers Quilt Guild.

A staple of the north Alabama quilting community, Veinot married her love for the fabric arts with her passion for serving. With help from fellow quilters, Veinot created quilts -- or, as she called them, "portable hugs" -- for teenage girls at the United Methodist Children's Home in Scottsboro and for every person who moved into a Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County home in the last four years.

For the Purple Ribbon Square quilt, Veinot, who handled the quilting, partnered with Cora Welsh, who placed the blocks together and added the border. Material for the backing, border and binding came from a donation to the Habitat for Humanity Restore. Instructions on the donation read, "Give this material to the ladies that quilt."

With purple designated as the awareness color of Alzheimer's, a disease affecting more than 5 million Americans, the Quilt Lovers Quilt Guild donated the Purple Ribbon Square project to the Mental Health Association of Morgan County. The association's 14th annual Alzheimer's Conference will feature Dr. George Morgan, a neurologist researching Alzheimer's and dementia, and Teepa Snow, a registered occupational therapist and educator on the progression of dementia and how to provide the right care.

cgodbey@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2441. Twitter @DecaturLiving.

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