When Is A Gift Not A Gift?

When it's a donation to AAQI...

My friend Susan of Hanging on by a Needle and Thread blog recently celebrated a milestone birthday, so of course that meant I had to make something special for her. Susan loves coffee and makes some of the best baked goods, so I thought a mug rug would be appropriate. But then I got to thinking about how the older we get, the less we really need more stuff (fabric yardage doesn't count). At least I know I don't want more stuff and I don't like spending money buying people more stuff that just hangs around their house and collects dust. That even happens to mug rugs. So I prefer to give gifts that are consumable (wine is nice), reusable, or charitable.

As I was finishing this up, an idea popped into my head that the ideal way to honor Susan for her birthday would be for me to donate this mug rug to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. For those who don't know, AAQI sells small quilts like this to raise money for Alzheimer's research. Susan has been very dedicated to AAQI's mission for a number of years and has hit a major goal of having her AAQI quilts raise over $1,000. She's constantly encouraging her fellow guild members to make AAQI quilts as well.

So, this quilt will be going to AAQI where it will be posted on their website for sale. And it's dedicated to my friend and quilting sister Susan. Happy birthday, Susan!

You can read more about AAQI's wonderful work here.

And check out the great gift that Susan's hubby got her....I couldn't compete with that!