This quilt square of a cockatoo was created by Susanna Jones of Maryland. Courtesy Avian Health Network, Inc. |
Squares for the 2008 Birds of a Feather Quilt are being sewn together to complete the 2008 Birds of a Feather Quilt Challenge put on by Avian Health Network, Inc. (AHN).
Bird owners and volunteer members of the AHN Quilting Birds Committee joined efforts to raise awareness for proventricular dilation disease (PDD) through the quilt challenge. They created 30 original, bird-themed squares for the quilt. Each square is a one-of-a-kind design created to raise awareness of PDD, which is a deadly wasting syndrome that affects wild and domesticated birds worldwide, and to raise funds for PDD research.
“This quilt is not only a symbol of hope for avian health in the future, it is also a remembrance of all the birds that have been lost to PDD,” said AHN president Valerie Schuster. “Each bird lost is one bird too many and this quilt represents what is needed to fight this awful disease – people joining together to ensure the well-being of our birds.”
The completed quilt will be awarded as a prize in a drawing hosted by Castle Enterprises in the fall of 2008.
This quilt square featuring /eclectus and other colorful birds was created by Wendy Morse of Massachusetts. Courtesy Avian Health Network, Inc. |
Individual quilt blocks were on display during the Pet Bird Extravaganza and Birdie Bingo events (developed in 2006 by Castle Enterprises to raise funds for the Stop PDD campaign), at the York Expo Center and Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania on October 27, 2007. The quilt squares are now being sewn together by quilter Mary Hettmansperger. After the quilt is completed, it will be displayed at pet expos and bird marts in the local York, Pa area.
The challenge began in February 2007. Randy Wood, a founding AHN member, came up with the idea of the quilt challenge to help raise funds and to educate the bird community about the disease. The project was also created to promote the AHN Virtual Memorial Quilt, located on the Stop PDD website, in memory of birds that have died from PDD.
AHN, a non-profit organization, raises funds for PDD research with its Stop PDD campaign. For more information on the campaign and to view squares for the 2008 quilt visit www.StopPdd.org.