'Waves for Tommy'

‘Waves for Tommy’

As I sit next to Mrs Tippetts in Church on Sundays, I can’t help but think about the agony she must be going through as her son rows solo across the Atlantic in aid of the charity, ‘Mind’.  One can only begin to imagine how her every thought must be of him in his little boat on the waves.

One Sunday, as I walked back to The Vicarage (let's just get one thing clear... I'm the wife - not the Vicar), I decided that I needed to do something to show Mrs Tippetts that I care about what her son is doing.  He is so young and so brave, I thought to myself.  Words aren’t enough.  I’ve got to do something about it, help him in some way - show him and his family my support.  Thoughts of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro were pushed firmly to the back of my mind - my trip to Machu-Picchu (by train) and experiencing mountain sickness was one mountain trip enough for one life-time... besides, blue finger-nails don't suit me!...

...Thus, I decided that I would embark on a ‘Solo-Sew’ and make a quilt!  (The odd SMQ - Save My Quilt signal as required!) 

In 2010, whilst living in Forest Row, I joined a fabulous quilting group called ‘The Greenstede Quilters’ and then attended my first quilt-making course run by an extremely talented lady called Carolyn Forster at my favourite shop ‘The Quilt Room’ in Dorking – I thoroughly enjoyed it!  I found the whole process of making a quilt, so thrilling! Starting by choosing a design, one then has an excuse to go shopping!  Once one has chosen the fabric and made sure all calculations are correct it is then time to steel ones nerves for the (rather nerve-wracking for a novice) task of cutting the fabric into the required patch-work pieces.  Having placed the pieces and colours until one is happy with the effect, sewing can begin!  Working with the lovely colours, the sound of the sewing machine and the relaxing, repetitive movements of hand-stitching all adds up to create an exciting and extremely satisfying craft - mind you, it takes a lot of thought and concentration!  Then of course there is all the joy that one experiences when sharing in fellowship with others who are enthusiastic and marvellously gifted in this particular field.

Another fascinating side to the art of quilt-making is the cultural, social and historical context in which this craft has existed over centuries. One discovers that quilts are not merely objects used for keeping warm, but that their uses were extensive and that quilts ‘tell stories’ themselves. When studying old (and indeed, modern) quilts, one discovers the world in which they were made, from the story of the fabric production itself, to the stories of the people who made the actual quilts and their reasons for making them.

In this particular case, I hope that my quilt will tell the story of a brave young man who set out on an exciting, yet challenging adventure, so that he could show the world, that he would do whatever it took, ‘to make a difference’.   The pattern I have chosen is called ‘Ocean Waves’ and on emailing Tommy my idea, he replied: ‘… The quilt sounds like a great idea and of course very apt, ocean waves is all I have seen for 3 weeks now with not much in the way of anything else!...’.  The colours that I will be using include a variety of blues and greens to symbolise the sea, sky-blues and a range of deep reds, oranges and yellows symbolic of the sun, a touch of black to symbolise the night sky and a hint of soft grey symbolic of the moon and stars.  The quilt itself will be called 'Waves for Tommy' and the quilting stitches will symbolise the little dot which we follow on our computer screen, as we track Tommy in his boat, Solo-Rowing across the Atlantic Ocean.  May God bless and protect him. 

As I sew the quilt, I hope that people will support Tommy’s efforts by putting a sum of money on each triangle or square that I shall sew – it will not matter how many times each triangle or square is sponsored, the more the merrier!  If you would like to write a message to Tommy and his family - emails will be appropriately presented. The quilt will be made up of 1166 triangles and 18 squares, thus creating the ‘Ocean Waves’ pattern and should measure 80 x 100 inches, God be willing! On completion, the quilt will be auctioned, starting at £500.   My contribution is the cost of materials and the time and effort it will take to make ‘Waves for Tommy’.

Tommy Tippetts
If you would like to find out more about Tommy’s efforts and make a direct donation on Tommy’s site, please visit: http://www.soloatlanticrow2011.co.uk

Waves for Tommy

To be part of the ‘Waves for Tommy’ quilt story or if you wish to make a donation by cheque or other method, please email:

Email:  wavesfortommy@hotmail.co.uk

'Mind' Collection Tins are available at the following places in Kirdford
Kirdford Village Stores
The Foresters Arms
The Half Moon


*Please note that this project is a work in progress as regards this site and the quilt...

To visit the ‘Waves for Tommy’ blog:

http://wavesfortommy.blogspot.com

Thank you
Catherine