Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Tommy! Happy Birthday to you!
Best wishes from
Mum, Catherine, Karen & Sue
x x x x
Best wishes from
Mum, Catherine, Karen & Sue
x x x x
Monday, March 26, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
The race is on!
Managed another full day of sewing today and completed all 18 central panels of the quilt. The next goal is to complete a further 14 smaller units, join the whole lot together and then take a trip to the quilt shop and choose a colour for the border and binding!
Adding the corners to the setting pieces...
18 panels - done!
Our big boy, guarding the girls as they make the most of our fabulous weather...
Yes, we do need rain...
Pussy-cat keeping me company in the sewing room...
My response to 'Post from Tommy'...
Dear Tommy
I can keep sewing when I feel that my eyes may pop out, because I think to myself... at least I'm not in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat... then I just get on with it! ;)
May God bless you.
Catherine
I can keep sewing when I feel that my eyes may pop out, because I think to myself... at least I'm not in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat... then I just get on with it! ;)
May God bless you.
Catherine
Post from Tommy!
Day 59
This last week has been the longest and most tiring of the crossing so far, not just because of the inevitable effect of 50 days rowing taking its toll on the body, more that the weather has made for some testing rowing conditions.
For the most part of this last week I have had between 10-14 knots of wind and swell of 0.5-1.5m. Often the wind has all but disappeared and along with ever increasing temperatures, one day last week it reached 36°C on deck, it has been heavy going. While most would see these as very idyllic conditions to be in, I can assure you that rowing in them is tough. At times I have also found myself fighting against a swell pushing me north, just to add to the fun and games of it all!
It would seem that these are the sorts of conditions I can expect now as I move in towards Barbados. I know in other blogs rowing in these sorts of conditions has been described as if rowing through wet cement, and that very much sums up what it is like!
I continue to remain in a good frame of mind though as I slowly pass the goals en route. I remind myself that things could be worse, I’m not going backwards for one, and so I have nothing really to complain about and then I just get on with it.
With not many weeks left now I am trying to make the most of the situation I am in and enjoy the relative freedom I have out here. I have no overwhelming urge to reach the finish at this stage which can happen as teams get closer in to land. This may still happen but in the meantime I am being strict with myself that the time to think about the end is when I can see it, until then it is still treating each day as it comes.
Saying that each mile rowed now is one less to go! So I’m sure over the coming days I will start to pick it up a bit, try and get a few more hours in each day and see if I can pick up a day or 2 on my estimated arrival.
So currently I have 673nm to go, about 40 miles to go until ¾’s done. I am also hitting the 2 month mark tomorrow as day 60 although I can’t say it feels like I have been at sea for that long.
Once again thank you to everyone for all the awesome support. I know back home in Kirdford there are a lot of fundraising efforts in place, thank you to Catherine and everyone for all their help, and thank you to the County Times for keeping up the story!
Blogs over the next few weeks may well become less regular as I work on my route in to Barbados. Almost every day though I will update my mileage on Twitter. To see this just click the ‘follow me on Twitter’ button on the homepage (www.soloatlanticrow2011.co.uk) and you will be able to see my feed. Failing that go to the website www.twitter.com/soloatlanticrow for the same site. In both instances you will not need to sign up to anything to see my updates.
Thanks again everyone, not too long now!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Mr Inquisitive!
Hey there! What you doing?...
I'm sewing, Mr Inquisitive... x
Having separated the triangles into two main piles, I am now randomly picking-up
a triangle from each pile and sewing them together to make a square.
I just love this little machine of mine... runs so beautifully smoothly.
They don't make 'em the way they used to!
Pretty-Pretty!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Some-what like a 'Thriller'...
Ok!
We have all the evidence!
Who done it?
The borders and setting pieces...
the borders have been folded up, lying under and on top of the longer ruler...
just in case you think I've lost the plot!
Woo-hoo-yay! Sewing can commence!
Catherine :)
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Glory Bells!
It's Saturday! There is a bell-ringing competition in our Church, today... the puppy looks bewildered... the cat is sleeping... the hens are pecking... the hubby's doing the Lord's work... I have washed the eggs... now I'm ironing more fabric for the quilt so that it's ready for cutting... whilst sipping on a semi-warm cup of tea... ...I think it's great! ...Real Bells! ...Real 'Country Living'!!!
Precious Moments!
Yesterday evening, two of our young children from Church came with one of their mums to the Vicarage for confirmation classes. The mum was keen to see the progress I was making with the quilt. As we walked up the stairs, the two children and our six and a half month old puppy noisily bounced up the stairs behind us. We entered my sewing room and on having a good look at the patch-work cuttings on the cutting mat - with big shiny eyes and bright smiles on their faces, one of the children sucked in his breath and exclaimed: 'Wouw! They look like stars!' then the other 'Yes, they do!' My heart jumped for joy as the happy sounds filled my sewing room! This was such a precious moment!
NB: The rotary cutters had been removed!
Friday, March 09, 2012
Time for tea!
Yesterday morning it was lovely to meet with Roz, Tommy's mum, for a cup of tea. We had a good chat; putting the world to rights and looking at my progress on the 'Waves for Tommy' quilt. All is going well!
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Monday, March 05, 2012
Wise Words...
Warning:
This is a strong message, which some people may find upsetting to read, but I feel is necessary to write.
Thank you. Catherine.
My favourite quote from Mother Teresa:
People are often unreasonable and self-centred. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa
Note:
Due to a 'comment' made to me on Sunday, I would just like to clarify that the quilt I am making; 'Waves for Tommy', will be hand-measured & hand-cut with a rotary cutter. The patch-work and the majority of quilting shall be done on my 'Singer' sewing machine. The central diamond-shaped medallions - I wish to hand-quilt. I myself am sponsoring the fabric for this project, not to mention the time and the skill it will take to make it, and then there is also the effort which I am putting in, to publicise the project and the time that others are willing to spend chatting through some ideas with me about P.R. and how to go about auctioning the quilt.
As the quilt is a large one and includes 1166 triangles, I would need far too much time in which to make it entirely by hand. In other words; if the fact that the quilt will not be entirely hand stitched, bothers you, you need not take part in sponsoring it. It is entirely up to you. If you spend time reading this blog, you will however learn, that this quilt is about something far greater than whether the quilt is hand stitched or machine sewn. And I am certain that if people in years gone by had sewing machines, they would have used them.
This quilt is about spreading the word and showing my support for a young man who, let's face it, is placing himself in a very vulnerable situation, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, testing his physical and mental strength, to raise funds for a very important charity which helps people with mental health problems - the charity is called 'Mind'. Furthermore, the work of the charity itself is important in supporting people who would otherwise receive no help - and further still, is trying to change the way that our society in Britain views this subject, as it has been cruelly stigmatised!
Something which we should never forget is that the human brain is fragile. With just the right amount of stress and pressure, or due to a car crash or other accident, permanent damage may be caused to the brain. Not to mention acts of mental cruelty and abuse. No person on this earth is excluded from the possibility that we may very well find ourselves in a position where we may have to seek help from 'Mind'.
Now, I wish to share a little of my experience with you, as we are on the topic of 'Mental Health' and it is 'Lent' - a time for reflection.
My uncle (my mother's eldest brother) told my mother one day, that if anything ever happened to her, he would take me under his wing and look after me. Sadly, years later, when I was about 14-16 years old, my uncle was involved in a terrible accident which involved a speeding lorry crashing into the back of my uncle's car on a busy high-way. He was badly injured receiving trauma to the brain which went undetected for too long a period of time. When the trauma was eventually detected, he was treated at a mental health hospital. We would visit him regularly, and eventually we moved him into my mother's home so that we could look after him. For me, the hardest thing to accept and understand was, how a strong, independent, healthy man, could just, overnight, become an extremely vulnerable, fearful, weeping child, in an adult body. At first, he frightened me - even to tears, and it took time for me to get used to the change I saw in my uncle.
In fact, I only truly understood the change I saw in my uncle, in 2010 - when I took a short course in Psychology with the Open University. The part of his brain which had been damaged, was the cognitive part where remembering occurs. In other words; my uncle recognised our faces, but did not remember that we were his family. Our familial connection had broken. Similar to that in dementia.
A long while later the doctors said he was able to return to his family - wife and three sons. He returned home to his family, but shortly after, sadly, as a result of severe pain from the brain injury, side-effects caused by prescribed medication and probably the final straw - him witnessing his youngest son being shot at the gate of their home, in a random drive-by shooting spree and dying in the arms of his eldest brother - my uncle (after three attempts) finally managed to take his own life - his eldest son, found his body.
What we as a family witnessed, and despite everything we tried to do for my uncle - the sense of helplessness we all felt, not to mention the grief of losing a loved one, twice, and of course the loss of our dear cousin/brother, is something I would never wish upon any other person.
So, the next time we may be tempted to say in jest: 'You're mad!' or 'You must be mental' or 'I think she/he is mentally ill'... - we should spare a thought for 'Mind', and take back our words, as words are more powerful than we can ever imagine. And I also wish to ask, that next time one speaks, perhaps one should think, before passing judgement or criticism on this quilt project, or anything or anyone else, for that matter.
As I sew I pray for Tommy's safety and for those who are affected by mental health trauma - as that is what it is - traumatic. And as I sew I shall pray for a change of hearts and minds. 'Lord have mercy. Amen'
Thank you for choosing to support 'Waves for Tommy'. By supporting this project you are supporting Tommy as he rows... and ultimately, you are supporting 'Mind'.
May God bless you. Kind regards.
Catherine
This is a strong message, which some people may find upsetting to read, but I feel is necessary to write.
Thank you. Catherine.
My favourite quote from Mother Teresa:
People are often unreasonable and self-centred. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”
― Mother Teresa
Note:
Due to a 'comment' made to me on Sunday, I would just like to clarify that the quilt I am making; 'Waves for Tommy', will be hand-measured & hand-cut with a rotary cutter. The patch-work and the majority of quilting shall be done on my 'Singer' sewing machine. The central diamond-shaped medallions - I wish to hand-quilt. I myself am sponsoring the fabric for this project, not to mention the time and the skill it will take to make it, and then there is also the effort which I am putting in, to publicise the project and the time that others are willing to spend chatting through some ideas with me about P.R. and how to go about auctioning the quilt.
As the quilt is a large one and includes 1166 triangles, I would need far too much time in which to make it entirely by hand. In other words; if the fact that the quilt will not be entirely hand stitched, bothers you, you need not take part in sponsoring it. It is entirely up to you. If you spend time reading this blog, you will however learn, that this quilt is about something far greater than whether the quilt is hand stitched or machine sewn. And I am certain that if people in years gone by had sewing machines, they would have used them.
This quilt is about spreading the word and showing my support for a young man who, let's face it, is placing himself in a very vulnerable situation, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, testing his physical and mental strength, to raise funds for a very important charity which helps people with mental health problems - the charity is called 'Mind'. Furthermore, the work of the charity itself is important in supporting people who would otherwise receive no help - and further still, is trying to change the way that our society in Britain views this subject, as it has been cruelly stigmatised!
Something which we should never forget is that the human brain is fragile. With just the right amount of stress and pressure, or due to a car crash or other accident, permanent damage may be caused to the brain. Not to mention acts of mental cruelty and abuse. No person on this earth is excluded from the possibility that we may very well find ourselves in a position where we may have to seek help from 'Mind'.
Now, I wish to share a little of my experience with you, as we are on the topic of 'Mental Health' and it is 'Lent' - a time for reflection.
My uncle (my mother's eldest brother) told my mother one day, that if anything ever happened to her, he would take me under his wing and look after me. Sadly, years later, when I was about 14-16 years old, my uncle was involved in a terrible accident which involved a speeding lorry crashing into the back of my uncle's car on a busy high-way. He was badly injured receiving trauma to the brain which went undetected for too long a period of time. When the trauma was eventually detected, he was treated at a mental health hospital. We would visit him regularly, and eventually we moved him into my mother's home so that we could look after him. For me, the hardest thing to accept and understand was, how a strong, independent, healthy man, could just, overnight, become an extremely vulnerable, fearful, weeping child, in an adult body. At first, he frightened me - even to tears, and it took time for me to get used to the change I saw in my uncle.
In fact, I only truly understood the change I saw in my uncle, in 2010 - when I took a short course in Psychology with the Open University. The part of his brain which had been damaged, was the cognitive part where remembering occurs. In other words; my uncle recognised our faces, but did not remember that we were his family. Our familial connection had broken. Similar to that in dementia.
A long while later the doctors said he was able to return to his family - wife and three sons. He returned home to his family, but shortly after, sadly, as a result of severe pain from the brain injury, side-effects caused by prescribed medication and probably the final straw - him witnessing his youngest son being shot at the gate of their home, in a random drive-by shooting spree and dying in the arms of his eldest brother - my uncle (after three attempts) finally managed to take his own life - his eldest son, found his body.
What we as a family witnessed, and despite everything we tried to do for my uncle - the sense of helplessness we all felt, not to mention the grief of losing a loved one, twice, and of course the loss of our dear cousin/brother, is something I would never wish upon any other person.
So, the next time we may be tempted to say in jest: 'You're mad!' or 'You must be mental' or 'I think she/he is mentally ill'... - we should spare a thought for 'Mind', and take back our words, as words are more powerful than we can ever imagine. And I also wish to ask, that next time one speaks, perhaps one should think, before passing judgement or criticism on this quilt project, or anything or anyone else, for that matter.
As I sew I pray for Tommy's safety and for those who are affected by mental health trauma - as that is what it is - traumatic. And as I sew I shall pray for a change of hearts and minds. 'Lord have mercy. Amen'
Thank you for choosing to support 'Waves for Tommy'. By supporting this project you are supporting Tommy as he rows... and ultimately, you are supporting 'Mind'.
May God bless you. Kind regards.
Catherine
Sunday, March 04, 2012
My first ever bit of patch-work...
This was the first piece of hand sewn patch-work I ever made, in 2010.
The design is called 'Pine-Apple' and the style of patch-work is called 'Log-Cabin'.
The Log-Cabin style of patchwork is based on the actual American Log Cabin building.
Traditionally it always has a red centre square which symbolises the 'hearth' - the central fire-place in a log-cabin building and the strips which are worked around it are symbolic of the logs which make up the walls of the log-cabin building.
When I started working on it, advanced patch-workers and quilters said that I was very ambitious,
as this was one of the more complex designs!
I loved making this piece and from that moment on - I was pinned, needled, hooked! I am very proud of this little square!
Ironing & Cutting...
The congregation were wonderfully supportive of the project this morning! Thank you very much!
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Dear to the Tippetts family...
Dear to the Tippetts family is the...
Yellowfin Tuna... swimming with Tommy as he rows... so sweet!
And Flying Fish have joined them... the wonders of nature!
There is a God - no questions, just look, see and believe!
Wow, watch this clip!
Tommy, I am so grateful to you for what you are doing - I am learning so much from your experiences - fascinating!
Tommy, your life will never be the same after this experience! Just wonderful!
Tommy, your life will never be the same after this experience! Just wonderful!
Blue Peter...
Speaking of Blue Peter... isn't there a boat... Ah, yes!...
You deserve a badge, Tommy!
All Steamed Up!
It's like a sauna in here! Phew!
I love the shape of the iron... do you see a boat-shape... or is it just me... ;)
Note: The star under the pile of ironing is... a quilt... I made earlier! I've called it 'Southern Cross'.
(My Blue Peter - Ha! Ha!)
I bought the hanging heart at a craft market. Sweet!
It's always the little things that make one happy!
Washing the eggs!
Pretty!
Thanks to 'The Girls'. x
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