Hello Friends!
Today I want to share with you a special post - a post that is near and dear to me.
I want to talk about Rett Syndrome.
You may be wondering "What in the world is Rett Syndrome?" and that is a great question - one that I'd love to chat about today.
First, I want you to meet Leah. This is my amazing, wonderful, fabulous niece.
At age 2.5, Leah was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a severe and debilitating neurological disorder that took away her ability to speak and use her hands in any purposeful way. It brought breathing abnormalities, seizures, potential heart problems and scoliosis, and threatened to take away her ability to walk.
Leah, who is now 15, just started her freshman year of High School! She no longer speaks at all. She has no control over her hands and many other movements. She needs help with all daily activities - eating, sleeping, toileting, playing, bathing and walking. She will always need this help...unless there are treatments or there is a cure.
October is national Rett Syndrome awareness month, so I chose to support the International Rett Syndrome Foundations to help both spread awareness about and raise funds for Rett syndrome. This disorder is crappy. I would love to see a day when a cure is found. I love that despite all the crappy that comes with Rett, Leah is often found with that beaming smile on her face - that smile is what keeps me fighting for her + all the others affected by Rett.
When deciding which quilt to make, what colors to use + how to donate it, I knew, first, it had to be purple - the color that represents Rett Awareness. I looked over some patterns and decided that my Love Me, Two quilt would fit perfectly. The way this quilt creates hearts in each block was perfect to show my love for these girls + their families. I want to help anyway I can to find a cure - and if I can use my platform to spread awareness, I will!
I reached out to my sister and asked her to help me find a Rett family she felt could use this quilt most. So, this quilt - made with love - is on it's way to sweet Hallie, one of Leah's fellow Rett friends.
my cute quilt holder, my youngest daughter:)
This quilt is a traditionally pieced quilt that can easily use AccuQuilt GO! dies to help speed up the cutting process, accurately! You can use the GO! Strip Cutter 1 1/2" (55024) paired with the GO! Big Square - 9 1/2" (55591) To cut all of your pieces out to complete this quilt.
If you'd like a copy of this quilt, you can find it in my shop - LOVE ME, TWO QUILT
Another way I help spread awareness for Rett is to run! Each year I participate in a virtual 5k race put on by my sister and her family to raise awareness + funds to support finding a cure for Rett. People all over the world join to walk and run to race away Rett syndrome for Leah - and many other girls (+ boys) in the world.
This is Leah and her cute family at the 8th Annual Leah Bean Run to Race Away Rett!
If you'd like to help, you can donate directly to this 501(c)3 organization: International Rett Syndrome Foundation - HERE
For this quilt I used various purple fabrics from my stash, Light Grey Confetti Cottons from Riley Blake Designs + backing is from Succulence - Arboretum - INSPIRIT from Art Gallery Fabrics.
Keep on posting your awesome makes and tag me @simplymackbeth and use the hashtag #simplymackbethpatterns I love seeing your work and sharing it with others!
Looking for a fun new project...
...Check out Simply MackBeth Patterns.
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